Sutton's Predictions vying with English Gaming Prodigy Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

An illustrative picture for the feature
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This Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.

"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."

He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, fans and a range of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.

Do you agree with their forecasts? You can make your own guesses below.

The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the foot of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.

Daniel 'Stingray' Ray alongside his coach and manager.
Fifty nations competed in the European esports championship and a mere eight remain. Ray, pictured here with his trainer and England Gaming team manager Denman, holds the team's ambitions. England also have esports teams in Rocket League and Football Manager.

Ray, who competes for his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.

The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach with me and training has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.

"I defeated Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him throughout the year just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."

Stingray playing.
Ray's footballing idol is Lionel Messi and he believes his virtual football style is similar to his hero. "My style involves a bit of flair and I like to play with a bit of foresight, so I'd say that is accurate," he explained. "It's flattering with that comparison!"

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

Two of their stars are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.

On form you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will take this one because they are at home and they are overdue a victory.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Stingray's prediction: With this being at the Bridge, I am going to back Chelsea. I think they will start off really well and go 2-0 up, then Everton will nick one back but then Chelsea score late. 3-1

AI's prediction: 2-0

Liverpool vs Brighton

Anfield, 15:00 GMT

I am at this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.

It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

They changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.

All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is included for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he makes amends.

Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.

It's fair to say it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are vulnerable at the back too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - but I do fancy get something at Anfield.

Sutton's prediction: 2-2

Stingray's prediction: This is a game which is going to give Liverpool a bit more of their confidence back. Obviously they had a good win in midweek and they can build more momentum here. 2-1

AI's prediction: 3-1

Sunday, 14 December

Sunderland vs Newcastle

Stadium of Light, 14:00 GMT

Sunderland have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.

Aside from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

I am expecting that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.

I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture

James Patterson
James Patterson

A tech journalist with over a decade of experience covering consumer electronics and digital innovation across Europe.