Sutton's Forecasts versus England Gaming Ace Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

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Sunday brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.

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

Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, fans and a range of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their scores? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.

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

A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.

The England Gaming star alongside his trainer and manager.
Half a hundred countries took part in the Uefa EA Sports FC eEuros and a mere eight are left. Ray, shown here with his coach Nick den Hamer and England Gaming team manager Denman, carries the team's ambitions. England also have esports teams in the vehicular soccer game and Football Manager.

Ray, who also plays Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach with me and training has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.

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

"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a crazy boost of confidence."

Stingray in action.
Ray's sporting hero is Lionel Messi and he believes his in-game approach is reminiscent of his hero. "My style involves a bit of flair and creativity and I like to play with a bit of foresight, so I'd say that is accurate," he explained. "I'm quite happy with that comparison!"

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.

Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a potent team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

Current evidence suggests you would likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they will take this one because they are at home and they are due a win.

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'm attending this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.

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

Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

They changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.

All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.

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

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

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

I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - but I do fancy them to 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 concede a late equaliser 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.

It is anticipated that that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.

We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.

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

All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture

Juan Evans
Juan Evans

A seasoned betting analyst with over a decade of experience covering UK and European sports markets.