Chris Sutton's Forecasts versus English Gaming Ace Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

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This Sunday heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.

"The situation 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 artificial intelligence, fans and a variety of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.

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

The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is used in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.

The esports competitor alongside his trainer and manager.
Fifty nations competed in the Uefa EA Sports FC eEuros and a mere eight are left. Ray, pictured here with his trainer and England Gaming team manager Denman, carries the team's ambitions. England also have esports teams in the vehicular soccer game and the management simulation.

Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.

A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a substantial cash prize and a coveted spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I have a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.

"I beat 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.

"I believe he is the best player in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."

Daniel Ray in action.
Ray's sporting hero is Lionel Messi and he feels his virtual football style is similar to his hero. "I play with a bit of flair and I like to play with a bit of foresight, so I'd say that is fair," he said. "I'm quite happy with that comparison!"

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.

However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a potent team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.

Current evidence suggests you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will emerge victorious because they are at home and they are in need of three points.

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 interesting to see what we get from the Reds.

I am really pleased 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 should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

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

Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is back 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 difficult fixture.

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 drained them.

I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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

The Black Cats have had the week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Apart from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

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

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.

This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture

Suzanne Bates
Suzanne Bates

A UK-based productivity consultant with over a decade of experience helping individuals and teams streamline their workflows.

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