🔗 Share this article Chris Sutton's Forecasts against England Gaming Star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray Published: 36 minutes ago Comments: 14 The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or the Magpies? "For most of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton. "It is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a real chance." He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, the public and a variety of guests. For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray. Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday. Viewers can catch 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 predictions? You can make your own guesses below. The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the tables at the bottom of this page. Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points. Half a hundred countries took part in the Uefa EA Sports FC eEuros and only eight remain. Ray, pictured here with his coach Nick den Hamer and England Gaming team manager Denman, carries the eLions' hopes. England also have esports teams in Rocket League and Football Manager. Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds. Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year. "I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach with me and training has been going well. "Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this profession 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 over the course of the season just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before. "I believe he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just gives you a crazy boost of confidence." Ray's sporting hero is Lionel Messi and he thinks his game playing style is comparable to his hero. "I play with a bit of flair and I like to play with a bit of vision, so I'd say that is a good comparison," he explained. "I'm quite happy with that comparison!" Premier League Weekend Preview Saturday, 13 December Chelsea vs Everton Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT Chelsea were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could possibly be challengers for the crown. Since then, however, they were outfought 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 the Merseyside club are such a threatening team. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of form at the moment. Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible. Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they will emerge victorious 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'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 after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week. Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection. They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 brought back into the fold is if he apologises. Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one. You could argue 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 defensively susceptible too. Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them. I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do think they can 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 Wearside club have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on. Aside from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League. I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity. Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch. Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, 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