Sutton's Predictions versus eSports England Prodigy Daniel 'The Stingray' Ray

This Sunday sees the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.

"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a real chance."

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, the public and a range of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is going for glory for the eLions – 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.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their predictions? You can make your own guesses below.

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

Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.

Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.

A group of eight 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 FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, 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's 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 go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.

"I overcame 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a dangerous team.

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

Based on recent performances you would likely back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea 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 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 stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive 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 brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.

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

One might suggest 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 quite open 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 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

Sunderland have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Apart 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 tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.

We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and should be recognised too.

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