🔗 Share this article Sutton's Predictions vying with eSports England Ace Daniel 'Stingray' Ray Published: 36 minutes ago Comments: 14 The weekend brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies? "For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton. "It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a real chance." The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, readers and a variety of guests. For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray. Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday. You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok 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? You can make your own guesses below. The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is used in the leaderboards at the bottom of this page. Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points. Numerous entrants took part in the Uefa EA Sports FC eEuros and just eight are left. Ray, pictured here with his coach Nick den Hamer and England Gaming team manager Denman, bears the team's ambitions. England also have esports teams in Rocket League and Football Manager. Ray, who also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage. Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a substantial cash prize and a coveted spot in the global championship qualifiers, 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 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 real-life footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special. "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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before. "I believe he is the top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence." Ray's sporting hero is Lionel Messi and he feels his game playing style is comparable to his hero. "My style involves a bit of flair and I like to play with a bit of incisive passing, so I'd say that is a good comparison," he said. "It's flattering with that comparison!" Premier League Weekend Preview Saturday, 13 December Chelsea vs Everton Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT The London club were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could possibly be challengers for the crown. However, since that game, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League. So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a potent team. Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment. On form you would likely back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic. Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling 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 intriguing to see what we get from the Reds. I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy 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 essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection. They changed their formation 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 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 attention will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture. One might suggest it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so hard to predict. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too. The Merseysiders need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their exertions 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 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 The Wearside club have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to exert themselves 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 has been poor, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League. The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness 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 overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch. Everyone 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 best acquisitions and deserves some attention too. I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture