Sutton's Predictions vying with England Gaming Prodigy Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

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This Sunday brings the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.

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

The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, fans and a range of guests.

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

Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

Do you agree with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.

The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the tables at the bottom of this page.

Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.

The England Gaming star with his trainer and manager.
Numerous entrants took part in the Uefa EA Sports FC eEuros and a mere eight are left. Ray, seen here with his trainer and England Gaming team manager Denman, carries the eLions' hopes. England also have esports teams in Rocket League and the management simulation.

Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.

The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, 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.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.

"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 never beaten him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the top competitor 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 believes his game playing style is similar to his hero. "I utilise a bit of skill and I like to play with a bit of vision, so I'd say that is fair," he said. "I'm quite happy 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 potentially be title contenders.

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

So boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.

Their key midfielders are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

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

Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they will win this match 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 the Reds.

I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

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

The media 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 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 mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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 week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

With the exception of their brilliant 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.

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 their rivals' intensity.

It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, 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

Katherine Green
Katherine Green

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in the Canadian online casino industry, specializing in slot reviews and player strategies.