🔗 Share this article Chris Sutton's Projections against England Gaming Ace Daniel 'Stingray' Ray Published: Half an hour ago Comments: 14 This Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle? "During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton. "It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a solid shot." The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, the public and a variety 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 recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday. Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch. Do you agree with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own predictions below. The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the bottom of this page. Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns forty points. Numerous entrants competed in the Uefa EA Sports FC eEuros and just eight remain. Ray, pictured here with his coach Nick den Hamer and England Gaming team manager Denman, carries the nation's aspirations. England also have competitive gaming squads 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 competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage. Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year. "I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well. "It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique. "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 always lost to him in a tournament before. "In my opinion he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence." Ray's sporting hero is Lionel Messi and he believes his virtual football style is reminiscent of his hero. "I play with a bit of flair and I like to play with a bit of incisive passing, so I'd say that is accurate," he said. "I'm quite happy with that comparison!" Premier League Forecasts Saturday, 13 December Chelsea vs Everton Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT The London club were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could possibly be title contenders. Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League. So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a potent team. Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment. Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic. They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will win this match 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'll be at this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from the Reds. It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after 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 Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection. They changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top. Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is included for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he says sorry. Slot's attention 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 defensively susceptible too. Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have affected their stamina. I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - 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 Wearside club have had the week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on. With the exception of 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. It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press. It was evident how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch. Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too. This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture