🔗 Share this article Sutton's Forecasts against eSports England Ace Daniel 'Stingray' Ray Published: 36 minutes ago Comments: 14 The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle? "For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton. "The situation is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a real chance." Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, readers and a assortment of guests. For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray. Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place 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 England's Twitch. Are you in alignment with their predictions? Share your own guesses below. The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is used in the leaderboards at the foot of this page. A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns forty points. Half a hundred countries competed in the European esports championship and just eight remain. Ray, shown here with his trainer and England Gaming team manager Denman, bears the eLions' hopes. England also have competitive gaming squads in the vehicular soccer game and the management simulation. Ray, who also plays Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying. Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year. "I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well. "It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey 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 never beaten 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 gives you a huge surge of confidence." Ray's footballing idol is Lionel Messi and he believes his in-game approach is similar to his hero. "I utilise a bit of flair and creativity and I like to play with a bit of incisive passing, so I'd say that is a good comparison," he said. "I'm quite happy with that comparison!" Premier League Forecasts Saturday, 13 December Chelsea vs Everton Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT Chelsea were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could possibly be challengers for the crown. In the matches following, however, they were overpowered 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 won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team. Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and they 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 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 gut instinct Chelsea will win this match 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'll be at 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 following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week. Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection. They changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 focus will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture. You could argue 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. 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 drained them. I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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 Sunderland 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 brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League. I am expecting that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style. We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch. Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too. This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture