🔗 Share this article The Pundit's Predictions against English Gaming Ace Daniel 'Stingray' Ray Published: Over half an hour ago Comments: 14 The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or the Magpies? "Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton. "It is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a real chance." He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests. For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray. Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday. Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch. Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own projections below. The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is used in the leaderboards at the end of this page. Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points. Numerous entrants entered the European esports championship and only eight have qualified. Ray, pictured here with his coach Nick den Hamer and England Gaming team manager Denman, holds the nation's aspirations. England also have competitive gaming squads in Rocket League and Football Manager. 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 getting through the preliminary stage. The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a $100,000 prize pool 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. "My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and training has been going well. "It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible. "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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before. "In my opinion he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a massive injection of confidence." Ray's sporting hero is Lionel Messi and he thinks his game playing style is similar to his hero. "My style involves a bit of flair and I like to play with a bit of foresight, so I'd say that is accurate," he explained. "I'm pleased with that comparison!" Premier League Forecasts Saturday, 13 December Chelsea vs Everton Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT The Blues were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could potentially be title contenders. Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League. So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment. Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic. The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence 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'm attending 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 following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week. Slot shouldn't need 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. Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top. All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is included for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he makes amends. Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter. 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 energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them. I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do think they can 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back 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. The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press. Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch. Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to 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