The Pundit's Forecasts versus eSports England Star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

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This Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," commented analyst Chris Sutton.

"It is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a solid shot."

The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.

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

Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch 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 scores? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.

The most popular scoreline picked for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the end of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.

The England Gaming star with his trainer and manager.
Half a hundred countries competed in the European esports championship and only eight remain. Ray, shown here with his trainer and England Gaming team manager Denman, holds the eLions' hopes. England also have esports teams in the vehicular soccer game and the management simulation.

Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.

Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, competing 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 defending the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.

"I beat 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a crazy boost of confidence."

Stingray competing.
Ray's favourite real-life player is Lionel Messi and he thinks his game playing style is reminiscent of his hero. "I utilise 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

Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a potent team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of momentum 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 hunch Chelsea 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'm attending this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.

I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

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

The media 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 primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.

You could argue 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.

The Merseysiders need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have drained them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - 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

Sunderland have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Aside 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 intensity.

We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated 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 brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.

I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture

Derrick Wong
Derrick Wong

A seasoned gamer and tech enthusiast with a passion for writing about the latest trends in gaming.