Chris Sutton's Predictions vying with eSports England Star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

The weekend sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.

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

He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, the public and a assortment of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official 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 TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.

The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.

Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after 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 stated. "There's a really good coach with me and preparation has been going well.

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on 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.

"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

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 secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.

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

So boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.

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

They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not 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.

They changed their shape 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 reintegrated is if he says sorry.

Slot's focus 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 hard to predict. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have drained them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - 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 be pegged back late on.

With the exception of their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.

Commentators 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 signings of the season and should be recognised too.

All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture