Chris Sutton's Forecasts vying with English Gaming Star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

The weekend heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"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, much less being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.

"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a solid shot."

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, the public and a variety of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the football simulation Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their forecasts? You can make your own guesses below.

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

A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.

Ray, who represents his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.

A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an chance 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 over the course of the season just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd never beaten him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and many thought 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 turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a threatening team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.

On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

The Blues have failed to given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will emerge victorious 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'm attending this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.

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 drama. I know Salah has been a great 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.

Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected 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 difficult fixture.

One might suggest 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 quite open too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, 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 FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.

Aside from 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.

It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.

We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and should be recognised too.

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