The Pundit's Predictions vying with eSports England Ace Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

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The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"For most of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club earning promotion and being competitive 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 they play makes me think they've got a genuine opportunity."

The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, readers and a assortment of guests.

For week 16, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – 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 video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their predictions? Share your own guesses below.

The fan-favourite scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the tables at the bottom of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.

Daniel 'Stingray' Ray alongside his trainer and manager.
Fifty nations entered the European esports championship and a mere eight remain. Ray, pictured here with his coach Nick den Hamer and England Gaming team manager Denman, carries the eLions' hopes. 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 successfully navigating the qualification rounds.

A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

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

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something incredible.

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

"For me he is the top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."

Daniel Ray competing.
Ray's footballing idol is Lionel Messi and he feels his game playing style is similar to his hero. "My style involves a bit of skill and I like to play with a bit of incisive passing, so I'd say that is fair," he explained. "It's flattering 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 secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.

Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they 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'll be at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.

It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.

They 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 back 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 mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are vulnerable at the back 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 probably lose now - but I do fancy 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 week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Aside from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.

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

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.

This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture

Amanda Ali
Amanda Ali

Liam is a freelance journalist and father of two, passionate about sharing positive family narratives.