๐ Share this article Sutton's Projections versus England Gaming Star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray Published: Half an hour ago Comments: 14 The weekend sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate โ Sunderland or the Magpies? "During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton. "It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a solid shot." He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, 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 eLions โ the Football Association's formal esports team โ at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday. Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch. Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own guesses below. The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the foot of this page. Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points. Fifty nations took part in the European esports championship and just eight have qualified. Ray, seen here with his coach Nick den Hamer and England Gaming team manager Denman, carries the team's ambitions. England also have competitive gaming squads in Rocket League and Football Manager. Ray, who also plays his club side 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. A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year. "My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "There's a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well. "It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique. "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. "In my opinion he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a crazy boost of confidence." Ray's footballing idol is Lionel Messi and he thinks his game playing style is similar to his hero. "I play with a bit of skill and I like to play with a bit of incisive passing, so I'd say that is accurate," he said. "I'm pleased with that comparison!" Premier League Weekend Preview 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 earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could potentially be title contenders. In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League. So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment. On form you would probably back Everton, while the most prudent 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 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'll be at this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool. I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week. Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection. Liverpool changed their formation 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 brought back into the fold is if he makes amends. Slot's attention 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 hard to predict. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible 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 affected their stamina. I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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 Sunderland have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on. With the exception of 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 tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity. Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch. Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding 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 deserves some attention too. This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture