Sutton's Projections vying with English Gaming Star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

This Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.

"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."

Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, fans and a variety of guests.

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

Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

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

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

Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.

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

The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach with me and training has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.

"I beat 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.

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

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat 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 will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a threatening team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and they have got a bit of form at the moment.

Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

They have not given me any compelling evidence 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'm attending this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.

I am really pleased 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 nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.

They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.

All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he says sorry.

Slot's attention 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 mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.

Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, 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 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Apart from their brilliant 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.

I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.

It was evident how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered 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 next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and should be recognised too.

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