The Pundit's Forecasts vying with eSports England Star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

The weekend heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.

"It is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."

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

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

Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.

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

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

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.

Ray, who represents his club side 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.

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "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. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an chance 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 recently just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd never beaten him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just gives you a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.

In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a dangerous team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of a positive run 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 good cause to back them recently, but I just have a feeling 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 am at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.

I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. 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 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 reintegrated is if he apologises.

Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.

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 efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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

The Wearside club have had the week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

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

It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how unwavering 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 brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and warrants praise too.

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