Chris Sutton's Predictions vying with English Gaming Prodigy Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

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This Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a real chance."

The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, readers and a variety of guests.

For week 16, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.

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

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

Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns forty points.

Daniel 'Stingray' Ray with his coach and team boss.
Numerous entrants competed in the Uefa EA Sports FC eEuros 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 the vehicular soccer game and Football Manager.

Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.

The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

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

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."

Daniel Ray playing.
Ray's sporting hero is Lionel Messi and he thinks his in-game approach is reminiscent of his hero. "I utilise a bit of flair and I like to play with a bit of foresight, so I'd say that is a good comparison," he said. "I'm quite happy with that comparison!"

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were outstanding against Arsenal 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 outfought by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a dangerous team.

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

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

The Blues have failed to given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they 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 interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.

It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.

The media 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 apologises.

Slot's primary concern 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 unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent 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 them to 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 opportunity to rest 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 brilliant 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.

The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.

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

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with 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

Tracy Noble
Tracy Noble

A seasoned casino analyst with over a decade of experience in gaming industry reviews and player advocacy.