🔗 Share this article The Pundit's Projections versus eSports England Star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray Published: Over half an hour ago Comments: 14 The weekend sees the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle? "For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton. "It is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot." The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, readers and a assortment of guests. For week 16, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray. Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's recognised 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 the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch. What are your thoughts with their predictions? You can make your own predictions below. The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is used in the scoreboards at the end 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. Numerous entrants entered the Uefa EA Sports FC eEuros and a mere eight have qualified. Ray, pictured here with his coach Nick den Hamer and England Gaming team manager Denman, bears the nation's aspirations. England also have esports teams in Rocket League and the management simulation. Ray, who also plays his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage. The final eight competitors will represent their nations 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. "My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach with me and practice has been going well. "It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique. "I defeated Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him over the course of the season 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 provides a huge surge of confidence." Ray's favourite real-life player is Lionel Messi and he feels his in-game approach is reminiscent of his hero. "I utilise a bit of flair and I like to play with a bit of vision, so I'd say that is fair," he explained. "I'm pleased with that comparison!" Premier League Predictions Saturday, 13 December Chelsea vs Everton Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT The Blues were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown. In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League. So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a threatening team. Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of form at the moment. Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic. The Blues have failed to given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea 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'm attending this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from the Reds. It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week. Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but at its core 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 formation 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 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. The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have affected their stamina. I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - 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 The Black Cats have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to exert themselves 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 pattern to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press. We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch. Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too. I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture