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

An illustrative picture for the article
  • Published:
  • Comments: 14

This Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland getting promoted and being competitive 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 Sunderland play makes me think they've got a solid shot."

He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, fans and a variety of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, 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 football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

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

The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.

The England Gaming star alongside his trainer and team boss.
Half a hundred countries took part in the Uefa EA Sports FC eEuros and just eight remain. Ray, pictured here with his trainer and England Gaming team manager Denman, bears the team's ambitions. England also have competitive gaming squads in the vehicular soccer game and Football Manager.

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

Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "There's a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.

"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 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."

Daniel Ray in action.
Ray's favourite real-life player is Lionel Messi and he feels his virtual football style is reminiscent of his hero. "I play with a bit of skill and I like to play with a bit of vision, so I'd say that is fair," he said. "I'm quite happy with that comparison!"

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.

However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

Two of their stars are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

Current evidence suggests you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling 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 am at 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 great win 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 icon for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

Liverpool 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 primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.

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 a consistent run of form, 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 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Aside from their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.

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

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.

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

Andrea Dillon
Andrea Dillon

Laura Bennet is a communications expert with over a decade of experience in digital transformation and team collaboration strategies.