The Pundit's Projections versus England Gaming Star Daniel 'The Stingray' Ray
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Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious β Sunderland or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a solid shot."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, readers and a variety of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions β the Football Association's recognised esports team β at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their scores? Share your own guesses below.
The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is used in the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.
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 world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something special.
"I overcame 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 always lost to 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 provides a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
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 being reduced to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a dangerous team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back the visitors, while the most prudent 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 feeling Chelsea will win this match 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 fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.
I was delighted 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 should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally 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 back for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
It's fair to say 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 taken out of them.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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
Sunderland have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
Aside from their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied 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 brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and should be recognised too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture