The Pundit's Predictions versus eSports England Ace Daniel 'The Stingray' Ray

The weekend brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.

"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."

The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, readers and a range of guests.

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

Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

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

Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own guesses below.

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

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.

Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds.

A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, vying 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 defending the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach with me and preparation has been going well.

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could possibly be title contenders.

In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.

Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely 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 Chelsea will take this one 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 the Reds.

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

Slot shouldn't need 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.

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

All the talk 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 attention 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.

Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I have whacked 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 week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely 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, 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 factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.

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

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, 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