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

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This Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.

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

Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, fans and a range of guests.

For week 16, he takes on 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 EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their predictions? You can make your own projections below.

The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the tables at the bottom of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.

Daniel 'Stingray' Ray with his trainer and manager.
Numerous entrants took part in the Uefa EA Sports FC eEuros and only eight have qualified. Ray, shown here with his trainer and England Gaming team manager Denman, bears the eLions' hopes. England also have competitive gaming squads in Rocket League and the management simulation.

Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.

Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

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

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.

"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 top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a massive injection of confidence."

Stingray competing.
Ray's favourite real-life player is Lionel Messi and he believes his virtual football style is reminiscent of his hero. "My style involves a bit of flair and creativity and I like to play with a bit of vision, so I'd say that is a good comparison," he said. "I'm pleased with that comparison!"

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a dangerous team.

Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

On form you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct 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 intriguing 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 nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 attention will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.

It's fair to say 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 quite open too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have drained them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - but I do think they can 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 battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Aside from 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 lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered 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 superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.

This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture

Jeffery Daniels
Jeffery Daniels

A seasoned web developer with over 10 years of experience, passionate about teaching coding and sharing practical insights.

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