The Pundit's Projections versus eSports England Star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

The weekend heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"For most of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me 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 week 16, he faces off against 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 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 EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.

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

The fan-favourite scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the end of this page.

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

Ray, who also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.

A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.

"I beat 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the top competitor 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 the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.

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

So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.

Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea 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'm attending this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.

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

Slot should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive 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 back for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.

Slot's attention 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 hard to predict. 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 energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will almost certainly blank - 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Apart from their excellent 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.

The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness 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 dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.

Everyone 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 top transfers and should be recognised too.

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