Anthony Taylor has been appointed the referee for Liverpool’s Premier League clash against Man United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Liverpool supporters will probably roll their eyes when hearing Taylor will take charge of the match but, in truth, he has arguably been the best official in the league this season.
However, his appointment is still controversial given he is from Wythenshawe in Greater Manchester – something that supporters can point to as a problem despite being an Altrincham fan.
At Old Trafford, the assistant referees will be Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn, while the lead VAR will be John Brooks, assisted by Richard West.
So far this season, Taylor has taken charge of four Liverpool matches, with the Reds winning just one, the New Year’s Day 4-2 against Newcastle at Anfield.
The other fixtures were the opening day draw at Chelsea, the 2-2 at Brighton and the 3-1 defeat at Arsenal.
Before Liverpool head to Manchester, though, they have a home game against Sheffield United that they will likely need to win to return to the top of the table after Arsenal and Man City‘s fixtures.
The officials at Anfield will consist of Stuart Attwell as the referee, James Mainwaring and Richard West as assistants, and Taylor acting as fourth official.
Meanwhile, in Stockley Park, Chris Kavanagh will operate VAR with Mark Scholes as his assistant.
This season, Attwell has refereed Liverpool on the pitch just once, officiating the Reds’ 4-3 win over Fulham at Anfield.
Should the Reds emerge on Sunday with six points from six, they will have just seven matches left to win to secure the Premier League title.
Of course, should Man City and Arsenal drop points, they wouldn’t need to take the maximum 27 from those remaining seven matches.
If the Reds were to win each of their games left, they would finish on 94 points, but that seems improbable. It is also unlikely they will need that many.
With all three of the title contenders facing tough away matches during the run-in, the trophy could be won with closer to 90 points.
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