Man City vs Liverpool FC referee appointment decision explained as Chris Kavanagh question posed

Chris Kavanagh has been appointed as referee for the top-of-the-table Premier League fixture between Manchester City and Liverpool this weekend. The fixture kicks off the return of the top flight with a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday. City are top of the table, one point clear of the second-placed Merseysiders.

Kavanagh will be in the middle despite hailing from Greater Manchester, a point raised by plenty of Liverpool fans on social media. The 38-year-old is from Ashton-under-Lyne but has officiated both City and Manchester United plenty of times during his career.

He took charge of City's 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup earlier this season and has been on the whistle for five Premier League games so far this season, including two Liverpool games which ended in wins for Jurgen Klopp's side.

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All Premier League refereeing appointments are made by the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) who are a separate company jointly owned by The FA, the Premier League and Football League. They manage refereeing at the elite level of the English game.

Appointments take into account several factors, including the referee’s overall experience, their current form, how often they have refereed the clubs involved, which team the referee supports and any forthcoming international appointments.

Kavanagh will be joined on Saturday by assistants Simon Bennett and Dan Robathan as well as fourth official Thomas Bramall. Stuart Atwell and Tim Wood will be in position as part of the VAR team at Stockley Park.