Referee and VAR officials for Liverpool vs Chelsea now confirmed by Premier League
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Liverpool return to Premier League action on Saturday afternoon against a struggling Chelsea.The Blues are without a full-time manager at the moment, being linked with Xabi Alonso, and are struggling for results.However, Liverpool have also been very inconsistent this term. Ahead of the tie, the Premier League have now confirmed Craig Pawson will officiate proceedings.
What would you do with Curtis Jones this summer? Getty IDs: 2272039966 Liverpool’s record under Craig PawsonThe Premier League announced the officials for the next round of fixtures in a statement on their website.Lee Betts and Mat Wilkes will be Pawson’s assistants on the day.
The fourth official is Bobby Madley, Tony Harrington is in charge of VAR, while Eddie Smart will be his assistant VAR on the day.Meanwhile, Pawson is set to referee his 46th Liverpool game, the most out of any club in his career.The Reds have won 30 of their matches with this weekend’s referee in charge, losing eight and drawing their remaining seven.Pawson has sent off two Liverpool players previously and awarded six penalties.Arne Slot will be hoping to avoid any such issues this weekend as he aims to avoid matching an unwanted record.Chelsea could do Premier League double over Arne Slot’s LiverpoolLiverpool and Chelsea last faced off at Stamford Bridge back on October 4, 2025.Estevao scored a 95th-minute winner in that clash, cancelling out Cody Gakpo’s equaliser shortly after the hour mark.It means that defeat at Anfield on Saturday will see Slot become the first Liverpool manager to lose two league games against the Blues in one season since Brendan Rodgers back in 2013/14.That was, of course, still a fairly good season for the Merseyside outfit at the time, finishing second in the table.But it was also the season in which Steven Gerrard’s infamous slip occurred against, of course, Chelsea.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox