ANFIELD will be a daunting refereeing gig this weekend as Manchester City prepare to face the music.
And Pro Ref have given the responsibility to one of the Premier League’s two ‘elite’ officials, Chris Kavanagh.
The other, Michael Oliver, has not been assigned a match in what will be the first batch of Prem fixtures following the international break.
Manchester-born Kavanagh boasts almost a decade of experience at the top level and has over 150 top-flight games under his belt.
But his track record, with pundits and fans, is not exactly squeaky clean.
Kavanagh, 41, faced heavy criticism from in February over a string of questionable decisions in Newcastle’s win at in the .
One in particular – a handball against which led to Newcastle receiving a free-kick instead of a penalty, even though he was inside the box – was labelled by Rooney “one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen in “.
Kavanagh, who was stood down by reffing chiefs the following week, did not have assistance to lean on that day.
He will when Liverpool host City on Sunday afternoon, and that extra help could be needed to control what promises to be a fiery affair.
expects the Blues to receive “” after a bombshell guilty verdict relating to their breaches of financial rules was handed down during the international break.
He added: “If they want an understanding of how angry the game is, Anfield will tell them. It will be brutal.”
City have and maintain their innocence. But they could be hit with a range of punishments which include being stripped of titles and being booted out of the Prem.
boss admitted last week that the national team squad’s City contingent were .
He said: “I think that would be a very human reaction if you don’t know what’s going on for the club that you signed.
“They’re still young. They’re ambitious. They’re told they are totally innocent and don’t know what’s going on.
“It is of course a topic and we speak about it at dinner and at a table of eight or 12 people. I know that the Man City players get a lot, a lot of messages and phone calls and feedback about it.”
