Referee Appointment for Manchester City Match Unlikely to Go Down Well With Fans

The Premier League has announced that Andre Marriner will officiate this weekend's match between Manchester City and Huddersfield - an appointment that is likely to cause somedisgruntlement among City fans.

Marriner was the man in the middle for four Manchester City matches last season, all of which were away from home, and Pep Guardiola's side emerged victorious on three occasions.

One of these matches was the game at Southampton on the final day of the season, when Gabriel Jesus' last-minute goal made City the first side to surpass 100 hundred points in a Premier League campaign.

However, Marriner was also in charge of the match that ended City's 22-match unbeaten run last season. City lost 4-3 to Liverpool at Anfield in January, their only away defeat in the league so far this year.

Going back further, Marriner was in charge when City suffered the biggest FA Cup final shock of the 21st century, losing 1-0 to Wigan in 2013. He sent off Pablo Zabaleta for two bookable offences in the 84th minute of that match.

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He was also in the spotlight during a controversial encounter between City and Tottenham in January 2017.

In what was a crucial match, Marriner waved away Raheem Sterling's strong appeals for a penalty with City leading 2-1. Spurs broke away and equalised through Son Heung-min to take a controversial point.

Marriner will be refereeing in Manchester for the second consecutive week, having taken charge of Manchester United's opening day win over Leicester City last Friday.