The 50-year-old has been appointed for the clash at Anfield, which will be just the second time he has overseen a United fixture in 2020/21 so far.

His first outing alongside the Magpies came on Boxing Day, when Steve Bruce’s men were beaten 2-0 by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. On that occasion, he booked Fabian Schär and Matt Ritchie, as well as the hosts’ Joao Cancelo and Rodri.

Marriner was born in Birmingham, and served as an official in the Birmingham Amateur Football League and the Southern Football League before graduating to the Football League, firstly as an assistant referee, at the turn of the millennium.

He has been a top flight regular since 2005, taking charge of the 2013 FA Cup final between Manchester City and Wigan Athletic, and also spent eight years as a FIFA-listed referee between 2009 and 2017.

Marriner took charge of the Community Shield game between Arsenal and Liverpool at the start of this season, and since then has mainly officiated in the Premier League, although he has also enjoyed sporadic outings in the Carabao Cup and the Championship.

In 27 games across all competitions this term, he has issued a total of 72 yellow cards but waited until his most recent outing to show his first red of the campaign. Leeds’ captain Liam Cooper was the recipient during his side’s 2-1 win at City last week.

Richard West and Derek Eaton will assist Marriner this weekend, with Lee Mason acting as fourth official at Anfield.

And Andy Madley will be the VAR, assisted by Matthew Wilkes.