Atkinson, who took charge of United's first game of the season - a 2-1 home loss to Tottenham - has refereed at international and Champions League level, as well as refereeing the 2011 FA Cup final and the 2014 League Cup final.

So far this term, Atkinson has been the man in the middle on 15 occasions - 14 of those games coming in the top flight, the other in the Carabao Cup. He has shown 46 yellow cards and one red.

The 47-year-old refereed a total of 33 domestic fixtures last season, including three Newcastle games. He oversaw the 1-0 defeat to Everton in November, the 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town in March and the 3-0 final-day win over Chelsea, all of which came at St. James' Park.

Over the course of the 2017/18 campaign, the West Yorkshire official showed a total of 118 yellow cards and also issued five reds.

He will be assisted by Stephen Child and Gary Beswick on Saturday, while Jeremy Simpson will be the fourth official.