The Lancashire official has yet to take charge of a game involving the Magpies this term, having been the man in the middle for United's final game of last season at Fulham in May and an Emirates FA Cup defeat to Arsenal just under a year ago.

Kavanagh, 36, was refereeing in the National League as recently as 2014 but, having worked his way impressively up the ranks, he was appointed to the Select Group in 2017 and to FIFA's list of international referees in 2019.

So far this season, he's shown two red cards and 61 yellow across 16 games in all competitions, mainly in the top flight but also including a Champions League fixture, a Europa Conference League game, a Carabao Cup tie and a handful of Championship clashes.

On Sunday, he is set to be assisted at St. Mary's by Dan Cook and Timothy Wood. Andy Madley is due to be the fourth official while David Coote is scheduled to be the Video Assistant Referee, assisted by Peter Kirkup.