Pawson, who was the man in the middle of the Magpies’ 2-2 draw against West Ham at St. James’ Park last Sunday, will again oversee United as they look to bounce back from Wednesday night’s 5-0 reverse at Manchester City.

The game at Vicarage Road is the Sheffield-born official’s second outing since Newcastle’s draw with the Hammers, after he refereed Brighton’s 3-1 defeat at home to Liverpool on Wednesday.

Pawson, who has been a Premier League referee since 2013 and on the FIFA International Referee list official since 2015, has refereed games in the top flight, Championship, FA Cup and Carabao Cup, as well as Kazakhstan’s European Championship qualifying defeat to Cyprus.

In 31 games this term – including two Newcastle fixtures – he has issued a total of 128 yellow cards and three reds. That total includes the red card he gave to United’s Isaac Hayden, who was dismissed in the defeat at Leicester City in September 2019.

Stuart Burt and Dan Robathan will assist Pawson on Saturday, with Dean Whitestone acting as fourth official.

The replacement official at Vicarage Road will be Matthew Lee, while Stuart Attwell will be VAR, assisted by Andy Garratt.