It will be the third time the Sheffield-born official has taken charge of an English top-flight game involving the Magpies this term.

The 42-year-old was the man in the middle for Newcastle's 1-1 draw against Manchester United in December and booked six players that evening at St. James' Park, including Emil Krafth, Javier Manquillo and Joelinton.

A FIFA listed referee since 2015, Pawson also officiated Newcastle's 1-0 home win over Aston Villa last month and handed out seven yellow cards, booking Dan Burn, Jonjo Shelvey and Joelinton.

In the 28 games Pawson has refereed so far this term across the Premier League, Europa League, Europa Conference League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup as well as a World Cup qualifier, he has shown a total of 122 yellow cards and five red cards.

On Thursday night, Pawson will be assisted by Lee Betts and Dan Robathan while Mike Dean will be the fourth official.

Stuart Attwell will be the Video Assistant Referee and will be assisted by Darren Cann.