It will be the Yorkshire official's second visit to St. James' Park this season; he was in charge of December's 1-0 defeat to Everton, when he sent Jonjo Shelvey off in the final minute.

Having started refereeing at the age of 16 in his local Bradford leagues, Atkinson rose through the divisions and was appointed to his first top flight fixture in April 2005, as Manchester City took on Birmingham City.

He has since become regarded as one of the country's top officials, and in recent years has overseen the 2006 FA Community Shield, the 2011 FA Cup final, and the 2014 Capital One Cup final as well as the 2015 Europa League final and three Euro 2016 matches.

So far this term, Atkinson has refereed 27 matches, showing 89 yellow cards and five red cards.

On Saturday, he will be assisted by Lee Betts and Stephen Child. Stuart Attwell will be the fourth official.