Newcastle United and Manchester City fans will not be happy with the key appointment to the Liverpool match

Newcastle have won their last six matches at St James’s Park and are currently in ninth place in the table after successfully coming out of relegation problems.

The Magpies can afford to relax a bit, but it’s a must-win match for the title hunt of Liverpool, as they sit just one point behind leading Manchester City with five games to play.

A win for The Reds on Tyneside would get them to reach the top of the table, albeit potentially only for a few hours with Man City against Leeds later in the day.

Andre Marriner has been named as the match judge along with assistants Simon Long, Scott Ledger and fourth official Andy Madley. But it is the appointment of the video assistant referee that could create a stir among Newcastle and Manchester City supporters in particular.

Merseyside-based official Mike Dean will be VAR and oversee all decisions on the field with the power to intervene at crucial times from Stockley Park.

Dean’s decisions were criticized by Newcastle fans and Eddie Howe for his performance when the sides last met at Anfield back in December. Dean refrained from stopping the game in the build-up to a Liverpool goal despite Isaac Hayden being on the floor with a head injury.

The referee also rejected a penalty kick after Ryan Fraser was knocked down inside the penalty area by Trent Alexander-Arnold.

And now he is on the other side of the monitor this weekend, it will be exciting to see if VAR has any major influence on this weekend’s match.

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