Pep Guardiola's in-form Manchester City will welcome a resurgent Liverpool to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon for one of the biggest Premier League clashes of the season.
It is unusual to have a meeting between these sides where neither are at the top of the table, but both are currently chasing Arsenal and will be desperate to take all three points.
The Citizens come into the match full of confidence after thrashing Borussia Dortmund 4-1 in the Champions League, while Arne Slot's Reds bounced back from a dire run of six losses in seven games by winning their last two ahead of this showdown, beating high-flying Aston Villa 2-0 and defeating Xabi Alonso's imperious Real Madrid 1-0 on Tuesday.
Before Sunday's blockbuster, Sports Mole takes a look at the referee and VAR that have been appointed for this fixture and their records when officiating the two top-flight giants.
Referee Chris Kavanagh officiating in the Premier League on October 18, 2025
Chris Kavanagh appointed referee for Manchester City vs. Liverpool
The referee appointed for this highlight fixture by the PGMOL is Chris Kavanagh, who first officiated in the Premier League back in April 2017.
Kavanagh's standout matches include the 2021 Championship playoff final between Brentford and Swansea City, as well as Liverpool's famous 1-0 win over Chelsea in the 2024 EFL Cup final at Wembley.
Notably, the experienced referee has taken charge of a match between Man City and the Merseysiders in each of the last two seasons - a 1-1 draw the Eitihad in 2023-24, and a 2-0 win for Liverpool at Anfield in 2024-25.
Chris Kavanagh's record in matches involving Manchester City
Man City have played 15 matches under Kavangh's watch - 14 in the Premier League and one in the FA Cup - winning eight, drawing four and losing three, though this game will be the first time that he has officiated them in 2025-26.
The most recent City game that the 40-year-old took charge of occured back on March 8, when Nottingham Forest beat the then-champions 1-0 at the City Ground.
Interestingly, Kavanagh has never issued a red card to a Sky Blues player, though he has handed them 24 yellows, 17 of which were given when Guardiola's side were playing as the away team.
One point of contention that fans may remember the referee for in relation to Man City took place in October 2024, when he controversially overturned the decision to disallow John Stones's 95th-minute winner against Wolverhampton Wanderers for being offside after viewing the replay monitor and deeming that Bernardo Silva was not obstructing goalkeeper Jose Sa's view.
Chris Kavanagh's record in matches involving Liverpool
Kavanagh has taken charge of 27 Reds games to date, almost twice as many as for their opponents, and Liverpool have won 17, drawn four and lost the other six.
The referee last officiated the Merseysiders when they were downed 2-1 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in September, and fans may see him as a bad-luck charm given that the result sparked their spell of six defeats in seven matches.
In terms of his disciplinary record, no Reds player has ever been sent off by the 40-year-old, though he has served out 40 yellow cards to Slot's men, including three during August's Community shield, a game that saw the official award a penalty against Virgil van Dijk as Palace won 3-2 in a shootout.
Kavanagh was also at the helm when Jurgen Klopp won his final trophy with Liverpool in the 2023-24 EFL Cup final, though some may recall that Van Dijk had a header ruled out that day as Wataru Endo was considered to be obstructing the Chelsea defence from an offside position.
Michael Oliver pictured on January 25, 2025
Michael Oliver in charge of VAR for Manchester City vs. Liverpool
The PGMOL have selected Michael Oliver as the VAR for this weekend's headline contest, and it would be fair to say that he has a controversial recent history with both teams.
Man City fans will be frustrated with the appointment considering that their only defeat in their last 13 matches - a 1-0 loss on the road to Villa - saw Oliver incorrectly award Unai Emery's team the corner that led to Matty Cash's goal.
As for Liverpool, one of most high-profile incidents that Oliver has been involved with in recent times saw him give red cards to manager Slot and his assistant Spike Hulshoff - as well as second yellow and subsequent red cards to Curtis Jones and Everton's Abdoulaye Doucoure - after the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park ended 2-2 back in February.
The Reds boss felt that refereeing errors had enabled James Tarkowski to score a 98th-minute equaliser and cost the title-chasing side two points, something that fans will have in mind should the official's decisions draw an attention on Sunday.
In any case, City have won four times and lost twice with Oliver in the VAR booth, and he has overseen one penalty awarded to the Citizens and one given against them.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have won eight and lost just one of their nine games with Oliver on VAR duty, earning two penalties and conceding two penalties in those contests.
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