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World Cup referee handed the middle for Chelsea v Albion

Michael Oliver will referee Chelsea v Albion (Image: Jacob King/PA Wire)

Michael Oliver will referee Chelsea v Albion (Image: Jacob King/PA Wire)

Michael Oliver will be in charge as Albion face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The 41-year-old from Northumberland is off to a busy start to the season after his World Cup experiences in the summer.

Oliver progressed to the quarter-finals in the USA, taking charge of Spain v Belgium.

That was his fourth fixture at the tournament.

He opened his Premier League season when Brentford beat Spurs 3-0 last Saturday.

And he was in Norway in midweek for Bodo/Glimt’s 3-0 win over NEC Nijmegen in the Champions League.

Albion fans last saw Oliver when they lost 1-0 at Leeds towards the end of last season.

He also had the whistle when they were in West London and lost 2-1 to Fulham in a game notable for a desperately tight VAR decision to deny Danny Welbeck a goal which the on-field officials had deemed legal.

Any such advice this time will come from video assistant referee Andrew Kitchen and his own assistant Paul Howard.

Oliver tends to keep his cards in his pocket and has shown just seven yellows in his last five Albion games.

There have been just two dismissals in his 25 Albion fixtures down the years – a second yellow for Tariq Lamptey at Aston Villa and game-changing straight red to Huddersfield striker Steve Mounie almost eight years ago.

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His last Chelsea game was a 1-0 defeat at home to Manchester United.

Oliver was on VAR duty for Liverpool v Nottingham Forest on Saturday and spotted a narrow offside which led to a Florian Wirtz goal being ruled out.

The full officiating team for Chelsea v Albion is as follows.

Referee: Michael Oliver.

Assistant Referees: Stuart Burt, James Mainwaring.

Fourth Official: Thomas Bramall.

VAR: Andrew Kitchen.

VAR Assistant: Paul Howard.

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