Watford will be hoping the outcome is very different on Saturday after Chris Kavanagh was appointed to take charge of their home fixture against West Ham United for the second season running.

The Lancashire official was in charge of the Hornets’ final league game of last season when Javi Gracia’s men slumped to a 4-1 defeat after Kavanagh had sent off Jose Holebas, seemingly ruling the defender out of the FA Cup final.

The full-back was dismissed after the referee ruled he had pulled back Michail Antonio when the Hammers forward was through on goal early in the second half, but Watford successfully appealed the red card and Holebas did play against Manchester City at Wembley.

That was the only Hornets game in 2018/19 to be refereed by Kavanagh, whose sole Premier League fixture so far this season was Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-1 victory over Aston Villa.

The Video Assistant Referee is scheduled to be top Australian official Jarred Gillett.

The FIFA referee has come to England to study at university in Liverpool and it was announced in January that he would join the Select Group 2 list at the start of this season.

These officials mainly cover Championship games but they can also work at Premier League matches to help their development.

Crucially, the 32-year-old is also regarded as a leading VAR, having used the technology since it was introduced in the Australian A-League in 2017.