Josh Smith will take charge of a Watford game for the first time on Monday after being chosen to officiate the Championship opener against Sheffield United.

The Peterborough-born official has refereed EFL fixtures for the past three seasons and was appointed to the Select Group 2 List of Referees at the start of the 2020/21 campaign.

One of the youngest referees in the professional game, Smith began refereeing in the Peterborough and District Junior Alliance League at the age of 14 in 2006, continuing a family tradition after his father and grandfather had taken charge of football and rugby league matches respectively.

Smith was in charge of 26 league and cup matches last season, showing 81 yellow cards and six reds.

Matthew Jones and Akil Howson will be the assistant referees at Vicarage Road for Monday night’s televised game, with Gavin Ward the fourth official.