Following the international break, league leaders Manchester City’s first game will be against second-placed Liverpool on Saturday.

 

A result in favour of the Reds would help them climb above Pep Guardiola’s team, while Manchester City can extend their advantage at the top with a win.

 

 

 

Taking the graveness of the match into consideration, Keys believes that it was a questionable decision by the referring body to appoint Manchester-born Kavanagh as the man-in-charge.

 

Kavanagh was on VAR duty in 2022 when Rodri handballed against Everton, a game Manchester City won 1-0 and a year when the Cityzens finished one point ahead of Liverpool at the top of the league, and did not tell the on pitch referee a penalty should be awarded; then referees chief Mike Riley personally apologised to then Everton boss Frank Lampard because of the error.

 

 

Questioning the decision to give Kavanagh the Manchester City-Liverpool game this weekend, Keys wrote on X: “Why do the PGMOL do it? Why?

 

“Not for a moment do I think Chris Kavanagh will be anything other than professional at City but what if? What if something goes wrong?

 

 

“And in a season like this, who’d bet against it? Why put him under the added pressure? Are there no other refs?”

 

Both sides head into the match on the back of some positive results having not lost any of their last four league games.