Brentford and Liverpool face off in the Premier League on Saturday at 8pm, with Simon Hooper appointed as the referee.
Hooper is one of four referees to have taken charge of seven Premier League games this season, and he’s very involved. Hooper has awarded more fouls than any other referee this season (184) and produced the most yellow cards (33). He also sits joint-top for red cards (two).
But he looks to have mellowed slightly with just three cards shown across his past two games combined.
Liverpool go into the game looking to end a three-match losing streak in the Premier League which has seen them drop to fourth. Brentford, meanwhile, have won two of their past three, to jump up to 13th.
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Simon Hooper’s Brentford record
Hooper has only taken charge of more Brighton and Hove Albion matches (39) than he has Brentford (35). His first Brentford game came back in 2008-09 when the Bees were in League One, with Hooper overseeing a 1-1 draw with Aldershot Town. It was an eventful game too, with Hooper awarding both sides a penalty. Hooper oversaw four Brentford games last season, with the Bees drawing three of those and winning the other.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 35 |
| Wins | 11 |
| Draws | 11 |
| Defeats | 13 |
| League points | 41 |
| Penalties per game | 0.06 |
| Yellow cards per game | 1.77 |
| Red cards per game | 0.03 |
What happened when Simon Hooper last refereed Brentford?
Hooper last took charge of a Brentford game in April, with the Bees drawing 1-1 away from home against Arsenal. It wasn’t exactly a fiery game with four yellow cards shown, but three of those were for Brentford. Christian Norgaard, Kevin Schade and Yegor Yarmolyuk were all booked for Brentford, before Martin Odegaaard was cautioned late on. Brentford were punished for nine fouls overall, compared to seven going their way.
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Simon Hooper’s Liverpool record
Hooper has taken charge of 15 Liverpool matches, 11 of which have come in the Premier League. He’s already taken charge of one Liverpool game this season too. Hooper was the man in the middle for Liverpool’s dramatic 3-2 away win over Newcastle United in the second gameweek of the Premier League. It’s a long way from his first Liverpool game, a 5-0 win over Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup in 2016.
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 15 |
| Wins | 9 |
| Draws | 3 |
| Defeats | 3 |
| League points | 22 |
| Penalties per game | 0.07 |
| Yellow cards per game | 1.6 |
| Red cards per game | 0.13 |
What happened when Simon Hooper refereed Liverpool earlier this season?
As mentioned, Hooper has already officiated one Liverpool game this season. The Reds took a 2-0 lead at St James’ Park before Newcastle pegged them back to 2-2. But Rio Ngumoha scored in the 10th minute of second-half injury time to take all three points. Liverpool were shown three yellow cards, with Newcastle receiving two. But Hooper did show Anthony Gordon a red card for a dangerous challenge on Virgil van Dijk, albeit after a VAR review.
What should we expect from Simon Hooper?
Hooper has averaged 26.29 fouls per game in the Premier League this season, so we can expect a stop-start match with a lot of free-kicks awarded. He has also shown 35 cards overall, averaging five cards per match and 5.2 fouls per card.