Anthony Taylor has been named as the referee for Manchester United’s Premier League match at home to Brighton on Saturday evening (5.30pm kick-off).
Man United, who stunned Liverpool at Anfield last weekend, are bidding to record three straight Premier League wins for the first time in the same season since February 2024.
Standing in their way of a hat-trick of wins is their bogey team Brighton, who have impressively won six of the last seven league clashes between the sides and can make history on Saturday by becoming the first visiting team to record four straight triumphs at Old Trafford in the Premier League era.
Taylor has refereed 10 matches in all competitions in 2025-26, serving out 30 yellow cards, one red, and four penalties. Eight of these games have come in the Premier League, including Man United’s defeat to Man City last month.
Taylor has yet to referee a Brighton game this term, but in his previous two Seagulls games he’s remarkably shown five reds – more on that shortly – including three reds in their heated 2-1 defeat to rivals Crystal Palace earlier this year.
Below, we take a closer look at Taylor’s record refereeing both Man United and Brighton.
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Anthony Taylor’s Manchester United Record
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 54 |
| Wins | 30 |
| Draws | 7 |
| Defeats | 17 |
| League Points | 82 |
| Penalties Per Game | 0.22 |
| Yellow Cards Per Game | 1.98 |
| Reds Per Game | 0.06 |
Taylor has officiated a whopping 54 Man United matches between 2012 and last month’s Manchester derby defeat. Over that span, United have registered 30 wins, seven draws, and 17 losses. Under his officiating, they’ve received 107 yellow cards, three reds, and have been awarded 12 penalties.
Taylor frequently handles high-profile matches involving United, having refereed five Manchester derbies, five clashes with Liverpool, and four encounters against Arsenal. Meanwhile, only one of his first 36 league and cup games involving United ended in a draw.
United’s form under Taylor has really dipped, with their last 12 league games producing just two wins, while they’ve lost their last two against Man City (3-0) and Brentford (4-3). The Bees game had a spattering of controversy when Taylor allowed Kevin Schade’s goal to stand despite Matthijs de Ligt being down injured earlier in the move.
Taylor also came under fire from Erik ten Hag during a goalless draw at Southampton two years ago, when he upgraded Casemiro’s yellow card to a red after a VAR review, sending the midfielder off after 34 minutes. Additionally, he waved away two penalty appeals for United.
United are currently without a win in their last four matches at Old Trafford refereed by Taylor, a streak going back to late 2022. On a positive note, from a disciplinary standpoint, they have received more than one booking in only one of Taylor’s last six matches.
Anthony Taylor’s Brighton Record
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Matches | 29 |
| Wins | 9 |
| Draws | 12 |
| Defeats | 8 |
| League Points | 33 |
| Penalties Per Game | 0.17 |
| Yellow Cards Per Game | 1.83 |
| Reds Per Game | 0.14 |
Brighton have won nine of the 29 matches with Taylor overseeing proceedings, during which they’ve lost eight times and claimed 12 draws. They’ve averaged 1.83 yellow cards per game, received five penalties, and had four players sent off.
Speaking of red cards, Taylor last refereed Brighton in April when they lost a heated affair to rivals Crystal Palace in a game in which he whipped out three red cards in the closing stages, sending off Jan Paul van Hecke for Albion.
In fact, Taylor has dished out a whopping five red cards in his last two Brighton games with Tariq Lamptey dismissed to the dressing room during a fiery 2-1 FA Cup fifth round win away to Newcastle, who themselves had Anthony Gordon sent off.
What can we expect on Saturday evening?
Although Man United are currently enjoying a rare two-game winning streak, they won’t be feeling overly confident about securing another three points with Anthony Taylor refereeing, especially considering their poor recent results under him and their shocking head-to-head record against Brighton.
Brighton’s recent matches with Taylor have been jam-packed with drama with the Seagulls receiving two red cards and 13 yellow cards in their last four games officiated by him. Taylor has also handed out four penalties during this period, two of which went to Brighton.