Anthony Taylor is one of the most experienced whistlers in the Premier League, with almost 15 years of big match experience and more than 400 top-flight games under his belt.
He’ll be the man in the middle at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon, as he was last December when Manchester United plundered the derby spoils against Manchester City in stunning fashion with late goals via a Bruno Fernandes spot-kick and Amad Diallo’s winner.
Taylor, who was born in nearby Wythenshawe, is taking charge of a Manchester derby for the fifth time.
There will be plenty of pressure on him to get the big calls right as both clubs look to avoid a continuation of their stuttering starts to the season, with rival bosses Pep Guardiola and Ruben Amorim under the microscope.
City started with a four-goal romp at Wolves but have since slipped to successive losses against Tottenham and Brighton.
United, meanwhile, lost their opener at home to Arsenal, settled for a point on the road at Fulham and needed a stoppage-time penalty from Fernandes to get the better of Burnley last time out at Old Trafford.
Anthony Taylor’s record in charge of Manchester City
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Penalties awarded to Man City | Yellow cards for Man City | Red cards for Man City |
| 47 | 25 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 64 | 4 |
Anthony Taylor’s record in charge of Manchester United
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Penalties awarded to Man Utd | Yellow cards for Man Utd | Red cards for Man Utd |
| 53 | 30 | 7 | 16 | 12 | 107 | 3 |
Notable performances
Man City were in the midst of a poor run last December when United came calling but Josko Gvardiol’s 36th-minute header looked set to provide some relief for the Citizens.
It all went pear shaped late on, however, as Matheus Nunes presented Amad Diallo with the ball before compounding his error by flattening the forward as he made an attempt to recover his mistake, leaving Taylor with no option but to point to the penalty spot.
Fernandes levelled and, moments later, Diallo fired home from an acute angle for an unlikely Red Devils win.
Taylor has taken charge of four Manchester derbies, overseeing two United wins, one for City and one draw.
Previous results
This will be the first time this season that Taylor has taken charge of either of the Manchester clubs.
He last encountered the Red Devils in May in their 4-3 loss at Brentford, with two cautions for the visitors and none for the home side.
Taylor’s most recent game in charge of City was their 2-0 home loss against eventual champions Liverpool in February – a contest that went by without a single caution for either side.