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Referee Michael Oliver was in charge as Everton took on Stoke City in the third week of the Premier League this season. Now he’s been appointed as the referee for Saturday’s tilt at Manchester City as well.
Oliver has been in charge for 25 of the Toffees games, and no other team in football has had more of their matches refereed by the Northumbrian. The Blues beat the Potters in that late August fixture, handing out yellow cards to Ross Barkley and Gareth Barry (of course) as well as awarding the home side a generous penalty as Ashley Williams tumbled to the ground during a corner. Leighton Baines scored the penalty via an own goal from goalie Shay Given for the Blues to win 1-0.
The Blues have never had a game against City officiated by Oliver, and the last away game he was in charge for the Toffees was in August 2015 when Everton beat Ronald Koeman’s Southampton 3-0. Incidentally, Oliver has never refereed a draw in a City game, a total of eleven fixtures.
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Match Officials details -
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistants: G Beswick, S Burt
Fourth official: A Taylor
Michael Oliver’s Everton record -