The Premier League have confirmed who will officiate Manchester United’s upcoming tie against Chelsea on Friday evening, with two players barred from action.
Manchester United are preparing for their penultimate Premier League fixture of the 2024/25 campaign, as Rúben Amorim’s Reds head to London to take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge under the Friday night lights.
The match represents United’s final away outing of the season, with their last game coming at Old Trafford on Sunday 25 May, where they’ll welcome Aston Villa in a bid to end a dismal league campaign on some sort of high.
Attention, though, is already shifting towards the Europa League final, with United set to face Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao on Wednesday 21 May, offering a final chance to salvage something from a difficult season.
No matter the results in these remaining fixtures, United have already confirmed their worst-ever Premier League finish, sitting 16th in the table with only 39 points from 36 matches.
Premier League confirm Chelsea vs United referee
Chris Kavanagh (pictured above) will be the referee on Friday evening in London. Kavanagh has officiated 24 Premier League fixtures this season, ten UEFA games, and three across other domestic competitions.
Kavanagh has met United twice this season. The first time out was a 3-0 loss against Tottenham at Old Trafford in September, with the second coming in a 4-1 loss against Newcastle last month.
So far this season, Kavanagh has issued 106 yellow cards in the Premier League and 186 across all competitions. He has issued two red cards this season via two yellow cards and six straight red cards. He has awarded six penalties, three of which came in the Premier League.
During the game, Lee Betts and Richard West will serve as Kavanagh’s assistant referees. Tony Harrington will be the fourth official on Friday evening, separating Amorim and Enzo Maresca.
Craig Pawson has been appointed as the Video Assistant Referee. Nick Hopton will act as assistant VAR.
Two Chelsea players suspended for the United tie
Chelsea have been dealt a double blow ahead of their upcoming clash with Amorim’s United, as two key players will be unavailable for selection.
In their previous outing, Chelsea suffered a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United, during which Nicolas Jackson received a straight red card for deliberately elbowing Sven Botman in the first half.
The incident was classified as serious foul play, resulting in a three-match suspension for the Senegalese forward, which will rule him out of Friday’s game against United.
Meanwhile, Jadon Sancho is also set to miss the match. Although Chelsea are obliged to make his move permanent this summer, he remains on loan from United for the remainder of the season.
Under FA rules, loan players cannot face their parent clubs in domestic competitions, making Sancho ineligible to feature against his former side.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 12:30 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.