Paul Tierney Liverpool vs Man City appointment explained after major Premier League absence

Liverpool face Manchester City on Sunday looking to move 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League after 13 games. Chris Kavanagh has been appointed as the match referee for the Anfield showdown with Arne Slot going toe-to-toe with Pep Guardiola for the first time since arriving on Merseyside.

Paul Tierney has been named as the VAR with the 43-year-old in the Stockley Park hot seat for his second Reds game of the season, after being behind the screen for their 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Anfield at the beginning of November. However, it will be the first time he is on VAR for a Manchester City match since their 3-1 win at Brentford in February.

The Wigan-born official hasn't officiated a Premier League match so far this season after suffering a mid-to-long term injury, the Liverpool ECHO understands. Despite his issue, he is able to operate as the video assistant referee and is making good progress in his rehabilitation.

READ MORE: Mohamed Salah has exposed real contract problem Liverpool know they cannot control

READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold Liverpool contract mystery 'solved' after announcement theory

City travel to Anfield on the back of their fourth successive Premier League defeat following their bitter 4-0 loss at home to Tottenham Hotspur. Liverpool managed to capitalise on the slip up but needed heroics from Mohamed Salah as his brace earned a 3-2 win over Southampton.

"It's a healthy advantage but we also know what we had to put into it to get this lead and to get these wins," Slot said on their lead at the top. "And I only have to show the players there were maybe one or two games for us that were wins by a big margin, but the rest of them were all by small margins.

"I think it was last year, even later on in the season, that Arsenal led by eight points and City came back [to win the title]. You know if you face Arsenal, City, Chelsea and all these other teams - Tottenham were great [on Saturday] as well - they are all able to win so many games in a row.

"So it's nice to have this position, but we are definitely not getting carried away."