The Premier League have officially announced that Martin Atkinson will be in charge of Liverpool’s next league game against Leicester City. The fixture will be played on 30 January at Anfield, with Atkinson set to be assisted by Stephen Child and Lee Betts.
Liverpool have a really good recent record under Atkinson. Their last defeat under him was over two years ago in the EFL Cup semifinals to Southampton. For their last league defeat, one needs to go even further back, all the way to March 2015.
Atkinson has already officiated two Liverpool fixtures this season- a 0-0 draw at home against Man City and a 3-1 win over Man Utd that effectively lead to the Red Devils sacking Jose Mourinho.
Leicester’s only game with Atkinson at the helm was on New Years’ Day earlier this month against Liverpool’s neighbours Everton. The Foxes came away from Goodison Park with a 1-0 win. Interesting for the Midlands outfit- they started the month with an Atkinson refereed game, and will finish it with another, both in the same city!
This particular fixture was last refereed by Atkinson on Boxing Day in the 2015/16 season, with Christian Benteke scoring the winner for the Reds against Claudio Ranieri’s side. That was of course the season Leicester won the title- one of the league’s greatest success stories.