Match Officials: Craig Pawson to referee Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion (Premier League)

Match Officials: Craig Pawson to referee Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion (Premier League) It is the second match-up between the two sides in a matter of days, after their Carabao Cup fourth round meeting on Wednesday night was ultimately decided by a penalty shoot-out at the Etihad Stadium. Two saves from back-up goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli ensured progression for Enzo Maresca and his Manchester City players as their defence of the League Cup continues, with a quarter-final meeting against Bradford City awaiting at home in December. The Argentine international's heroics followed a 90 minutes that ended level thanks to a fortunate equaliser from Vitor Reis, responding to Georginio Rutter's early strike to regain Brighton's lead in the second-half. Malick Yalcouye had initially put the Seagulls ahead on 30 minutes in the first-half, before a sumptuous effort from Mateo Kovacic pulled the game level with just five minutes until the half-time interval. Last time out in the Premier League, City fell to a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa - their first loss in the top-flight in the brand new campaign - while Brighton also lost in a 2-0 scoreline at Anfield against Liverpool . Now, ahead of the meeting between Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion, the Premier League have announced the list of match officials to oversee proceedings at the Etihad Stadium! The Premier League have confirmed this week that the highly-experienced top-flight official Craig Pawson has been tasked with match referee duties at the Etihad Stadium for Manchester City against Brighton & Hove Albion. The 47-year-old will be overseeing his sixth game of the brand new season across the Premier League and Carabao Cup, having so far issued 23 yellow cards, one straight red card, and awarding one penalty in the process. The South Yorkshire-based match official has overseen a total of 32 matches involving Manchester City throughout his professional officiating career, with 23 of those outings resulting in a Sky Blue win, four ending in a draw, and five defeats for the Etihad side. In those same matches, Manchester City have received a total of 51 yellow cards from Craig Pawson, are yet to be handed a red card or second yellow card dismissal, and have received 10 penalty-kicks in their favour. City have not lost a game when Pawson has been the match referee since the end of September 2023, winning all of the last seven such matches - the most recent being the comeback win over Southampton in the 2026 FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium. Accompanying Craig Pawson at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon will be match officials Lee Betts  and  Alex James , appointed into the roles of assistant referees for the clash. Video Assistant Referees Overseeing Manchester City against Brighton & Hove Albion from the VAR Hub at Stockley Park will be Video Assistant Referee John Brooks , seated besides Assistant Video Assistant Referee Steve Meredith , the Premier League have confirmed. Fourth Official Managing events between the two Etihad Stadium dugouts will be referee John Busby , tasked with duties as the fourth official overseeing Manchester City's Enzo Maresca and Brighton & Hove Albion's Fabian Hurzeler.