Referee Andy Madley has been handed his first Big Six Premier League showdown in two and a half years when he takes charge of Arsenal's visit to Anfield on Sunday.
Yorkshireman Madley, 43, is in his eighth year on the Premier League refereeing roster.
While he has been the man in the middle for five previous games between the Premier League's traditional powerhouses, the last was Manchester City's March 2024 3-1 derby win over United.
Madley has since taken charge of the 2024 FA Cup Final between the two Manchester giants, but his appointment by ProRef boss Howard Webb is a slight surprise.
Michael Oliver, widely recognised as the Premier League's top official and who whistled last week's game between PSG and Barcelona, is instead refereeing Tottenham's home game with Crystal Palace on Saturday.
That appointment suggests he is involved in Champions League duty on Tuesday.
Sunday's match will be only the sixth time Madley has taken charge of an Arsenal match in the top flight.
The Gunners have won two and lost one of the previous five, the last being the 2-0 home win over Everton in March.
By contrast, he has previously taken charge of 17 Liverpool games.
The Anfield outfit have won nine of those, including the 7-0 humiliation of Manchester United in 2023, and have lost three times.
The weekend's other high profile game, Chelsea's home match with struggling Manchester United, has been handed to Peter Bankes, who was excellent in Aston Villa's win over Manchester City on Saturday.
The game between Liverpool and Arsenal will be an important one early in the season as the Gunners look to keep pace with Manchester City at the top of the table.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are just six points off the Gunners in the build up to the showdown.
Liverpool have an impressive record against Arsenal at home and haven't lost to the north Londoners since September 2012.
As for Chelsea and United, the game comes after both sides suffered a dismal defeat last time out.
Chelsea were beaten 2-0 at home to rivals Tottenham, while United were on the end of a 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth.
That dreadful result extended Michael Carrick's run without a win to eight games.
The former United star has been given more time in the role despite coming under fire and falling out with captain Bruno Fernandes.
But a bad result at Stamford Bridge could see him axed amid speculation Eddie Howe or Antonio Conte could take over.
