A last-minute change has been made to the referee for Aston Villa’s Premier League clash with Liverpool.
Originally, Stuart Attwell was scheduled to officiate the match at Villa Park on Wednesday night, but the 42-year-old has been replaced by Craig Pawson. Pawson had initially been assigned to referee Leeds United’s Championship match against Sunderland AFC at Elland Road on Monday evening but was swapped out for Attwell at the last minute. This led to speculation among fans that the change was due to Pawson’s rumored support for Sheffield United, though the Sheffield Star has reported that the decision was solely based on scheduling and not a conflict of interest.
As a result, Pawson will now officiate Villa’s game against Liverpool on Wednesday, with Villa aiming to close the gap to teams in the European spots.
A win for Villa would move them up to eighth place, level on points with Newcastle, just six points behind third-place Nottingham Forest, and three behind Manchester City in fourth, although Villa will have played one game more than their rivals.
Unai Emery expressed excitement ahead of the match, emphasizing the challenge of facing the league leaders. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, he said: “We are excited about how we will face them tomorrow. Liverpool are currently the best team in the Premier League and Europe, so it will undoubtedly be very difficult.
“Our challenge is to see how we can compete with them, how we can use our strengths against them, and how we can perform at this level to build confidence. We’re looking forward to an exciting moment at Villa Park with our supporters.”
He continued: “We must try to impose our game plan, dominate tactically and collectively, and make the most of our talented players to make a difference in individual duels and as a team. We’ll have to adapt to their style because Liverpool will demand a lot from us, both tactically and individually.
“I have a lot of respect for the high level of performance they’ve shown this year, which has been even better than the last two seasons since I’ve been here. Klopp did great things with them, but under Slot, they’re performing even better. For me as a coach, this is a huge challenge—one of the toughest we’ve faced in recent weeks and months.”
