Referee Paul Tierney will take charge of Leeds United’s visit to Crystal Palace this weekend, it has been announced.
The Whites earned a point and a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa last weekend, despite being down to ten-men for the majority of the second-half following Luis Sinisterra’s dismissal for two bookable offences.
Jesse Marsch’s side sit 12th in the Premier League table heading into the weekend’s fixtures, having earned nine points from a possible 21.
Neil Davies and Constantine Hatzidakis will run the line at Selhurst Park with Graham Scott acting as fourth official, whilst Peter Banks and Nick Greenhalgh will act as VAR and assistant VAR respectively.
What do the stats say?
Tierney has taken charge of four games this season, brandishing 26 yellow cards and dismissing two players this season, according to Transfermarkt.
The last time the 41-year-old took charge of a game involving Marsch’s side was for their famous final day victory at Brentford last season, in which the Whites secured Premier League survival following a 2-1 victory.
In fact Tierney has refereed a number of fixtures involving the Whites over the years, totaling 19 games and issuing two red cards to the club in Championship fixtures against Watford and Brighton. The Whites have a negative record from these 18 games, with eight wins and nine losses, as well as one draw (as per Transfermarkt).
TIF Thoughts…
We think that Leeds will be slightly concerned about their record under Tierney and will be hoping that luck favours them a bit more than it normally would with the man in the middle this weekend, though it ultimately is up to the players to bring home the three points.
Indeed, it’s safe to say that there have been a fair controversial incidents involving Leeds and Tierney, with Times journalist Martin Hardy branding his display in the contest between Manchester City and the Whites as ‘horrible’, which contributed to Stuart Dallas’ injury. He also made a mistake that could have directly affected Leeds’ relegation fight last season as he failed to send Ashley Barnes off in what was an ‘astonishing’ decision, according to former Premier League referee Mark Halsey.
Marsch will be hoping that he is not reduced to ten men yet again this week, and will be hoping to get through the game suspension free so he has a relatively fully fit squad for Sinisterra’s return next week.
Travelling fans will be hoping for more entertainment than was on offer during last season’s 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park, with the Whites looking to earn three points to potentially push themselves into the top-half of the table.