- Tom Cayless
Simon Hooper appointed as referee for Aston Villa vs Manchester City
After another impressive victory in midweek, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City travel to Birmingham as they face Steven Gerrard's out-of-form Aston Villa side in the Premier League, live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom. The league has appointed Simon Hooper as referee for the 5:30 pm (BST) clash.
Simon Hooper
Born in Swindon, Hooper last refereed the Blues when they travelled down to the South Coast to face Southampton in the Premier League in a 1-1 draw, despite City going into the game on a 12-game win streak.
He had only refereed the Blues just once before when City and Bernardo Silva, in particular, breezed past Watford in a 3-1 victory last December.

So far this season, the 40-year-old has officiated three games; when Newcastle hosted Nottingham Forest on the opening weekend, Wolves visited Spurs, and Crystal Palace held Brentford to a draw, dishing out ten yellow cards in the process.
Full Appointments
Referee: Simon Hooper
Assistants: Adrian Holmes & Dan Robathan
Fourth Official: Peter Bankes
VAR: Mike Dean
Assistant VAR: Lee Betts
Written by: @TomCayless_
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