For right and for wrong, referees have played a huge part in Chelsea's start to the 2022/23 Premier League season, and game week four will see Paul Tierney move from behind the scenes to centre stage for the clash against Leicester.
The ever-present Englishman took charge of the VAR for the tie at Elland Road on the weekend. and was also the man in the middle for this reverse fixture at King Power Stadium in 2021, which saw the Blues leave with a 3-0 victory.
Tierney's most recent game was at Anfield for Liverpool's 1-1 draw versus Crystal Palace where he handed out six cards in yellow and one in red to Darwin Nunez; those seven mean he has produced 16 bookings in his previous three matches.
However, in his most recent 90' with Thomas Tuchel's side, he only dished out two and both of which were given to Middlesbrough players during their meeting in the FA Cup back in March.
Andre Marriner is set to replace him at Stockley Park for his first Chelsea involvement of the new campaign, since he was the fourth official for this exact match-up in May.
A slow start to the season seems to be all the trend at the moment but supporters will be pleading for a response, after the poor performance and even worse result at Leeds United, regardless of the men in black.
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