Ruebyn Ricardo will referee City’s Carabao Cup third-round tie against Norwich City at the Etihad Stadium tonight.
James Mainwaring and Richard Woodward will be the assistant referees, with Michael Salisbury appointed as fourth official. The game adds to a busy opening to Enzo Maresca’s first season at City, although it bears little relation to the fixture schedule dilemmas Pep Guardiola faced towards the end of the previous campaign.
Official match officials lineup
Ricardo will take charge of his sixth game of the season and his third in the Carabao Cup.
He refereed Birmingham City’s 1-0 first-round victory at Swansea City before overseeing West Ham United’s 4-1 win at Southampton in round two. Thursday will be his first senior Manchester City fixture, although he previously refereed City’s Under-21s in a 4-4 draw with Aston Villa in August 2023.
The officials at the Etihad will be:
Referee: Ruebyn Ricardo
Assistant referees: James Mainwaring and Richard Woodward
Fourth official: Michael Salisbury
There will be no VAR in operation, with the technology not used at this stage of the Carabao Cup.
Ricardo’s season statistics
Ricardo has spent much of his refereeing career in the EFL and took charge of 20 Championship matches during the 2025/26 season.
His appointments this term have included games in the Championship and Carabao Cup, while he has also worked as a fourth official in the Premier League. There is little recent City history from which to draw any conclusions, however, with Thursday his first competitive senior fixture involving the club.
City turn attention to Carabao Cup
City begin their Carabao Cup campaign four days after winning 1-0 against Manchester United at Old Trafford, despite playing for more than an hour with 10 men following Phil Foden’s first-half red card.
That recent derby disciplinary action means Foden will be suspended against Norwich, with Maresca expected to make changes as City negotiate another quick turnaround between games.
Ricardo will be the man in the middle as City begin their latest attempt to win a competition they lifted four seasons in succession between 2018 and 2021.
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