Mike Riley of West Yorkshire will referee his third Liverpool game of the season as we travel to London to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Carling Cup.

He has been blowing his whistle in the top flight since 1996, and on the European scene since 1999. 2003/04 though was his most successful season so far, he was in the middle for the Carling Cup final between Middlesbrough and Bolton Wanderers, and in the same month he received the call from UEFA about his inclusion for Portugal 2004 where he refereed two games. But it was his second game, a 0-0 draw between Latvia and Germany where his performance on the day had fans scratching their heads. He has not refereed in a major tournament since, although he is still one of three UEFA Elite referees in the Premiership.

Riley is one of three current referees who have refereed both domestic cup finals, the FA Cup in 2002 and the Carling cup two years later. In 2007 he refereed the Hong Kong FA Cup Final between South China and Happy Valley. He awarded three penalties in the game that South China won 3-1.

Mike has refereed us three times before in this competition, twice in 2003 when we beat Blackburn Rovers 4-3 in the third round, and then when Bolton beat us 3-2 in the nxt round. The following year he then refereed our Semi-Final win at Watford. This will be the first time he has refereed Tottenham in this competition.

He has already refereed Liverpool twice this season, both times in the Premiership and both times we ended up the victors, 2-1 against Middlesbrough and 2-0 against Everton. He has yet to referee Tottenham this season, his last time at White Hart Lane saw an amazing game as they shared 8 goals with Chelsea in a 4-4 draw back in March with our own Robbie Keane getting the equaliser in the last two minutes.

His assistants are Peter Kirkup and Philip Sharp with Mick Russell as the fourth official.

Some memorable games involving Liverpool and Mike Riley.

27th September 1999 - Sander Westerveld, Steven Gerrard and Francis Jeffers see red as Kevin Campbell's goal gives Everton a 1-0 win.

17th December 2000 - Luke Chadwick sees red as Liverpool come away from Old Trafford with all 3 points thanks to a Danny Murphy free-kick.

27th January 2002 - Arsenal knock us out of the FA Cup to gain revenge for the 2001 Cup Final win. Martin Keown, Dennis Bergkamp and Jamie Carragher are all sent off during the game.

5th April 2003 - Sami Hyypia is sent off in the first 5 minutes at Old Trafford as we go on to lose 4-0.

24th April 2004 - Danny Murphy gets his third winner at Old Trafford, this time from the penalty spot.

15th May 2004 - A 1-1 draw against Newcastle United at Anfield ensured Champions League qualification. It was also the last Liverpool match for Gerard Houllier, Michael Owen, Danny Murphy and Emile Heskey.

1st April 2005 - Chelsea win 1-0 at Anfield as Riley turns down appeal for a blatant Liverpool penalty.

25th April 2005 - A Steven Gerrard goal secures our path to the Carling Cup Final after winning 1-0 at Watford.

2nd December 2006 - Danny Guthrie and Gabriel Paletta make their Premiership debuts as second half substitutes during a 4-0 win at Wigan Athletic.

11th August 2007 - Fernando Torres makes his Premiership debut along with Andrey Voronin and Ryan Babbel who come on as second half substitutes in a -1 win at Aston Villa.

15th September 2007 - Pepe Riena saves a penalty and keeps a clean sheet as we draw 0-0 at Portsmouth.

23rd August 2008 - A late winner from Steven Gerrard gives us all 3 points in our first Premiership match at Anfield this season.

27th September 2008 - A Torres double gives us another derby win against Everton at Goodison Park.