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Fans often take a keen interest in which official is chosen in upcoming fixtures (mainly so they know who to blame if they lose), and a massive derby against your closest rivals is no exception.

It's why both Man United and Man City fans were so interested to see who'll take charge of their huge Thursday night clash, a game which could go a long way to deciding who sneaks into a precious top four spot come the end of the season.

And Martin Atkinson has been revealed as the next derby referee.

The Yorkshireman in the middle has overseen three United fixtures already in their 2016/17 campaign.

(Image: Plumb Images)

Admittedly, one of those was their 4-0 tonking at Chelsea back in October - while the other two were a 3-1 win over Sunderland in December and the 2-1 victory at Blackburn in the FA Cup in February.

But for all the criticism Atkinson gets from fans throughout the Premier League, his recent record taking charge of the Manchester derby is set to please Red Devils fans... a lot.

(Image: Getty Images)

The last three he's officiated came in 2009, 2010 and 2012 - and each one ended with Manchester United edging an injury time victory.

Not positive news for City fans, eh?

We've had a peek in the Premier League archives to take a look at what happened in those games:

Man United 4-3 Man City | September 2009

(Image: Tom Purslow/Manchester United via Getty Images)

Surely any Premier League fan remembers this infamous example of Fergie Time?

The fixture looked to be heading for a draw after Craig Bellamy equalised in the 90th minute and the clock ticked past the indicated four additional minutes.

Bet it kept ticking, and ticking, and ticking... until Michael Owen poked in a winner on 96 minutes.

We suspect Mark Hughes still hasn't forgiven Atkinson for his timekeeping that day.

Man City 0-1 Man United | April 2010

(Image: Getty)

A scrappy, forgettable game at the Etihad was lit up by United legend Paul Scholes late on.

The Red Devils legend nodded in a 93rd minute winner to keep their title hopes alive with just three games left to play in the 2009/10 season.

Sure, they lost out to Chelsea eventually. But as you can see, Gary Neville got a prize of his own that day.

Man City 2-3 Man United | December 2012

(Image: Getty Images)

Another remarkable piece of late action in the Manchester derby.

Martin Atkinson's watch was just about to tick into the third minute of added time when Robin van Persie's deflected free-kick earned United all three points and sent the away end into pandemonium.

The omens aren't looking good for Man City, are they?

So don't worry if you're not winning after 90 minutes, Jose - Martin Atkinson will always find time!