Clattenburg is handed Stamford Bridge showdown

The appointment marks a return to the fold for the 33-year-old, who also got a private rebuke from referees' chief Keith Hackett for his performance in Blackburn's 5-3 defeat at Wigan in December.

It will raise eyebrows because Howard Webb, widely regarded as the best official, will be at neither of the 'Grand Slam Sunday' games.

Manchester United's equally explosive clash with Liverpool has been given to Steve Bennett, while Webb will be at the comparatively low-profile match between Aston Villa and Sunderland on Saturday.

Insiders say that Hackett has decided to change the policy of automatically selecting his top official for the biggest games because he is wary of repeating the situation where Graham Poll always got first pick. Clattenburg, the youngest English referee to be appointed to the

FIFA list, will be in the spotlight for a fixture that has become increasingly bitter in recent seasons.

In December, John Terry missed 14 games with an ankle injury after a high tackle by Emmanuel Eboue, a few minutes after Terry himself had caught Cesc Fabregas with a late foul during Arsenal's 1-0 win.

Players from both sides brawled during last year's Carling Cup Final, in which Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor of Arsenal and Chelsea's John Mikel Obi were sent off.

But Sunday's game is seen by Hackett as a chance for the Gosforthbased official to put his problems earlier this season behind him and prove he is back to his best form.

Clattenburg infuriated David Moyes with his handling of Liverpool's 2-1 win at Goodison and Moyes got an FA charge for suggesting the official had been influenced by staying with Rafa Benitez's side during a pre-season tour.

He caused a storm with a series of blunders at Wigan and Hackett made it clear that he would have been dropped from the list had he not already booked a Christmas break.

But Hackett, himself the subject of withering criticism from Sir Alex Ferguson two weeks ago over the way he chooses officials, feels that Clattenburg is back on top of his game and has earned a high-profile match under the policy of picking on form.

He has stuck by him through further controversy when he sent Ferguson to the stands at Bolton, a decision which landed the Manchester United boss with a touchline ban.

The referees' chief also wants a no-nonsense approach to the high-profile games rather than what he sees as the lower-profile style of Alan Wiley and Mark Halse, and that explains his choice of Clattenburg and Bennett, who is one of the division's strictest disciplinarians.

Kent official Bennett also has previous with Ferguson, who accused him of failing to protect Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese winger was sent off two years ago in a Manchester derby defeat. Bennett also sent off Ronaldo at Portsmouth in August.

While Bennett is criticised as a stickler for the rules, his consistency makes him a regular choice for big games. He feels players set the agenda and once said: "The laws are clear, I have to apply them. Sometimes the players put you in a position where you have to react."