A former player who made Premier League history is set to be in the middle when Watford bid to end their awayday woes on Saturday.

Former Swindon Town, Bristol City and Bournemouth midfielder Sam Allison has been appointed to officiate in the Hornets’ trip to Sheffield Wednesday.

An ex-firefighter, Allison was the first black official to referee a Premier League fixture since Uriah Rennie in 2008 when he took charge of Luton Town’s 3-2 victory at Sheffield United on Boxing Day last year.

That game came a month after he was in the middle for his only fixture involving the Hornets last season, the 2-0 defeat at Leicester City on November 25 when he sent off Daniel Bachmann.

The 44-year-old has refereed eight league and cup matches so far this season, two of which have been in the top flight, and shown a total of 47 yellow cards.

Andrew Fox and Richard Woodward are due to be the assistant referees for the 3pm kick-off at Hillsborough, with Andy Davies the fourth official.

The Hornets head to Yorkshire aiming to end their five-match losing streak on the road in the Championship against an Owls side whose home form has been mixed, with two wins, two draws and two defeats from their six matches.