Craig Pawson has been stood down as the referee for Chelsea's clash against Liverpool at Anfield due to COVID protocols.
Pawson has been replaced by Martin Atkinson as referee as a precaution after being informed that a close contact had tested positive for coronavirus.
Pawson will now be forced into a period of self-isolation until he is deemed ready to return to action.
Atkinson has only taken charge of one Chelsea match this season - the 0-0 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford, in which the Blues were angry they were denied a penalty following a challenge by Harry Maguire on Cesar Azpilicueta.
Pawson, meanwhile, has taken charge of three games for the Blues so far this season: the 2-0 loss against Leicester in January, the 2-0 win against Newcastle and the opening weekend win over Brighton.
Chelsea are hoping to take a big stride towards a top four place this season with a win over Liverpool at Anfield.
Thomas Tuchel's side currently sit fifth in the table, just a point behind West Ham having played the same number of games.
However, a win would take them within three points of Leicester City in third, who have been struggling with their form of late.
The Premier League has been under a renewed sense of urgency over coronavirus protocols following a number of breaches across December and January, but the number of positive tests has decreased rather dramatically.
Across the two rounds of testing between February 22 and February 28, just two new positive tests were found from 2,733 players and club staff.
That is the same amount of positive tests as in the first, second and third weeks of February, down from rounds that saw 28 and 36 positive results in December and January respectively.
