Premier League Revives Boxing Day Tradition: Seven Matches Scheduled for December 26
The Premier League has officially confirmed that the long-awaited Boxing Day classic schedule will return to fans' view. On December 26 local time, the league will arrange seven exciting matches. Recalling the previous season, only one match between Manchester United and Newcastle was scheduled on Boxing Day, with the official reason given as the increased density of European club competitions and a compromise to ensure at least 33 match rounds fell on weekends.
According to the latest released schedule blueprint, the 2026-27 season will restore the traditional home-and-away matchups, with Newcastle United hosting Manchester City seen as the focus of the round. Boxing Day matches will kick off at 12:30 PM local time, with Aston Villa facing Leeds United first. Then at 3:00 PM, four matches will kick off simultaneously: Everton vs Sunderland, Fulham vs Brighton, Ipswich vs Brentford, and Tottenham Hotspur vs Bournemouth, all starting at the same time.
At 5:30 PM, Hull City will host Liverpool; at 8:00 PM, Manchester City will visit St James' Park to challenge Newcastle. Both matches will be televised live in the UK. The other three matches will be moved to December 27: Coventry vs Chelsea is scheduled to kick off at 2:00 PM, Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest will start at 4:30 PM, and Arsenal will travel to face Crystal Palace at 7:00 PM.
The following rounds 18 and 19 are scheduled for December 29 and 30. According to Premier League rules, the maximum number of midweek match rounds per season is five. Since Boxing Day falls on a Saturday this year, the league was able to spread the matches across December 26 and 27, thereby not using midweek slots. As for when Boxing Day falls on a Tuesday in 2028, there is currently no clear statement on whether the league will adjust the schedule.
Before the specific kick-off times and broadcast arrangements are announced, the Premier League has accelerated the selection process for match weeks 17 to 20 (covering the Christmas holiday) with its broadcast partners. Officials said that this schedule announcement came more than three months earlier than usual, aiming to give fans ample time to plan holiday travel. Previously, the league had held consultations with representatives from the Football Supporters' Association and various clubs' fan advisory boards. Meanwhile, the Premier League has committed to ensuring that each team has at least 60 hours of recovery time between two matches during this period, fulfilling a previous promise to clubs to alleviate the pressure of the dense festive schedule.