IThis day is traditionally one of the most anticipated on the English football calendar. However, this year there has been a notable lack of Premier League matches on Boxing Day, with only one game scheduled – Manchester United vs Newcastle.
Instead, seven games will be played on Saturday, followed by two more games on Sunday to complete the full schedule.
The Premier League announced in October that the reason it had reduced its Boxing Day schedule was due to increased pressure on England’s top flight due to the expansion of European club competitions.
Last year, a new Champions League format was introduced. This means Europe’s top club soccer tournament will expand from 32 to 36 teams, with more matches played in a league format until January, and a playoff phase added in February.
The Premier League, along with the second-tier Europa League and third-tier Conference League, said it was facing “some challenges” regarding its match schedule. It said the reduction in the number of Boxing Day matches affected “an important tradition of English football”.
Eight matches were played on Boxing Day last year.
The games were spread out between December 26 and 28, as Boxing Day falls on a Friday and the Premier League has set aside time between games to give players enough rest over the Christmas period.
“There will be less weekend availability and the league will be tied to what the calendar looks like,” the Premier League said.
Additionally, Boxing Day 2026 will fall on a Saturday, making it certain that more matches will be held.
Festival Premier League schedule
Friday 26th December Manchester United vs. Newcastle United Saturday 27th December Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester City Arsenal vs. Brighton Brentford vs. Bournemouth Burnley vs. Everton Liverpool vs. Wolverhampton West Ham vs. Fulham Chelsea vs. Aston Villa Sunday 28th December Sunderland vs. Leeds Crystal Palace vs. Tottenham Tuesday 30th December Burnley vs. Newcastle Chelsea vs. Bournemouth Nottingham Forest vs. Everton West Ham vs. Brighton Arsenal vs. Aston Villa Manchester United vs. Wolverhampton Thursday 1 January Crystal Palace vs. Fulham Liverpool vs. Leeds Brentford vs. Tottenham Sunderland vs. Manchester City Saturday 3rd January Aston Villa vs. Nottingham Forest Brighton vs. Burnley Wolverhampton vs. West Ham Bournemouth vs. Arsenal Sunday 4th January Leeds vs. Manchester United Everton vs. Brentford Fulham vs. Liverpool Newcastle vs. Crystal Palestine Tenham vs Sunderland Manchester City vs Chelsea Tuesday 6th January West Ham vs Nottingham Forest Wednesday 7th January Bournemouth vs Tottenham Brentford vs Sunderland Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa Everton vs Wolverhampton Fulham vs Chelsea Manchester City vs Brighton Burnley vs Manchester United Newcastle United vs Leeds United Thursday 8th January Arsenal vs Liverpool
