Seven Premier League games scheduled for Boxing Day

Manchester United lost 2-1 at Aston Villa in the only match staged on Boxing Day 2026 [Getty Images] The Premier League has announced it will stage seven matches on Boxing Day this year after releasing its festive schedule. Four fixtures will be staged at 15:00 GMT, with further matches played at 12:30, 17:30 and 20:00. The fixture programme for 26 December, which falls on a Saturday in 2026, is considerably bigger than last year, when one game was held. Three matches will be played on Sunday, 27 December, while three further rounds of games will be held over a period up to Thursday, 7 January. A round of evening midweek fixtures will staged on 29-30 December, while Leeds will host Everton (20:00) for the only match on New Year's Day. The remainder of that round will be held over the weekend of 2-3 January, with the fourth round of games spread across the evenings of 5-7 January. The Premier League has brought forward the announcement of fixture scheduling over the Christmas and New Year period after consultation with both broadcast partners and the Football Supporters' Association and representatives from club Fan Advisory Boards. Television scheduling for Premier League fixtures has been announced up to Monday, 2 November, with broadcast selections for the remaining games in November and December to be announced in the weeks commencing 21 September and 19 October respectively. The Premier League has guaranteed clubs at least a 60-hour break between fixtures over the festive period to address the concerns over a congested festive schedule that follows recent expansions of the European and international calendars. Premier League Christmas and New Year schedule Saturday, 26 December 12:30 Aston Villa v Leeds 15:00 Everton v Sunderland 15:00 Fulham v Brighton 15:00 Ipswich v Brentford 15:00 Spurs v AFC Bournemouth 17:30 Hull v Liverpool 20:00 Newcastle v Manchester City Sunday, 27 December 14:00 Coventry v Chelsea 16:30 Manchester Utd v Nottingham Forest 19:00 Crystal Palace v Arsenal Tuesday, 29 December 19:30 Hull v Leeds 19:30 Spurs v Brighton 20:15 Everton v Manchester City Wednesday, 30 December 19:30 Coventry v Brentford 19:30 Crystal Palace v AFC Bournemouth 19:30 Fulham v Arsenal 19:30 Manchester United v Sunderland 19:30 Newcastle v Nottingham Forest 20:15 Aston Villa v Liverpool 20:15 Ipswich v Chelsea Friday, 1 January 20:00 Leeds v Everton Saturday, 2 January 12:30 Brighton v Manchester United 15:00 Arsenal v Ipswich 15:00 Brentford v Crystal Palace 15:00 Liverpool v Coventry 15:00 Nottingham Forest v Fulham 15:00 Sunderland v Hull 17:30 AFC Bournemouth v Aston Villa Sunday, 3 January 14:00 Chelsea v Newcastle 16:30 Manchester City v Spurs Tuesday, 5 January 19:30 Arsenal v Brentford 19:30 Brighton v AFC Bournemouth 19:30 Everton v Aston Villa 19:30 Nottingham Forest v Hull 20:15 Sunderland v Liverpool Wednesday, 6 January 19:30 Crystal Palace v Chelsea 19:30 Fulham v Spurs 19:30 Ipswich v Coventry 20:15 Leeds v Manchester City Thursday, 7 January 20:00 Manchester United v Newcastle All Premier League fixtures Follow your club with BBC Sport Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast Get football news sent straight to your phone