The Premier League has confirmed there will be only one Premier League game on Boxing Day, with Manchester United to host Newcastle United at 8pm. The late kick-off may cause travel issues for Newcastle fans, with public transport limited on the holiday
The league cited the expansion of European competition in explaining its schedule. The last time Boxing Day was a Friday, in 2014, there was a full top-flight programme.
A Premier League spokesperson said: “The Premier League would like to acknowledge the circumstances that have led to a reduced number of matches on Boxing Day this season – impacting an important tradition in English football. There are now several challenges to Premier League fixture scheduling rooted in the expansion of European club competitions, which led to a revision of our domestic calendar ahead of last season, including changes to the FA Cup. This ultimately left the Premier League as a 33-weekend competition – fewer than previous seasons, despite being a 380-match competition since 1995.
“With fewer weekends to work with, the league is bound by how the calendar falls. The league can give an assurance that next season there will be more Premier League matches on Boxing Day as the date falls on a Saturday. As with previous years, and in keeping with our commitment to clubs, special arrangements have been made to allow more time between games played across the festive period. This will allow greater time for players to recover with the rest periods between rounds 18, 19 and 20 being increased to ensure that no club plays within 60 hours of another match.”
There will be seven Premier League games on Saturday 27 December, starting with Nottingham Forest hosting Manchester City at 12.30pm. Five games kick off at 3pm and Aston Villa are at Chelsea for a 5.30pm kickoff.
The last games of round 18 are the next day, with Sunderland v Leeds at 2pm before Crystal Palace host Tottenham at 4.30pm.
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The league must deliver 33 weekends of fixtures as part of its commitment to broadcasters. On a standard Premier League weekend fixtures are, by default, played at 3pm on Saturday unless they are moved to a specified broadcast slot. This season there is only one broadcast slot reserved for a Friday.
