The Premier League has made some major changes to this year’s festive fixtures.
With Christmas over for another year, countless Brits will be turning their attention to the festive round of Premier League fixtures. For many, it’s a beloved tradition but there are some major changes this year which spell bad news for football fans.
In a controversial move, there’s only one Premier League game scheduled for Boxing Day. When the festive season’s fixtures were announced in October, the Premier League said the changes were made due to the ‘expansion of European club competitions’ and ‘how the calendar falls’.
“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,” it said. “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.”
Boxing Day falls on Friday this year, with seven games scheduled for Saturday, December 27, and two games on December 28, rounding out the gameweek. Man United host Newcastle in the single Boxing Day fixture, kicking off at 8pm on Sky Sports.
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Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
Fans without Sky access can catch the game with the brand’s £35 Essential TV, Netflix and Sky Sports bundle, which includes full Sky Sports coverage of the Premier League, EFL, World Darts Championship and more. This also includes around 100 regular channels such as Sky Atlantic, alongside free Netflix and Discovery+ subscriptions, but new customers will need to sign up for 24 months to get this deal.
Other televised games across the weekend include Nottingham Forest vs Man City, kicking off at 12.30pm on December 28. This game can be streamed via TNT Sports and Discovery+ or Prime Video’s TNT Sports channel, each of which costs £30.99 on a rolling monthly basis.
Later, Aston Villa travel to Chelsea in a must-see top four clash set for 5.30pm on Sky Sports. There are then two more games to close the weekend on Sunday, December 28, with Sunderland vs Leeds and Crystal Palace vs Spurs airing on Sky at 2pm and 4.30pm respectively.
Here’s the full list of Christmas 2025 Premier League fixtures:
Boxing Day 2025 Premier League fixtures
Friday, December 26
- Man United vs Newcastle (8pm, Sky Sports)
Saturday, December 27
- Nottingham Forest vs Man City (12.30pm, TNT Sports)
- Arsenal vs Brighton
- Brentford vs Bournemouth
- Burnley vs Everton
- Liverpool vs Wolves
- West Ham vs Fulham
- Chelsea vs Aston Villa (5.30pm, Sky Sports)
Sunday, December 28
- Sunderland vs Leeds (2pm, Sky Sports)
- Crystal Palace vs Spurs (4.30pm, Sky Sports)
