The Premier League are yet to finalise and announce their fixtures for the Christmas period but the expectation is that there will be only one game on Boxing Day.
It is tradition for a full slate of fixtures to be scheduled for December 26 and broadcasting agreements suggested wall-to-wall coverage would be possible this year.
But it has since been widely reported that the Premier League could now hold just one fixture on Boxing Day with the remainder held over the weekend.
That comes with Boxing Day falling on a Friday this year and the Premier League contractually obliged to make 33 weekends of football available to broadcasters in a season.
The Guardian‘s Paul MacInnes reports that the expansion of the Champions League and the FA Cup being moved exclusively to weekends has left the Premier League struggling to find an alternative to offer.
It is therefore considered almost certain that matchweek 18 will be scheduled as per usual throughout the season: one game on the Friday, one on the Monday and the remainder over Saturday and Sunday.
Liverpool vs. Wolves set as festive fixture
Liverpool are currently scheduled to host Wolves on December 27 but the date is still subject to change.
No decision has been made over which fixture would be held on Boxing Day if the Premier League is limited to just one, with a variety of factors in consideration.
It could be argued that the most attractive fixture for broadcasters would be Man United vs. Newcastle, though there is no guarantee that December 26 would even be seen as the prime slot for that weekend.
The Reds have played – and won – on Boxing Day in each of the last three years, with victories over Aston Villa (2022), Burnley (2023) and Leicester (2024).
They were due to play Leeds on the same date in 2021 but that fixture was postponed three days prior due to an outbreak of COVID-19 in the opponents’ squad.
The last time Liverpool were not scheduled a Boxing Day game was in 2020, instead drawing 1-1 with West Brom on December 27 of that year.
Fixtures for the festive period were initially set to be announced on October 15, but the most recent update only included dates up to and including December 22.
As part of a commitment to supporters made in the summer, the latest the Premier League can delay the announcement of fixtures around Boxing Day is mid-November.
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