The Premier League has confirmed a significant adjustment to its winter schedule for the 2025\/26 season: Boxing Day will feature a single top-flight fixture, Manchester United vs. Newcastle United at Old Trafford. The decision marks a departure from the long-standing holiday period format and follows a reworking of the December calendar.<\/p>\n
Instead of a crowded Boxing Day, the league said there will be 10 matches between Dec. 20\u201322, no matches through Christmas Day and then Manchester United hosting Newcastle at Old Trafford on Boxing Day. The league pointed to congestion across competitions as the root cause: European club competition expansion, a revised domestic calendar and changes to the FA Cup reduced the number of available weekends.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Premier League would like to acknowledge the circumstances that have led to a reduced number of matches on Boxing Day this season \u2013 impacting an important tradition in English football,\u201d the league said Friday.<\/p>\n
The statement elaborated on the scheduling constraints. \u201cThere are now several challenges to Premier League fixture scheduling rooted in the expansion of European club competitions\u2014which 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\u2014fewer than previous seasons, despite being a 380-match competition since 1995,\u201d the league said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith 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\u2014as the date falls on a Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recent changes guarantee no team will play two matches within 60 hours of each other. The league published the full slate from Boxing Day through New Year\u2019s Day as follows:<\/p>\n
Dec. 26, 2025 \u2014 Manchester United vs. Newcastle United
\nDec. 27, 2025 \u2014 Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester City
\nDec. 27, 2025 \u2014 Arsenal vs. Brighton
\nDec. 27, 2025 \u2014 Brentford vs. Bournemouth
\nDec. 27, 2025 \u2014 Burnley vs. Everton
\nDec. 27, 2025 \u2014 Liverpool vs. Wolves
\nDec. 27, 2025 \u2014 West Ham United vs. Fulham
\nDec. 27, 2025 \u2014 Chelsea vs. Aston Villa
\nDec. 28, 2025 \u2014 Sunderland vs. Leeds United
\nDec. 28, 2025 \u2014 Crystal Palace vs. Tottenham Hotspur
\nDec. 30, 2025 \u2014 Burnley vs. Newcastle United
\nDec. 30, 2025 \u2014 Chelsea vs. Bournemouth
\nDec. 30, 2025 \u2014 Nottingham Forest vs. Everton
\nDec. 30, 2025 \u2014 West Ham United vs. Brighton
\nDec. 30, 2025 \u2014 Arsenal vs. Aston Villa
\nDec. 30, 2025 \u2014 Manchester United vs. Wolves
\nJan. 1, 2026 \u2014 Crystal Palace vs. Fulham
\nJan. 1, 2026 \u2014 Liverpool vs. Leeds United
\nJan. 1, 2026 \u2014 Brentford vs. Tottenham Hotspur
\nJan. 1, 2026 \u2014 Sunderland vs. Manchester City<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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