The feast of food and drink usually consumed on Boxing Day is traditionally served with a big helping of Premier League football. But not this year.
Instead of the usual full program of fixtures, Man United vs Newcastle will be the only game from England’s top flight for fans, pundits and UK & Irish betting sites to indulge in come December 26.
But why and how has this come about?
A case of needs must for the Premier League
The Premier League is contractually obliged to have games across 33 weekend and 5 midweek slots throughout the season to satisfy TV broadcasters, like Sky Sports and TNT Sports.
And, according to the Premier League, the expansion of European competitions has left little wiggle room in the calendar for fixtures to be moved.
This, and the fact that Boxing Day falls on a Friday this year, means the Christmas round of games will be like a standard Premier League weekend, played on Saturday (27th) and Sunday (28th).
This way, the Premier League fulfils its commitments to TV companies while players get the appropriate recovery time between games over the Christmas period, another factor which had to be considered.
The beginning of the end for one of English football’s great traditions?
Top-flight games on Boxing Day have been a constant in the football calendar for as long as most can remember, with this year seeing the fewest number of fixtures in 43 years.
Fortunately, this will be a one-off, and Boxing Day football will revert to the way we know it in 2026 when 26th December falls on a Saturday.
It’s a consolation to know at least one tradition isn’t being done away with.
FA Cup replays are now a thing of the past, of course, with the prospect of lower league clubs progressing through the tournament and gaining a financial boost from a potentially lucrative extra game removed from the first round onwards, one of many changes made to the competition in recent years.
Are there benefits to the lack of Boxing Day Premier League football?
If you’re somebody who looks forward to parking yourself in front of the TV with a turkey sandwich and a box of Celebrations on December 26, probably not.
However, the lack of Premier League action presents an opportunity for the focus to shift toward the EFL, where there will be a full set of fixtures in the Championship, League One and League Two.
Those who cannot watch their own team on TV but still want their football fix (and possibly a distraction from the chaos of Christmas) could be encouraged to go and watch their local club, boosting the attendance of lower league teams and providing them with a much-needed financial boost in what, after all, is the season of goodwill.
And it’s not like fans will be starved of Premier League action over the Christmas and New Year period, with five rounds of fixtures (50 games) to be played over twenty days:
- Matchday 17: 20th – 22nd December
- Matchday 18: 26th – 28th December
- Matchday 19: 30th December – 1st January 2026
- Matchday 20: 3rd – 4th January
- Matchday 21: 6th – 8th January
Just one game then, but it’s all set to be a classic
Man United vs Newcastle has certainly been a fixture which has served up its fair share of Boxing Day entertainment in the past, with the two sides meeting at Old Trafford on 26th December in 2012, 2014 and 2019.
Sixteen goals were scored across the three games, which went the way of the hosts on each occasion. Unsurprisingly, some might say, given Man United have tasted more Boxing Day wins than any other club, and Newcastle have the most Boxing Day losses to their name.
While Man United have the historical advantage, it’s the Magpies who have had the edge in this game in recent times, with Eddie Howe’s side claiming the three points in this fixture last season.
Given their troubles on the road so far, it seems unlikely Newcastle will repeat the trick this year, especially since they’ll be facing a much-improved Man United side who are starting to turn Old Trafford into a fortress again.
But whichever side ends up with the gift of three points, Boxing Day’s one and only match has all the ingredients to be a Christmas classic, that’s for sure.
