Premier League Boxing Day and festive fixtures 2026/27
By Arasi Rex · Updated 9 August 2026 · 7 min read
The 2026/27 Boxing Day Premier League fixtures are the start of a three-round festive programme in eight days, with all 20 clubs playing three times in that window. The Boxing Day card on Saturday 26 December has 10 matches, headlined by Crystal Palace v Arsenal, Newcastle v Man City and Man Utd v Nott'm Forest. A midweek round follows on Wednesday 30 December, and the period closes on Saturday 2 January.
When the festive period runs
The festive period in 2026/27 runs from Boxing Day, Saturday 26 December 2026, to Saturday 2 January 2027: three rounds of 10 matches each in eight days. Boxing Day is a Saturday in 2026, so it carries a full programme rather than the one match the 2025/26 season had. The third round lands on Saturday 2 January rather than on New Year's Day itself, the equivalent date the fixture compilers use when the calendar does not line up.
The 2026/27 season runs 21 August 2026 to 30 May 2027 and is built from 33 weekend rounds and five midweek rounds. The festive period contains one of those midweek rounds, on Wednesday 30 December.
The Boxing Day fixtures and the rest of the festive card
Here is every festive fixture in the 2026/27 Premier League season, as scheduled, with the fixtures page as the reference for any changes. All of it is subject to change for television.
| Date | Kick-off (UK) | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 26 Dec | 15:00 | Hull City | Liverpool |
| Sat 26 Dec | 15:00 | Ipswich Town | Brentford |
| Sat 26 Dec | 15:00 | Man Utd | Nott'm Forest |
| Sat 26 Dec | 15:00 | Newcastle | Man City |
| Sat 26 Dec | 15:00 | Spurs | Bournemouth |
| Sat 26 Dec | 15:00 | Aston Villa | Leeds |
| Sat 26 Dec | 15:00 | Crystal Palace | Arsenal |
| Sat 26 Dec | 15:00 | Coventry City | Chelsea |
| Sat 26 Dec | 15:00 | Everton | Sunderland |
| Sat 26 Dec | 15:00 | Fulham | Brighton |
| Wed 30 Dec | 20:00 | Newcastle | Nott'm Forest |
| Wed 30 Dec | 20:00 | Aston Villa | Liverpool |
| Wed 30 Dec | 20:00 | Coventry City | Brentford |
| Wed 30 Dec | 20:00 | Crystal Palace | Bournemouth |
| Wed 30 Dec | 20:00 | Everton | Man City |
| Wed 30 Dec | 20:00 | Fulham | Arsenal |
| Wed 30 Dec | 20:00 | Hull City | Leeds |
| Wed 30 Dec | 20:00 | Ipswich Town | Chelsea |
| Wed 30 Dec | 20:00 | Spurs | Brighton |
| Wed 30 Dec | 20:00 | Man Utd | Sunderland |
| Sat 2 Jan | 15:00 | Brighton | Man Utd |
| Sat 2 Jan | 15:00 | Leeds | Everton |
| Sat 2 Jan | 15:00 | Liverpool | Coventry City |
| Sat 2 Jan | 15:00 | Man City | Spurs |
| Sat 2 Jan | 15:00 | Nott'm Forest | Fulham |
| Sat 2 Jan | 15:00 | Sunderland | Hull City |
| Sat 2 Jan | 15:00 | Bournemouth | Aston Villa |
| Sat 2 Jan | 15:00 | Arsenal | Ipswich Town |
| Sat 2 Jan | 15:00 | Chelsea | Newcastle |
| Sat 2 Jan | 15:00 | Brentford | Crystal Palace |
The Boxing Day and 2 January rounds are scheduled at 15:00 UK time, the weekend and bank-holiday default, and the 30 December round at 20:00, the midweek default. Every kick-off is subject to change for TV, so treat the times above as the fixture list's starting point rather than the final word.
The 60-hour rule and the festive flip
Over Christmas and New Year, no two match rounds fall within 60 hours. That is the league's own limit, and it is the closest the calendar gets to a normal weekly rhythm being compressed. In 2026/27 the three festive rounds sit 101 hours apart and then 67 hours apart, comfortably inside the rule, but the usual gap between rounds is a full week. The fixture list is built to feel relentless at Christmas, and it is.
The festive flip is the other structural quirk. A club that is at home on the first round of matches after Christmas Day will be away on New Year's Day or an equivalent date, and the midweek rounds work the same way. The 2026/27 fixtures follow the rule to the letter: the same ten clubs are at home on both 26 December and 30 December, and all ten of them are away on 2 January. The other ten are away on both festive rounds and at home on 2 January. Newcastle host Man City on Boxing Day and Nott'm Forest on 30 December, then travel to Chelsea. Man City go the other way, away at Newcastle and Everton, then home to Spurs on 2 January.
The compilers also try to keep travel light: clubs from the same area are kept off the same train lines on the same day, and fan journeys on Boxing Day and New Year's Day are minimised wherever the calendar allows.
Why the festive period matters for squads and for FPL
Three rounds in eight days is a squad problem. No club plays twice inside 60 hours, but nobody gets a normal week either, and the midweek round at 20:00 leaves just two days before the next 15:00 kick-off. Managers will rotate, and not because they want to. Three matches in eight days means no starting eleven survives the period intact, which is exactly what makes the festive window the biggest rotation risk in Fantasy Premier League.
The timing makes it worse. The first set of FPL chips must be used before the Gameweek 19 deadline, 13:30 GMT on Saturday 2 January 2027, and cannot be carried over. Gameweek 19 is the final round of the festive period, so the chip decision lands at the very moment the schedule is most punishing. Bench depth, not star power, is what gets a fantasy team through Christmas, and the double and blank gameweeks explainer covers the scheduling quirks that make festive planning a year-round hobby.
The midweek round
The middle of the festive period is the round that makes it feel like a slog: Wednesday 30 December, all ten matches at 20:00. It comes four days after Boxing Day and three days before the New Year round, and it is the only midweek round inside the festive window. Weekend and bank-holiday matches default to 15:00 UK time and midweek to 20:00, but everything moves for TV, and the broadcast picks are announced weeks in advance, so expect some of these to shift. The kick-off times guide explains the full machinery behind those moves, and the live scores page is where the final lineups and results land on the day.
FAQ
Which teams play on Boxing Day in the Premier League?
All 20 clubs play on Boxing Day 2026: 10 matches on Saturday 26 December, including Crystal Palace v Arsenal, Newcastle v Man City, Man Utd v Nott'm Forest and Hull City v Liverpool.
Why are festive fixtures so close together?
The league guarantees that no two match rounds fall within 60 hours, and the festive flip balances the calendar so clubs at home after Christmas are away for the New Year round. The result is three rounds in eight days.
Are there midweek rounds over Christmas?
Yes. The 2026/27 festive period includes a midweek round on Wednesday 30 December, with all 10 matches kicking off at the midweek default of 20:00.
When is the New Year's round of fixtures?
Saturday 2 January 2027 at 15:00. It is the equivalent date the compilers use when the festive calendar does not land on New Year's Day itself.
Key takeaways
- The 2026/27 festive period is three rounds in eight days: Saturday 26 December, Wednesday 30 December and Saturday 2 January, with all 20 clubs playing in every round.
- Boxing Day is a Saturday in 2026, so it carries a full 10-match programme, unlike the single match in 2025/26.
- No two festive rounds fall within 60 hours; in 2026/27 the tightest gap is 67 hours, between the 30 December and 2 January rounds.
- The festive flip holds exactly: the 10 clubs at home on 26 and 30 December are all away on 2 January, and the other 10 are home.
- In FPL the first set of chips expires before the Gameweek 19 deadline, 13:30 GMT on Saturday 2 January 2027, the final round of the festive period.
The Boxing Day Premier League fixtures for 2026/27 are the busiest the calendar allows. Three rounds in eight days, every club playing three times, no two rounds inside 60 hours, and the chip deadline landing on the last day of it all. It is relentless by design, and it is the best stretch of the season to watch and the worst one to predict.