Premier League festive schedule to feature first Christmas Eve match in 28 years

By
published

The Premier League has confirmed the action-packed Christmas schedule will include a match on Christmas Eve

Cole Palmer of Chelsea speaks to Raheem Sterling before a penalty kick during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC at Stamford Bridge on October 21, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Premier League clubs have learned of their schedules over the Christmas period, with fixtures over the festive period announced.

Just the second-ever Premier League fixture hosted on Christmas Eve will be played between Wolves and Chelsea at Molineux on Sunday 24 December, 28 years after Leeds United beat Manchester United 3-1 in 1995. 

Originally scheduled for December 23, the game has now moved as clubs look to squeeze in as many games as possible ahead of a winter break in January.

The Premier League said: "As in previous seasons, special arrangements have been made to allow more time between games played across the three festive matchweeks.

Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea in action with Joao Moutinho and Hwang Hee-Chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea FC at Molineux on April 8, 2023 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)

Chelsea's match away at Wolves will be played on Christmas Eve (Image credit: Getty Images)

"This will allow greater time for players to recover, with the rest periods between matchweeks 18, 19 and 20 being increased to ensure that no club plays within 60 hours of another match."

Starting from Thursday 21 December, the Premier League schedule will feature just two free days across a fortnight - Christmas Day and December 29 - starting with Crystal Palace hosting Brighton and concluding with West Ham's match against the same opponents on Thursday 2 January. 

Manchester City's home match against Brentford, originally scheduled for December 23, has been postponed due to Pep Guardiola's side competing in the FIFA Club World Cup. 

Sky Sports, TNT Sports and Amazon Prime will all share broadcasting duties over the festive period. 

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola gives instructions to his team during the Premier League match between Brentford FC and Manchester City at Gtech Community Stadium on May 28, 2023 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)

Manchester City's game against Brentford has been postponed (Image credit: Getty Images)

Premier League Christmas fixture schedule 

Thursday 21 December

Crystal Palace vs Brighton, 8pm GMT

Friday 22 December

Aston Villa vs Sheffield United, 8pm GMT

Saturday 23 December

West Ham vs Manchester United, 12.30pm GMT
Fulham vs Burnley, 3pm GMT
Luton Town vs Newcastle United, 3pm GMT
Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth, 3pm GMT
Tottenham vs Everton, 3pm GMT,
Liverpool vs Arsenal, 5.30pm GMT

Sunday 24 December

Wolves vs Chelsea, 1pm GMT

Tuesday 26 December

Newcastle United vs Nottingham Forest, 12.30pm GMT
Bournemouth vs Fulham, 3pm GMT
Sheffield United vs Luton Town, 3pm GMT
Burnley vs Liverpool, 5.30pm GMT
Manchester United vs Aston Villa, 8pm GMT

Wednesday 27 December

Brentford vs Wolves, 5.30pm GMT
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace, 5.30pm GMT
Everton vs Manchester City, 8.15pm GMT

Thursday 28 December

Brighton vs Tottenham, 7.30pm GMT
Arsenal vs West Ham, 8.15pm GMT

Saturday 30 December

Luton Town vs Chelsea, 12.30pm GMT
Aston Villa vs Burnley, 3pm GMT
Crystal Palace vs Brentford, 3pm GMT
Manchester City vs Sheffield United, 3pm GMT
Wolves vs Everton, 3pm GMT
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United, 5.30pm GMT

Sunday 31 December

Fulham vs Arsenal, 2pm GMT
Tottenham vs Bournemouth, 2pm GMT

Monday 1 January

Liverpool vs Newcastle United, 8pm GMT

Tuesday 2 January

West Ham vs Brighton, 8pm GMT

Ryan Dabbs
Ryan Dabbs
Staff writer

Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.