As ever there is a feast of festive football action to tuck into after Christmas, with the Premier League squeezing in two matchdays from Boxing Day to 30 December.
With new coronavirus restrictions meaning just Everton and Liverpool are allowed supporters at stadiums, the majority of fans will be watching from home to see whether their sides can come through this tricky period with maximum points and zero injuries.
And for the football fanatic who will watch just about anything, there will be more than 22 hours of Premier League football to watch in the next five days across Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon Prime and BBC Sport.
Premier League on TV
Boxing Day – 26 December
- 12.30pm: Leicester vs Man Utd – BT Sport
- 3pm: Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace – BBC Sport
- 3pm: Fulham vs Southampton – Sky Sports
- 5.30pm: Arsenal vs Chelsea – Sky Sports
- 8pm: Man City vs Newcastle – BT Sport
- 8pm: Sheffield United vs Everton – BT Sport
Sunday 27 December
- 12pm: Leeds vs Burnley – Sky Sports
- 2.15pm: West Ham vs Brighton – Sky Sports
- 4.30pm: Liverpool vs West Brom – Sky Sports
- 7.15pm: Wolves vs Spurs – Sky Sports
Monday 28 December
- 3pm: Crystal Palace vs Leicester – Amazon Prime
- 5.30pm: Chelsea vs Aston Villa – Amazon Prime
- 8pm: Everton vs Man City – Amazon Prime
Tuesday 29 December
- 6pm: Brighton vs Arsenal – Amazon Prime
- 6pm: Burnley vs Sheffield United – Amazon Prime
- 6pm: Southampton vs West Ham – Amazon Prime
- 6pm: West Brom vs Leeds – Amazon Prime
- 8pm: Man Utd vs Wolves – Amazon Prime
Wednesday 30 December
- 6pm: Tottenham vs Fulham – Amazon Prime
- 8pm: Newcastle vs Liverpool – Amazon Prime
All eyes on Arsenal on Boxing Day
The Boxing Day action begins with second hosting third at the King Power Stadium as Leicester welcome Manchester United for a match which leaders Liverpool will certainly have a keen eye on.
Neither Leicester or United can leapfrog Liverpool, but the winner would close in on Jurgen Klopp’s side, who are not in action until 27 December.
It is therefore a crucial match which puts both teams’ title credentials to the test, while for Leicester they are out to beat the team who overhauled them in the race for Champions League football last season.
Come the evening, attention will turn to the Emirates, where Chelsea will be out to pile the misery on Arsenal and their manager Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal are 15th at Christmas and without a win in six Premier League games. Chelsea know a victory in this London derby would boost their own title hopes and put their old rivals under even greater pressure.
Arteta will be dreading what the prospect of defeat could bring.
Title rivals Liverpool and Spurs in action on 27 December
After learning the size of the task against Aston Villa, new West Brom manager Sam Allardyce faces the toughest challenge of them all as his side head to Fortress Anfield to face leaders Liverpool.
With Liverpool’s unbeaten home run in the Premier League stretching back to April 2017, few will be expecting West Brom to end this remarkable streak, but Allardyce will have had another week with his players to thrash out a plan to pick up a point or somehow three.
For Liverpool it will likely be about breaking down a team setup to defend and soak up the pressure. Should the hosts break the deadlock early then it could be a long afternoon for West Brom.
Any Tottenham fans who watched All or Nothing – or simply remember the 2019-20 season anyway – could feel a sense of déjà vu as their side head to Wolves for a December clash at Molineux.
Twelve months ago, Jan Vertonghen was the hero for Spurs when scoring in injury time, and this time around Jose Mourinho will know it is vitally important his side return to the capital with three points to get their title bid back on track.
Title credentials tested on 28 December
Monday’s action sees a trio of intriguing matches which are arguably all difficult to call. Leicester have been strong on the road this season so they are perhaps looking forward to their trip to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace, just two days after hosting Manchester United.
Chelsea then host an Aston Villa side who have also been brilliant away this season, with Dean Smith’s side winning five of their six matches away from Villa Park, conceding just two goals.
In facing a Chelsea side with one of the best home records in the league, Villa will be up against it, but could once more thrive in their position as underdogs having already beaten Arsenal, Wolves and Leicester away.
Chelsea will know the onus is on them to get a result.
Man Utd host Wolves on 29 December
Technically the midweek action starts here, although you could be forgiven for forgetting this is a Tuesday in the week-long confusion that is the gap between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
That means all the matches are in the evening, with a quartet of 6pm games including Arsenal’s trip to Brighton.
Arteta had stressed the importance of Arsenal’s upcoming games following the League Cup defeat to Manchester City, and after Chelsea the Gunners face Brighton and then West Brom on 2 January – two fellow strugglers, it may pain Arsenal fans to acknowledge.
The sole 8pm kick-off then sees Manchester United welcome Wolves to Old Trafford. The past four fixtures between these sides have produced three goals in total, and a 0-0 last time out in the Premier League.
It is difficult to predict whether this match will be open or similarly cagey, but after scoring six goals in their last home match against Leeds, United will be out to prove their Old Trafford form is back on track after a disappointing start to the season.
Liverpool head to Newcastle on 30 December
There are just two matches taking place on 30 December, with Spurs first in action at Fulham, who are looking to turn recent draws into wins in their bid to beat the drop.
Spurs won both league fixtures between the sides in 2018-19, although they did need a Harry Winks injury-time winner at Craven Cottage almost two years ago.
The evening match sees the champions close the Premier League action out for 2020, and Newcastle vs Liverpool of course means that 1996 match will gets its biannual mention too.
Liverpool demolished Crystal Palace 7-0 in their previous away match, and the Reds will look to see out the year in style against a Newcastle side who have won three and lost three of their seven home games so far this season.
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