The Premier League has published its full list of Christmas and New Year fixtures for the 2026-27 season well ahead of schedule, giving fans extra time to plan for one of the busiest stretches of the football calendar.
Rather than waiting until the week of October 19 as originally planned, the league confirmed match dates and kick-off times for rounds 17 through 20 - covering the period from Boxing Day through to January 7 - more than a month in advance. The remaining December and November fixtures will still be released on their previously scheduled dates.
Explaining the early release, the Premier League said in a statement that it had worked with its broadcast partners to accelerate the process for selecting live UK matches across this stretch of the season. "This comes after the league and our broadcast partners agreed to bring forward the selection process for live UK matches across match rounds 17 to 20, which run from 26 December to 7 January," the statement read. It added that the early announcement "gives supporters more than three months' notice to plan and make travel arrangements for a particularly busy time of the year and follows consultation with the Football Supporters' Association and representatives from club Fan Advisory Boards."
As is tradition in English football, there will be no winter break, with matches packed into a hectic 12-day window. Sky Sports will dominate the broadcast coverage, while TNT Sports has been handed just two fixtures, both occupying the customary Saturday lunchtime slot.
Boxing Day, which falls on a Saturday this year, will see seven matches in total, though only three carry a live broadcast slot. The standout fixture sees champions-chasing Manchester City travel to Newcastle in the evening kick-off, while Liverpool make the trip to newly promoted Hull City in the late afternoon. Aston Villa host Leeds United in the TNT Sports lunchtime game.
The action continues on December 27, when Chelsea face Frank Lampard's Coventry City, Manchester United welcome Nottingham Forest to Old Trafford, and Arsenal cross London to take on Crystal Palace in the evening.
Midweek fixtures follow on December 29, with Tottenham hosting Roberto De Zerbi's former club Brighton, and Manchester City heading to Everton. A bumper night of Premier League action arrives on December 30, featuring seven fixtures including Arsenal's visit to Fulham and Chelsea's trip to Ipswich Town.
Only a single match will be played on New Year's Day itself, with Leeds hosting Everton in the evening. The festive period's marquee clash comes on January 3, when Manchester City host Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium, a fixture widely regarded as the pick of the entire schedule.
The run of festive fixtures concludes on January 7 with Manchester United hosting Newcastle, rounding off a demanding stretch for both players and supporters alike.
With kick-off times and dates locked in so far ahead of time, fans across the country - and those travelling from abroad - will have a significantly longer window to arrange tickets, transport and accommodation than in previous seasons, addressing a long-standing point of frustration among supporter groups.
Based on reporting from Standard Sport and BBC Sport.