The Premier League has released its Christmas fixtures much earlier than usual following pressure from Manchester United and other clubs. The announcement was made on Thursday afternoon, bringing the confirmation forward by more than a month compared to last year.
United were among several clubs that called for the English top flight and associated broadcasters to bring forward their announcement, giving supporters enough time to arrange their match-day plans. Their appeals have now been heeded.
United's festive schedule
While all fixtures are initially scheduled for 3pm on Saturdays, the Premier League and broadcasters retain the authority to modify these timings once they have determined which matches will be televised.
According to the Mail, United representatives held discussions with senior Premier League officials, urging earlier decisions to enable supporters to arrange transport and accommodation well ahead of time. The Football Supporters Association is also understood to have participated in the discussions.
United's Premier League festive fixture list this year sees them play four matches throughout the Christmas period. The standout match is their home tie against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, 27th December, kicking off at 4.30pm. United will then host Sunderland three days later on Wednesday, 30th December, at 7.30pm.
Michael Carrick's men will ring in 2027 with a lengthy trip to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, 2nd January, at 12.30pm, before welcoming Newcastle at home on Thursday, 7th January, at 8pm.
Boxing Day controversy
Traditionally, Boxing Day has featured a packed roster of fixtures across the Premier League, EFL and National Leagues. However, the Premier League faced considerable criticism last season for scheduling just a single match on Boxing Day - United's home fixture against Newcastle - with a late 8pm kick-off that evening.
That attracted significant criticism from Newcastle United supporters particularly last year, when it emerged they would be the sole away team for an 8pm fixture on Boxing Day, while most Premier League sides had matches scheduled across December 27 and December 28. This amounted to a 292-mile round trip for Magpies supporters, who were left furious at the decision made by officials - representing the longest away journey of the gameweek.
The Premier League, however, defended their choice by pointing to the expansion of the Champions League and Europa League as the driving force behind the move. They stated at the time: "The Premier League would like to acknowledge the circumstances that have led to a reduced number of matches on Boxing Day this season, impacting an important tradition in English football.
"There are now several challenges to Premier League fixture scheduling rooted in the expansion of European club competitions - which led to a revision of our domestic calendar ahead of last season, including changes to the FA Cup. This ultimately left the Premier League as a 33-weekend competition - fewer than previous seasons, despite being a 380-match competition since 1995.
"With fewer weekends to work with, the League is bound by how the calendar falls. The League can give an assurance that next season there will be more Premier League matches on Boxing Day - as the date falls on a Saturday.
"As with previous years - and in keeping with our commitment to clubs - special arrangements have been made to allow more time between games played across the festive period. This will allow greater time for players to recover, with the rest periods between rounds 18, 19 and 20 being increased to ensure that no club plays within 60 hours of another match."
Responding to that statement, the Football Supporters Association wrote: "The Premier League's TV selections for Xmas and NY have finally been announced a fortnight after they were supposed to be. Newcastle United's game at Old Trafford - the longest trip of that Gameweek - has been selected for a ridiculous 8pm kick-off on Boxing Day. Thoughtless."
