Boxing Day 2026: Premier League Fixtures, Tickets and Trains

1. The 26 December 2026 fixtures, in kick-off order

Seven matches, from 12:30pm to 8:00pm

Saturday 26 December 2026 London time (GMT) TNT Sports and Sky Sports

The Premier League published the festive schedule on 19 October 2026, after consulting the Football Supporters’ Association and the clubs’ fan advisory boards. Four of the seven matches on 26 December kick off at 3:00pm, the league’s default time for weekends and bank holidays. The official statement remains the reference, and it notes that every match can still change.

The key points

• The earliest: Aston Villa v Leeds United at 12:30pm (1:30pm in Paris), at Villa Park.
• The latest: Newcastle United v Manchester City at 8:00pm (9:00pm in Paris), at St James’ Park.
• Four matches at 3:00pm, two of them in London: Fulham v Brighton and Tottenham v Bournemouth.

Pixidia tip: Paris is UTC+1 in December, one hour ahead of London. Always check the UK time before you read a foreign TV or ticketing schedule, as those sources don’t always use the same time zone.

On 26 December, Stamford Bridge hosts no match: Chelsea travel to Coventry on Sunday 27. A stadium tour sold through Viator is on offer that day, and it doesn’t include any train journey. Our check on 22 October 2026 found six slots open on the 26th, between 10:20am and 3:00pm: reconfirm the time before you book.

Chelsea FC: stadium tour and museum at Stamford Bridge Viator price checked on 22 October 2026: €41.15 per adult for 26 December 2026 (2 adults). Six time slots were open that day, from 10:20am to 3:00pm. Price to be confirmed. For supporters who want to see inside the stadium on a day without a match: Stamford Bridge hosts no match on 26 or 27 December. The tour lasts 60 to 90 minutes, with no train journey included, according to the Viator listing.

Book my Chelsea stadium tour

On Sunday 27 December, three matches complete the programme: Coventry City v Chelsea at 2:00pm, Manchester United v Nottingham Forest at 4:30pm and Crystal Palace v Arsenal at 7:00pm. The schedule names no broadcaster for any of them. Palace’s match is at Selhurst Park, and it is not part of the 26th.

Source: Premier League, official festive fixtures 2026/27, checked on 22 October 2026. Paris times calculated (Paris is UTC+1 in December), to be reconfirmed on match day.

The schedule names no broadcaster for the four 3:00pm matches on 26 December, or for the three on the 27th. Check the channel on the broadcasters’ listings on the day, as fixtures can move after the calendar is published.

2. Why 2026 isn’t 2025

A Saturday bank holiday, and a fuller Boxing Day

Saturday 26 December Bank holiday in England and Wales 7 matches on the 26th, 3 on the 27th

Boxing Day has been a bank holiday in England and Wales since 1871, according to the Premier League. When it falls on a Saturday, the substitute day is Monday 28 December 2026, according to the official gov.uk site. Bank holiday dates are published by the UK government.

What changed since 2025

• In 2025, only one match was played on 26 December: Manchester United v Newcastle United, on a Friday at 8:00pm.
• In 2026, the Premier League has announced a fuller Boxing Day, with seven matches on the 26th and three on the 27th.
• The Premier League guarantees at least 60 hours’ rest between two matches for the same club over the festive period.

Pixidia tip: The Premier League published the schedule on 19 October, about two months before 26 December, after consulting the Football Supporters’ Association. That gives you time to plan the trip, as long as you work from the official list.

3. Tickets: official routes, prices and pitfalls

Buy from the club or its official partner

The Premier League’s rule of thumb is simple: buy directly from the clubs or their official ticketing partners. Its safe-buying page, read as a search snippet on 22 October 2026, says an unauthorised intermediary can sell an invalid ticket, and that a hospitality or travel package does not make the reseller authorised. The official page sets out these rules.

What the clubs do

• Leeds United, according to a club page dated August 2024: once the general allocation has sold out, members can use the club’s official resale exchange, at face value.
• Brighton & Hove Albion: the club warns that unofficial resale sites may be based overseas, with no consumer protection for British buyers.
• Everton: internal resale is reserved for season ticket holders (secondary source).

The table below shows the starting prices a price comparison site lists for each club. These are not official prices for 26 December: they are not dated match by match, and the seat category changes the price.

Source: billetsdefoot.fr, an unofficial comparison site whose page is undated, checked on 22 October 2026. The « from » prices do not apply specifically to 26 December.

The lowest amounts in the comparison, Fulham at €39 and Sunderland at €50, are still « from » prices per club, not dated match by match. Sunderland’s €50 is the club’s price, not a price for their trip to Everton.

The resale market is considerably more expensive. On 22 October 2026, some sites listed tickets for Newcastle v Manchester City at roughly £140 to £220, fees included depending on the platform. For Tottenham v Bournemouth, listings ran from about £83 to £99.90, and for Aston Villa v Leeds United, from about $91. These figures are indicative: several pages show 26 December for matches on the 27th, and some give a wrong kick-off time. Only the official list counts.

What the law says about resale

In England and Wales, section 166 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 makes it an offence for an unauthorised person to sell or transfer a ticket for a designated football match. The maximum fine is level 5 on the standard scale. The text of the Act is available online. We haven’t checked the list of designated matches, so don’t assume every fixture on 26 December is covered, and never buy a resold ticket without checking the seller.

The away ticket cap

The Premier League has capped away-ticket prices at £30 for several seasons. On 19 March 2026, according to the Premier League, clubs voted unanimously to extend the cap for two more seasons, which makes twelve consecutive seasons since 2016. The statement doesn’t say whether the cap applies to adults only, and it covers only tickets reserved for visiting supporters. On 26 December, it may apply to supporters travelling to see Leeds, Sunderland, Brighton, Brentford, Bournemouth, Liverpool or Manchester City.

Scams

According to Lloyds Bank, relayed in May 2026 by Bitdefender, football ticket scams rose 36% between October 2025 and March 2026, with an average loss of £215 per victim. The pattern is familiar: a social media post, a « spare ticket », a bank transfer, then the seller blocks you. Lloyds’ original release was not accessible when we checked, which is why we cite a secondary source.

4. Getting there: trains, London and the stadiums

Trains on the 26th: a much reduced service

National Rail says that « most train operators will have no service » on Saturday 26 December. A very limited service is planned, run by a small number of operators whose list has not yet been published (« details to be confirmed »). Major engineering work at Birmingham New Street, from 24 to 28 December, also disrupts journeys. The National Rail festive page covers 24 December 2026 to 4 January 2027.

What this means for you

• Don’t assume any train runs until you’ve checked nationalrail.co.uk, the day before and on the day itself.
• For Villa Park, the reference station is Witton (about 5 minutes on foot, according to a secondary guide, to be confirmed). We haven’t checked the route.
• If you’re starting from London, the two 26 December matches in the capital (Tottenham v Bournemouth and Fulham v Brighton) don’t need an intercity train.

Pixidia tip: The Chelsea stadium tour above doesn’t include any train journey. To get there on the 26th, TfL’s page on festive engineering work gives no information about that day’s service: use the TfL journey planner on the morning.

In London, the 26 December programme has two matches: Tottenham Hotspur v AFC Bournemouth at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and Fulham v Brighton & Hove Albion at Craven Cottage, both at 3:00pm. On Sunday 27, Crystal Palace v Arsenal is at Selhurst Park at 7:00pm. For Tottenham, White Hart Lane station (Overground) is about five minutes’ walk away, according to a stadium guide.

For the Tube, TfL’s official page on festive engineering work, checked on 22 October 2026, gives no information on the service for 26 December 2026. It does list works on Oxford Street, on the Piccadilly line, and on the A23 Streatham Hill and A41 Brent Cross roads. Check these sections if your journey crosses them, and use the TfL journey planner on match day.

Sources: stadium guides and secondary guides (published between 2022 and 2025), not checked against the clubs’ official pages, checked on 22 October 2026. Rows marked « not verified » are left blank because we had no reliable data at that date.

For a trip from France, we found no official Eurostar timetable for 26 December 2026 at the date of checking. Look at eurostar.com as soon as timetables are published, and book early: morning departures sell out fast over the holidays.

5. Budget: what a Boxing Day trip can cost

The budget for a Boxing Day match breaks down into four items. Two are priced and sourced, two are not yet. We prefer to say so rather than publish figures without a source.

• The ticket. Starting prices by club, « from », range from about €39 to €169 (the table in section 3), not dated match by match. A resale seat costs considerably more. The Premier League caps away tickets at £30, subject to the scope of the cap.
• The travel authorisation. Most EU nationals need an ETA, which costs £20, about €24 at the ECB rate of 21 October 2026 (0.83825 pound per euro, so £1 is about €1.19).
• Transport. We have no verified rail fare for 26 December 2026. Compare fares for the exact date, allowing for the reduced service announced by National Rail.
• Accommodation, food and pubs. No verified data for this date. Hotel rates and pub opening hours vary from one venue to another.

Depending on your trip

• Budget trip: the lowest starting prices in the comparison are from €39 (Fulham) and €50 (Sunderland), not dated match by match. Fulham v Brighton is at Craven Cottage, in London, at 3:00pm.
• First time in London: Tottenham v Bournemouth is about five minutes’ walk from White Hart Lane station (Overground), according to a stadium guide.
• Family: the 12:30pm kick-off at Villa Park leaves a morning for travelling. Newcastle’s 8:00pm match means a late return, and no night service has been verified for 26 December: check the last trains on nationalrail.co.uk before you buy.
• Away supporter: the £30 cap applies to away tickets, but the statement doesn’t say whether it covers adults only. Confirm the actual price with the club.

6. Pubs and bank holidays: what changes on the 26th

Opening hours are set by each pub’s licence. Don’t assume a pub opens at a particular time: check on site or on the pub’s website, especially on a bank holiday.

According to a secondary guide, busy pubs can reach capacity up to two hours before kick-off. None of the guides we read checks the opening hours for 26 December 2026. Arrive early if you have a particular pub in mind.

Monday 28 December 2026 is also a bank holiday in England and Wales, as the substitute day. We didn’t check the trains for that day: plan your return accordingly, and remember the match schedule can still change. For the festive dates in each nation, see our guide the Christmas 2026 school holidays in the UK, dates by nation.

What other guides don’t tell you

Three official facts are missing from, or wrong in, the guides we read. Each one links to its source and its date of consultation.

• A guide cited by AI assistants gets the fixtures wrong. Sunusport gives only one match, « Tottenham v Brighton », which is not on the calendar, and dates it to a Thursday, when 26 December 2026 is a Saturday. The official list has seven matches. premierleague.com (checked 22 October 2026).
• Monday 28 December is a bank holiday. Because Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, the substitute day moves to Monday, which almost none of the guides we read mention. gov.uk, bank holidays (checked 22 October 2026).
• The rail service is very reduced. National Rail announces that most operators will run no service on 26 December. nationalrail.co.uk, festive travel (checked 22 October 2026).