You know what it’s like at Christmas. You get stuck into all the good stuff, perhaps eat too much and drink a little more, or you end up running your own private chauffeur service in order to get an inebriated sister-in-law or grandparent home after they go too hard, too early.
Hey, it’s Christmas, so it’s all part of the fun and games. The laughter stops, however, when you settle down to watch Shrek 2 for the 547th time without realising that there’s an appetising Premier League game on another channel.
Well fear not, you festive star. We’ve compiled a cut-out-and-keep list of all the Premier League fixtures this yuletide, with kick-off times and any TV coverage (UK based) included gratis.
So go on, put your feet up, have a little flutter and enjoy the action. You’ve earned it.
Tuesday December 26th 2017
There are eight fixtures in all on a typically hectic Boxing Day. Kicking off the action at 12:30pm is Southampton’s trip to Wembley to take on Tottenham, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
The 3pm session features six fixtures, with the pick of the bunch being sixth-placed Burnley’s trip to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United. Chelsea entertain Brighton, while there are a couple of potential relegation six-pointers, looking long term, as Bournemouth host West Ham and Huddersfield welcome Stoke to Yorkshire.
Elsewhere at 3pm, Watford take on Leicester and a revitalised Everton travel to the Midlands to battle West Brom.
The evening game, which kicks off at 5:30pm and is again broadcast live on Sky Sports, sees relegation-threatened Swansea make the tough trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool without their recently sacked former manager Paul Clement.
Wednesday December 27th 2017
There is a standalone game on Wednesday as Newcastle welcome the runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City to St James’ Park.
The Magpies have lost eight of their last nine league outings; the last thing they need this Christmas is to be taking on the irrepressible City. You can watch the action unfold – and the goals fly in – on Sky Sports at 7:45pm.
Thursday December 28th 2017
Christmas is the time to give those gifts that keep on giving, and the Premier League fixture compiler has been particularly kind to punters this yuletide.
Thursday night sees yet another top-notch class broadcast by Sky Sports (8pm kick off): the capital clash between the much-improved Crystal Palace and Arsenal at Selhurst Park.
Saturday December 30th 2017
There really is no rest for the wicked with a stellar line-up of seven Premier League fixtures on December 30.
Six of those take place at 3pm, with Leicester’s trip to Liverpool arguably the most attractive of the bunch. Again, the narrative is one of relegation matters, with Stoke travelling to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea, Newcastle hosting Brighton and Swansea heading east to Watford. Elsewhere, Bournemouth take on Everton on the south coast and Huddersfield entertain Burnley in a War of the Roses style encounter.
The 5:30pm kick off sees Manchester United welcome Southampton to Old Trafford; a match broadcast live by BT Sport.
Sunday December 31st 2017
There’s a little pre New Year treat for punters on Sunday with Crystal Palace entertaining Manchester City at 12pm, live on BT Sport.
Later on it’s West Brom’s chance to shine as they take on Arsenal at the Hawthorns (4:30pm, Sky Sports).
Monday January 1st 2018
The first week of 2018 kicks off in fine style with yet another full round of Premier League fixtures.
Bournemouth fans will need to shake off any New Year’s Eve related headaches sharpish – they travel along the coast to Brighton in a 12:30pm kick off that will be shown live on Sky Sports.
The 3pm slot sees three matches unfold: Liverpool at Burnley, Huddersfield at Leicester and Newcastle at Stoke.
The evening kick off, meanwhile, should be a humdinger: Everton welcome Manchester United to Goodison Park (Sky Sports, 5:30pm).
Tuesday January 2nd 2018
You might be back at work at this point, with the Christmas and New Year balloons now little more than shrivelled-up reminders in the corner of the room.
Not to worry: there’s a decent stack of Premier League action to look forward to when you get home. There’s a trio of 7:45pm kick offs, with Sky showing Swansea vs Tottenham while Crystal Palace and West Brom head to Southampton and West Ham respectively.
An 8pm kick off sees Manchester City host Watford.
Wednesday January 3rd 2018
And finally, if you’re not all ‘football’d’ out at this point, comes the last of the seasonal Premier League fixtures.
And what a contest to bow out on: Arsenal vs Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium!