Ben Guest
Fans of Premier League clubs up and down the country have been handed an early Christmas present with the news that there will be no fixtures on Christmas Eve.
There have been lots of rumours over recent weeks that the Premier League and the British broadcasters, Sky and BT, were ready to schedule traditional festive fixtures on Christmas Eve, with the 4pm kickoff between Arsenal and Liverpool causing the most consternation. The proposed kick off time would have caused travel chaos for travelling supporters, who’s last train from London to Merseyside was at 6.40, less than an hour after the final whistle.
However, after a meeting with the Football Supporters Federation, Premier League boss Richard Scudamode agreed to scrap all fixtures on Christmas Eve, with four fixtures being moved.
The biggest problem fixture, Arsenal v Liverpool, will now be played two days before Christmas Eve, will now kick off at 19:45 on Friday 22nd December.
Other fixtures which were scheduled for Christmas Eve were Everton v Chelsea, Burnley v Tottenham, and Leicester v Manchester United. These games will now be played on Saturday 23rd. Everton v Chelsea will now kick off at 12:30, Burnley’s game with Spurs kicks off 17:30, with Manchester United’s trip to Leicester kicking off in the unusual Saturday night slot of 19:45.
Full pre Christmas fixtures:
Saturday 23rd December
| Friday 22nd December | ||
|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 19:45 | Liverpool |
| Saturday 23rd December | ||
| Everton | 12:30 | Chelsea |
| Brighton | 15:00 | Watford |
| Man City | 15:00 | Bournemouth |
| Southampton | 15:00 | Huddersfield |
| Stoke | 15:00 | West Brom |
| Swansea | 15:00 | Crystal Palace |
| West Ham | 15:00 | Newcastle |
| Burnley | 17:30 | Tottenham |
| Leicester | 19:45 | Man Utd |