LONDON — The Premier League has announced its bumper festive schedule, with 29 matches to be shown live on Sky Sports between Boxing Day and January 7. The early release gives supporters more than three months' notice to plan and make travel arrangements for a busy period of the season.
The schedule features seven Premier League matches on Boxing Day, headlined by a Sky Sports double header. Hull City vs Liverpool kicks off at 5.30pm, followed by Newcastle vs Manchester City at 8pm. The action continues on Super Sunday on December 27 with a triple header on Sky Sports, as Frank Lampard takes on Chelsea as Coventry boss at 2pm, followed by Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest at 4.30pm and Crystal Palace vs Arsenal at 7pm.
There will be two festive midweek rounds where every match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports. The first takes place between Tuesday December 29 and Wednesday December 30, with the second between Tuesday January 5 and Thursday January 7. Fixtures in those rounds include Aston Villa vs Liverpool and Ipswich Town vs Chelsea at 8.15pm, plus Hull City vs Leeds, Tottenham vs Brighton and Manchester United vs Sunderland among the 7.30pm kick-offs.
In the weekend in between, Sky Sports will show Leeds vs Everton on Friday Night Football on New Year's Day at 8pm, then Bournemouth vs Aston Villa on January 3 for Saturday Night Football at 5.30pm. That weekend's Super Sunday sees Chelsea vs Newcastle at 2pm, followed by Manchester City vs Tottenham at 4.30pm.
The Premier League said the early announcement follows consultation with the Football Supporters' Association and representatives from club Fan Advisory Boards, and is intended to give supporters notice to plan travel for a particularly busy time of the year.