There will be just one top-flight fixture played on Boxing Day this year, with the Premier League citing the "expansion of European club competitions" as the root cause of the change to one of English football's long-standing traditions.
Manchester United's match against Newcastle United will be the only game played on Dec. 26. It kicks off at 8 p.m. GMT (3 p.m. ET).
The Premier League made the announcement when confirming amendments for fixtures in Matchweeks 18, 19 and 20 in December and January, following picks for live broadcast coverage in the UK.
It confirmed that fans can expect a reversion to a more familiar Boxing Day schedule next year as Boxing Day in 2026 will fall on a Saturday, rather than this year when it falls on a Friday.
The last time Boxing Day was on a Friday, in 2014, there was a full set of top-flight fixtures.
"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," the Premier League said.
"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."
The Football Supporters' Association (FSA) -- the largest representative body for fans in England and Wales -- criticised both the timing of the announcement and the decision to select Manchester United's game against Newcastle as the Boxing Day match.
"The Premier League's TV selections for Xmas and NY have finally been announced a fortnight after they were supposed to be. #NUFC's game at Old Trafford - the longest trip of that game week - has been selected for a ridiculous 8pm kick-off on Boxing Day. Thoughtless," the FSA said in a post on X.
Oct. 14 had been the "approximate" date given by the Premier League for the confirmation of the festive schedule.
- Pep Guardiola: Man City 'close' to hitting top form
- Premier League Top 50: Ranking the best players of 2025-26 so far
- Premier League table
Seven Premier League matches will be played on Dec. 27 with Manchester City's trip to Nottingham Forest and Chelsea's clash with Aston Villa selected for live television coverage in the UK.
Premier League weekend fixtures are played at 3 p.m. on Saturday unless moved to a broadcast slot outside of the UK's 3 p.m. blackout. This season, all games played outside the Saturday 3 p.m. blackout are being shown live in the UK. However, there is only one broadcast slot reserved for a Friday.