Boxing Day Holiday Action from England

The Boxing Day set of fixtures holds a special place in the hearts of all those that follow English football, so whilst most other leagues around the world take some time off around the Holidays, in England the traditional fixture list is generally a highlight for most fans.

Results over the last couple of days have certainly been interesting with Manchester United losing again (they have now failed to score in their last four matches), Newcastle losing and Aston Villa only managing a draw at Sheffield United. Arsenal are top of the table at the Holidays for the second year running, with Liverpool and Aston Villa one point behind. Manchester City are out of the top four but they do have a game in hand as they were away taking part on the club world stage. 

Due to teams playing over the weekend not every team plays on Boxing Day, so this round of fixtures is spread out over three days. The Championship, by contrast, has a full set of fixtures on the 26th with the highlight being the clash between the top two, Leicester and Ipswich, in the last game of the day. The PL action starts with the early kick off from the North East as Newcastle host Nottingham Forest with both teams hoping to bounce back from defeats a few days earlier. There are two mid-afternoon games, a mid-table clash between Bournemouth and Fulham and a bottom three battle between Sheffield United and Luton. Next up is Burnley, who actually won their last match against Fulham, at home to Liverpool, who will certainly want to get back to winning ways after two successive draws. The final match of the day is struggling Manchester United against high-flying Aston Villa with another defeat for the home team surely likely to increase the pressure on manager Ten Hag. 

There are three matches scheduled for Wednesday evening starting with two matches from West London. Brentford host Wolves, two teams both tied on nineteen points and both with one win each in their last five matches. Chelsea are faring slightly better, they are in tenth place and have two wins in their last five matches and this time they face another London team, Crystal Palace, who have not won in their last five. The final match of the day is Everton against Manchester City, the home team being in the best form out of any in the bottom half and the visitors just returning from winning another title, this time on the world stage. 

The final two fixtures will take place on Thursday and these are both interesting match ups as Brighton play at home against Tottenham, the visitors seemingly over their blip in form as they now have three wins in a row and are starting to welcome some players back from injury. The late game is leaders Arsenal at home to West Ham, both teams having three wins in their last five matches and having very good seasons overall. 

Tuesday 26/12

Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest

The first match of the Boxing Day programme comes from the Northeast as Newcastle host Nottingham Forest with both teams desperate to bounce back from losses in the previous round. Newcastle’s recent form has been a worry, with the sheer number of injuries really taking their toll on the squad. Not only have they been eliminated from the CL and EFL Cup, but they are now down in seventh spot in the league and have five losses from their last six matches overall. Home form has saved them though, and they have won their last seven home league matches, conceding only one goal on that run. They also have an excellent record against these opponents, winning five of the last six meetings at home.

New manager Nuno Espirito Santo was unable to provide the immediate boost the club had hoped for in his first match as they were beaten 3-2 by an in-form Bournemouth. They are only two points above the relegation zone and he has a tough job to galvanise a squad that has, for the second year running, seen a huge number of players coming and going. They only have one win away from home in their last nineteen attempts, a terrible record that will need to improve if they want to stay up. Furthermore, they have a poor Boxing Day record, having only won one of their last seven matches in this round of fixtures. 

Newcastle have five wins from the last ten with Nottingham Forest winning three. Seven of the last ten meetings between these two have seen three or more goals scored, so this is traditionally a high-scoring match. 

Manchester United vs Aston Villa

There was finally some good news for Manchester United fans when Sir Jim Radcliffe finally managed to conclude his 25% investment in the club, bringing some much needed cheer to those who support the Reds. On the pitch, it has been one disappointment after another as they added to their list of defeats with a midweek loss at West Ham a few days ago. That match was the fourth in a row where they have failed to score and they face a tough opponent in this match. They go into this eight points away from top four and will need to start scoring goals as only Sheffield United have scored less than Manchester United so far this season. They did manage to win both league matches against Aston Villa last season though, so that might give them some confidence. 

Aston Villa missed their chance to be number one at Christmas time when they could only manage a draw against Sheffield United last week, something they will want to make up for in this match. They are unbeaten in ten matches in all competitions and goalscoring hasn’t been a problem for them so far this season. This is still a tough match though as they have a poor record against the Red Devils, having won only two of the last 24 H2H’s and manager Emery has lost six of his twelve matches against Manchester United over the years. 

The home side have won five of the last ten meetings whereas Aston Villa have three victories to their name. Six of the last ten have seen three or more goals scored.

Ipswich vs Leicester

Ideally, this match would have taken place a few weeks earlier when Ipswich were in better form as a draw and a defeat from the last two matches has allowed Leicester to open up a six point gap over their opponents. However, this remains an intriguing match between the top two in the Championship. Ipswich have defied expectations this season with their extremely positive start, having only been promoted from League One in the summer. They have sixteen wins from the twenty three matches played to date and are unbeaten at Portman Road since August, with every one of those home matches producing over 2.5 goals, so watching Ipswich Town in the second tier has certainly been entertaining so far this season. 

Leicester, as many expected, are making a very strong case for an immediate return to the PL. Their squad is one of the most talented in the league and they are showing that with a confident first half to the season. Their win over Rotherham last weekend was their fifth in a row and their fourth in a row where they scored three or more goals. Leicester are unbeaten in their last nine Boxing Day fixtures and that includes two matches against Ipswich. 

The last time these two played each other was in 2014 in the Championship, a 3-0 win for Leicester and the visitors have the better record between these two with five wins in the last ten compared to two for Ipswich. 

Wednesday 27/12

Everton vs Manchester City

Since being handed a points deduction a few weeks ago Everton have been on an excellent run and their loss against Tottenham was their first in five matches, making them one of the form teams in the league. The stats also stated that they were unlucky to lose that match, so manager Sean Dyche will make the point to his players that they must not be overawed by the visit of the recently crowned club champions of the world. However, it must be noted that Everton do not have anything like a positive record against the defending champions, with City winning each of their last six visits to Goodison Park. This would be the first time they might manage a third successive home win since September 2021. 

Manchester City were forced to sit out the last round of fixtures but they were not resting, they were competing, and winning, on the world stage. That break from the league and the triumph might help them to regain their form as they were unusually poor prior to their enforced break, managing only one win in the previous six matches. They come into this round of fixtures six points behind leaders Arsenal and not even in the top four, an unusual feeling for the team that has dominated the PL in recent years. Defence has been the main area of concern as they have been unable to keep any clean sheets in their last seven league matches, so they will need to work on stopping Everton from scoring. 

Everton have not won any of the last ten meetings between these two teams but they did manage a draw last season. That was the only point they have managed as Manchester City have won all nine other matches. 

Enjoy!