30 matches. 7 days.
Welcome to the English Premier League holiday season.
Often here in the United States when we think about football in December, we automatically think about the college football bowl season. Nearly 40 football games in a month culminating this year for the first time in a playoff. The bowl season is spectacular (especially the Fiesta Bowl, Bear Down Arizona!), but don’t sleep on the EPL holiday festivities.
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Starting with Boxing Day (December 26) and going to New Year’s Day, each club will play three matches for a total of 30 EPL games in less than a week. If you love soccer and especially if you love the Premier League, this is the most wonderful time of the year.
History tells us that the teams at or near the top going into the holiday period are usually the clubs that contend for the title at the end of the season. If we look back at the EPL tables since the year 2000, eight of the 14 clubs in first place before Christmas won the title that season.
| SEASON | CHRISTMAS | END OF SEASON |
| 2000-01 | 1. Man Utd 45pts | 1. Man Utd 80pts |
| 2. Arsenal 35 | 2. Arsenal 70 | |
| 3. Leicester 35 | 3. Liverpool 69 | |
| 2001-02 | 1. Newcastle 36 | 1. Arsenal 87 |
| 2. Arsenal 33 | 2. Liverpool 80 | |
| 3. Liverpool 33 | 3. Man Utd 77 | |
| 2002-03 | 1. Arsenal 39 | 1. Man Utd 83 |
| 2. Chelsea 37 | 2. Arsenal 78 | |
| 3. Man Utd 35 | 3. Newcastle 69 | |
| 2003-04 | 1. Man Utd 40 | 1. Arsenal 90 |
| 2. Arsenal 39 | 2. Chelsea 79 | |
| 3. Chelsea 39 | 3. Man Utd 75 | |
| 2004-05 | 1. Chelsea 43 | 1. Chelsea 95 |
| 2. Arsenal 38 | 2. Arsenal 83 | |
| 3. Everton 37 | 3. Man Utd 77 | |
| 2005-06 | 1. Chelsea 46 | 1. Chelsea 91 |
| 2. Man Utd 37 | 2. Man Utd 83 | |
| 3. Liverpool 31 | 3. Liverpool 82 | |
| 2006-07 | 1. Man Utd 47 | 1. Man Utd 89 |
| 2. Chelsea 45 | 2. Chelsea 83 | |
| 3. Liverpool 34 | 3. Liverpool 68 | |
| 2007-08 | 1. Arsenal 43 | 1. Man Utd 87 |
| 2. Man Utd 42 | 2. Chelsea 85 | |
| 3. Chelsea 37 | 3. Arsenal 83 | |
| 2008-09 | 1. Liverpool 39 | 1. Man Utd 90 |
| 2. Chelsea 38 | 2. Liverpool 86 | |
| 3. Aston Villa 34 | 3. Chelsea 83 | |
| 2009-10 | 1. Chelsea 41 | 1. Chelsea 86 |
| 2. Man Utd 37 | 2. Man Utd 85 | |
| 3. Arsenal 35 | 3. Arsenal 75 | |
| 2010-11 | 1. Man Utd 34 | 1. Man Utd 80 |
| 2. Arsenal 32 | 2. Chelsea 71 | |
| 3. Man City 32 | 3. Man City 71 | |
| 2011-12 | 1. Man City 44 | 1. Man City 89 |
| 2. Man Utd 42 | 2. Man Utd 89 | |
| 3. Tottenham 35 | 3. Arsenal 70 | |
| 2012-13 | 1. Man Utd 43 | 1. Man Utd 89 |
| 2. Man City 39 | 2. Man City 78 | |
| 3. Chelsea 32 | 3. Chelsea 75 | |
| 2013-14 | 1. Liverpool 36 | 1. Man City 86 |
| 2. Arsenal 36 | 2. Liverpool 84 | |
| 3. Man City 35 | 3. Chelsea 82 | |
| 2014-15 | 1. Chelsea 42 | 1. ? |
| 2. Man City 39 | 2. ? | |
| 3. Man Utd 32 | 3. ? |
So what will happen this year? Will Chelsea claim the title I already awarded them two months ago? Or can one of the two Manchester clubs put up a fight against the London giants? Nothing will be decided in the next week, but the fast and furious pace of these holiday matches may give a team the boost they need to begin the second half of their season.
Some teams will be asking Santa for a Premier League title this year, while others will simply be asking to stay up for another season. Some clubs will be asking for a new player during the transfer window and some will be asking Santa to take back a player they wrongfully were gifted in the past. Whatever a team has on their wish list, we as fans only are only asking Santa for one thing – an exciting week of football.
So get ready for a great week in the Premier League. Below is a list of all the fixtures during the holiday period. I’ve bolded the matches I personally am most excited about.
Friday, December 26 – Boxing Day
7:45 a.m. ET: Chelsea vs. West Ham United
10 a.m. ET: Manchester United vs. Newcastle United
10 a.m. ET: Crystal Palace vs. Southampton
10 a.m. ET: West Bromwich Albion vs. Manchester City
10 a.m. ET: Leicester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur
10 a.m. ET: Burnley vs. Liverpool
10 a.m. ET: Everton vs. Stoke City
10 a.m. ET: Swansea City vs. Aston Villa
10 a.m. ET: Sunderland vs. Hull City
12:30 p.m. ET: Arsenal vs. Queens Park Rangers
Sunday, December 28
7 a.m. ET: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester United
9:05 a.m. ET: Southampton vs. Chelsea
9:05 a.m. ET: Manchester City vs. Burnley
9:05 a.m. ET: West Ham United vs. Arsenal
9:05 a.m. ET: Aston Villa vs. Sunderland
9:05 a.m. ET: QPR vs. Crystal Palace
9:05 a.m. ET: Stoke City vs. West Bromwich Albion
9:05 a.m. ET: Hull City vs. Leicester City
11:15 a.m. ET: Newcastle United vs. Everton
Monday, December 29
3 p.m. ET: Liverpool vs. Swansea City
Thursday, January 1 – New Year’s Day
7:45 a.m. ET: Stoke City vs. Manchester United
10 a.m. ET: Southampton vs. Arsenal
10 a.m. ET: Liverpool vs. Leicester City
10 a.m. ET: Manchester City vs. Sunderland
10 a.m. ET: Aston Villa vs. Crystal Palace
10 a.m. ET: Hull City vs. Everton
10 a.m. ET: Newcastle vs. Burnley
10 a.m. ET: QPR vs. Swansea City
10 a.m. ET: West Ham vs. West Brom
12:30 p.m. ET: Tottenham vs. Chelsea
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. Thank you, all five of you, who visit our site on a regular basis – we at Playing For 90 appreciate all you do to support our love for soccer. Check back with us throughout the next week as we break down the exciting action in the Premier League.