Premier League
What is Boxing day Football All About?
Boxing Day Football 2022
Having taken place for decades, Boxing Day football is one of the UK’s greatest sporting traditions and continues as one of the highlights of the English football calendar.
Beginning in the glory days of the sport in England around the turn of the 20th century and through to the 1950s, football was traditionally played on Christmas Day as it represented one of the only days off for the working class and a day for celebration, fun and games.
As the sport became professionalised and Christmas transformed into a family day, the Xmas Day tradition evolved, and the day after Christmas became the obvious alternative and a suitable substitute for the legendary fixtures.
The last Christmas day football fixtures took place in 1957, and since then, December 26th has been the host of many memorable league fixtures, which will undoubtedly continue in the tradition for years to come.
Over Boxing Day, all four of the professional leagues in England – the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two – will have fixtures played up and down the country, with the majority of the games kicking off at 12:00 and 15:00 GMT.
When is Boxing Day Football?
Boxing Day is the day after Christmas – the 26th of December – and the matches are played throughout the day across the country, with most fixtures taking place at midday and 15:00.
Which major football leagues are participating in Boxing Day 2022?
The first match of Boxing Day 2022 is Watford v Millwall in the Championship, kicking off at 12:00 on December 26th. It will be followed by matches across the top five leagues in England throughout the day, with Premier League kick-offs at 12:30, 15:00, 17:30 and 20:00.
The pick of the games over the busy day are Brentford v Tottenham at 12:30, Leicester v Newcastle at 15:00 and Arsenal v West Ham at 20:00.
Championship Boxing Day Fixtures
| Time | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 | Watford | Millwall |
| 12:30 | Sunderland | Blackburn |
| 15:00 | Middlesbrough | Wigan |
| 15:00 | Preston | Huddersfield |
| 15:00 | Sheffield United | Coventry |
| 15:00 | Hull City | Blackpool |
| 15:00 | Rotherham | Stoke City |
| 15:00 | Bristol City | West Brom |
| 17:15 | Cardiff City | QPR |
| 19:45 | Luton Town | Norwich |
Bet on Boxing Day Football at William Hill
Premier League Boxing Day Fixtures
| Time | Home | Away | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:30 | Brentford | Tottenham | |
| 15:00 | Southampton | Brighton | |
| 15:00 | Leicester | Newcastle | |
| 15:00 | Crystal Palace | Fulham | |
| 15:00 | Everton | Wolves | |
| 17:30 | Aston Villa | Liverpool | |
| 20:00 | Arsenal | West Ham |
Bet on Boxing Day Football at William Hill
Premier League Boxing Day Tips
The Premier League serves us up some boxing day crackers with most of the top flights team in action across the day. Highlights Arsenal v West Ham where Arsenal are 1/2 to win and 16/5 to draw against their London rivals and another London derby as Brentford take on Tottenham and are 3/1 to win with odds of 8/11 for both teams to score.
Leicester and Newcastle set up another big clash, with Jamie Vardy 5/1 to score first and Callum Wilson at 13/10 to score at any time.
Championship Boxing Day Tips
Watford v Millwall kicks things off on Boxing Day at 12:00 and with the Hornets at 21/10 to take a second win on the bounce and 9/4 to score in both halves.
After lunch, Sheffield United face Coventry City, with the Blades strong favourites at 4/6 to cement their position in the automatic promotion places.
Later in the evening, Luton are the favourites to beat Norwich at 8/5, with a score of 1-1 the most likely at 9/2.
