For the first time in the Premier League era, there is only one top-flight fixture scheduled for Boxing Day this season.Whether or not there is any football on Christmas Day, a break from a century-old Boxing Day tradition in Premier League is something else. Normally, there is a full slate of English top tier football action on December 26, but for 2025/26 there is just one - Manchester United vs Newcastle United.Amid all the fixtures from across various competitions on TV on Boxing Day, and while all other Premier League games from Matchweek 18 are instead spread across Saturday (December 27) and Sunday (December 28), GOAL looks at why it was necessary...The Premier League intentionally scheduled just one match on December 26 — Manchester United vs Newcastle — due to wider fixture congestion and broadcast contract requirements.To put it into context, with December 26 falling on a Friday and the league committed to 33 weekends of matches, plus the expanded European season, the only broadcast slot available that day went to the United–Newcastle match.As a result, this season, only one Premier League match was scheduled for December 26.Football fanatics need not fear, however, since there is still a plethora of matches on TV on Boxing Day 2026.Liverpool fans can keep a close eye on Mohamed Salah at the Africa Cup of Nations, with Egypt vs South Africa live on Channel 4 at 3pm. There are three other AFCON games on TV on Boxing Day, with Angola vs Zimbabwe on at 12:30pm, Zambia vs Comoros on at 5:30pm and Morocco vs Mali on at 8pm.Fans of Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds' Wrexham can watch their game against Sheffield United at 5:30pm live on Sky Sports Main Event. In fact, there is a whole slate of Championship action on Sky Sports+, including Birmingham City vs Derby County and Millwall vs Ipswich Town.With just the United-Newcastle game on December 26 this season, Premier League has acknowledged this impacts a long-standing Boxing Day tradition in English football. However, the league has assured that when the date falls on a weekend in future seasons, more Boxing Day matches will return. So next season there will be more Premier League matches on Boxing Day – as the date falls on a Saturday.Find this article useful? Add GOAL as a Preferred Source on Google to get more - here's how.