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Headline Fixtures over the Festive Season

by Devesh Jaganath

image Headline Fixtures over the Festive Season
The festive season is here and football lovers are in for a treat with a bumper-to-bumper schedule of matches to keep you entertained for the rest of 2024. Join us as we take a look at some of the biggest clashes to look forward to over the Christmas period.

English Premier League Action Heats Up This Christmas

Manchester City saw the gap to the league leaders in the Premier League extended to nine points when they were beaten by cross-town rivals Man United at the Etihad Stadium this past weekend. The Citizens have been in dismal form of late, winning just one of their last 11 matches across all competitions, and they will kick off next weekend’s fixture list with a tough trip to face Aston Villa on December 21. 

On Sunday, December 22, Tottenham Hotspur will play host to Liverpool in what could be a crucial match in league standings. The Reds are now just two points clear of Chelsea at the top of the table after dropping points to Fulham last weekend, and a defeat in this one could see Arne Slot’s side forced to relinquish the lead ahead of Christmas. 

A jam-packed Boxing Day schedule brings us a few intriguing matchups, including a London Debry between title contenders Chelsea and a steadily improving Fulham at Stamford Bridge. Later that day, Liverpool will host Leicester City at Anfield, and Arsenal will complete the weekday match schedule with an important encounter against an Ipswich side looking to move out of the drop zone before the New Year. 

Just three days later, another six games will play out, including this season’s surprise package, Nottingham Forest, travelling to Goodison Park to lock horns with Everton. The Tricky Trees are enjoying one of their best campaigns ever and could end 2024 in the top four. The final match of the year will come to us from Old Trafford, where Manchester United will take on Newcastle United in the battle to get back into European qualification contention, while the standalone fixture on New Year’s Day will see Brentford entertain Arsenal at the Gtech. 

Premier League Headline Fixtures:

All times are BST

  • Aston Villa vs. Manchester City - (December 21 - 12:30)
  • Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool - (December 22 - 16:30)
  • Chelsea vs. Fulham - (December 26 - 15:00)
  • Liverpool vs. Leicester City  - (December 26 - 20:00)
  • Arsenal vs. Ipswich Town -  (December 27 - 20:15)
  • Everton vs Nottingham Forest - (December 29 - 15:00)
  • Manchester United vs. Newcastle United - (December 30 - 20:00)

SportyTrader’s experts will be providing their in-depth Premier League predictions throughout the festive season, so be sure to check them out!

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European Leagues to Light Up This Festive Season

Atletico

While most of the other major leagues across Europe will take a short break toward the end of this month, there is still plenty of action over the next couple of weeks. 

In La Liga, the race for the top spot is red-hot and we could see a change in the order this weekend when current leaders Barcelona meet second-placed Atletico Madrid on Saturday. Real Madrid have a game in hand on Blaugrana and will end the year with a tricky matchup against Sevilla before returning to action on January 3 to play their rescheduled matchday 12 fixture away to Valencia. 

Over in Germany, Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich will sign off 2024 at the summit of the league standings and will be looking to maintain their four-point advantage when they take on RB Leipzig on Friday. Bayer Leverkusen will be aiming to keep the pressure on the Bavarians when they meet Freiburg on Saturday and the final match of 2024 in the Bundesliga will come from Volkswagen Arena where Wolfsburg will host Dortmund on December 22.

Like the Premier League, there is no holiday break in the Serie A, and the crammed festive schedule will deliver some mouth-watering matchups, including the headline fixture between Lazio and Atalanta at Stadio Olimpico on December 28. La Dea are having a dream season to date but they are being pushed all the way by Napoli, who will end the year with a home match against Venezia next Sunday. 

Of the five major leagues in Europe, Ligue 1 draws to a close the earliest. The final match of the year will come in midweek when Monaco will be hoping to end 2024 on a high, set to go toe-to-toe with perennial champions Paris Saint-Germain. Les Parisiens are already seven points clear at the top of the table, and if they avoid defeat here, Luis Enrique’s side will end the year unbeaten. Be sure to keep an eye out for our football predictions for all the matches above this festive season. 

Headline Fixtures from Europe:

All times are BST

  • Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid - (December 21 - 20:00)
  • Real Madrid vs. Sevilla - (December 22 - 15:15)
  • Bayern Munich vs. RB Leipzig - (December 20 - 19:30)
  • Bayer Leverkusen vs. Freiburg - (December 21 - 17:30)
  • Wolfsburg vs. Dortmund - (December 22 - 16:30)
  • Lazio vs. Atalanta - (December 28 - 19:45)
  • Napoli vs. Venezia - (December 29 - 14:00)
  • Monaco vs. Paris Saint-Germain - (December 18 - 20:00)

You can stay up to the minute with all the action across Europe via our football livescores tool, while our football betting odds comparator will also be available to ensure you are able to find the best prices available on any market.  

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