Aston Villa will open the Premier League's Boxing Day programme when Leeds United visit Villa Park at 12.30pm on Saturday 26 December. The club and the league formally announced the festive timetable on 10 September, giving supporters and staff a clear picture of the weeks ahead.
TNT Sports holds the broadcast rights for that lunchtime encounter. Four days later, on Wednesday 30 December, Liverpool travel to the West Midlands for an 8.15pm kick-off that Sky Sports will televise.
The new year begins with consecutive road trips for Unai Emery's squad. Bournemouth host Villa at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday 2 January, with proceedings beginning at 5.30pm under Sky Sports cameras.
A short turnaround follows before Everton provide the opposition at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Tuesday 5 January. That match is scheduled for a 7.30pm start and will also be shown live on Sky Sports.
Across eleven days, therefore, Villa play twice at home and twice away. The sequence demands careful management of player workloads during one of the most congested periods in the domestic calendar.
Elsewhere on Boxing Day, Newcastle United entertain Manchester City at 8pm, while Hull City face Liverpool at 5.30pm. Tottenham Hotspur meet Bournemouth, and other midday contests involve Sunderland, Fulham, Ipswich Town and Brentford playing their respective opponents.
