Boxing Day bonanza is back with SEVEN games as Premier League confirm TV dates for festive period - following last season's backlash with just one fixture played

The Premier League has confirmed seven games will be staged on Boxing Day after releasing its latest set of fixtures.

Four games will be held at 3pm, with Aston Villa facing Leeds at 12.30pm, Hull taking on Liverpool at 5.30pm, before Newcastle host Manchester City at 8pm.

A triple header follows on Super Sunday on Sky Sports on December 27, with Chelsea facing Coventry at 2pm, Man United hosting Nottingham Forest at 4.30pm and Crystal Palace taking on champions Arsenal at 7pm.

It comes after the league faced widespread backlash after hosting just one game on Boxing Day - one of the most popular dates on the football calendar - last year.

That will kick off a busy schedule over the festive period, with three further rounds of matches to be held over the period up to January 7.

A round of midweek evening fixtures will take place on December 29 and December 30, before Leeds host Everton in the only game on New Year's Day.

Boxing Day football is back in the Premier League with seven fixtures confirmed

Last year, Man United vs Newcastle was the only fixture that was scheduled on Boxing Day

The rest of that gameweek will take place on January 2 and January 3, before the festive schedule concludes with a round of games that will fall from January 5 to January 7.

Every fixture from the December 29 to December 30 round and the one from January 5 to January 7 will be broadcast on Sky Sports

The early announcement comes after the Premier League consulted broadcast partners, the Football Supporters' Association and representatives from club Fan Advisory Boards.

There is a desire to give as much notice as possible for those travelling to games.

As part of the schedule, each club is guaranteed at least a 60-hour break between matches in order to help them deal with the fixture congestion.

The early announcement is likely to be welcomed by fans after the Premier League was heavily criticised for arranging just one game on Boxing Day last season.

Manchester United vs Newcastle was the only match, with the top flight blaming scheduling issues caused by European football and the Carabao Cup.

At the time, they said: 'There are now several challenges to Premier League fixture scheduling rooted in the expansion of European club competitions – which led to a revision of our domestic calendar ahead of last season, including changes to the FA Cup.

'This ultimately left the Premier League as a 33-weekend competition – fewer than previous seasons, despite being a 380-match competition since 1995.

'With fewer weekends to work with, the league is bound by how the calendar falls.

'The league can give an assurance that next season there will be more Premier League matches on Boxing Day – as the date falls on a Saturday.'