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Premier League fans facing Christmas travel chaos over 3860-mile 'fixtures from hell'
Dec 13 2025 07:16 · By Ryan Taylor · 76 Reads
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Fans ditching last-minute Christmas shopping for Premier League football are facing travel hell next weekend. Saturday December 20 will stage eight top-flight matches including Brighton's gruelling 339-mile trip to Sunderland and Burnley's 288-mile visit south to face Bournemouth .
Including round-trips, Premier League clubs will travel a whopping 3,860 miles in total and, while superstar players will likely board private jets , supporters are expected to clog train aisles and motorways.
Historically, it's also one of the busiest ' Christmas getaway' days of the year. In 2023, around 16.4million cars were anticipated to hit the roads, causing lengthy delays all over the country.
Last year, the numbers gathered by AA were up to a staggering 22.7million. That, however, is unlikely to deter supporters from following their teams across the land.
In November, the Premier League also confirmed Arsenal's trip to Everton and Crystal Palace's trip to Leeds (both initially scheduled for Sunday December 21) had been switched to 8pm kick-offs on Saturday December 20 at the requests of both visiting sides.
Not only has the decision left supporters who had already made travel arrangements out of pocket but Arsenal and Palace fans will now also struggle to make it back to the capital after the game via public transport.
The last direct service from Liverpool Lime Street to Euston on December 20 departs Merseyside at 8:43pm, 17 minutes before kick-off at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Similarly, the final service to leave Leeds for Kings Cross - when the Eagles play at Elland Road - departs at 8:52pm, eight minutes before the second half is due to restart.
Remarkably, Wolves ' two-and-a-half hour 143-mile trip to Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium (on a good run) is the shortest distance any Premier League club will have to travel next week.
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Unsurprisingly, Brighton's monstrous journey (678 miles in total) to the Stadium of Light is the longest distance of the weekend.
It's the fourth-largest trip (including reverse fixtures) - outside of Bournemouth vs Newcastle , Brighton vs Newcastle and Bournemouth vs Sunderland - that any top-flight side will have to make all season.
Chelsea also travel to Newcastle (282 miles), Burnley head to Bournemouth (576 overall) while West Ham also visit Manchester City's Etihad Stadium (217).
Incredibly, Liverpool's game at Tottenham - equal with Arsenal's trip to Everton - is the joint-second shortest distance any side will travel next weekend (211 miles, 422 in total).
TOTAL DISTANCE BETWEEN MATCHES (miles) Round-trip mileage in brackets* 12.30pm: Newcastle vs Chelsea - 286 miles (572) 3pm: Bournemouth vs Burnley - 288 miles (576) 3pm: Brighton vs Sunderland - 339 miles (678) 3pm: Manchester City vs West Ham - 217 miles (434) 3pm: Wolves vs Brentford - 143 miles (286) 5:30pm: Tottenham vs Liverpool - 211 miles (422) 8pm: Everton vs Arsenal - 211 miles (422) 8pm: Leeds vs Crystal Palace 235 miles (470)
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.