You may think that with the Premier League having a hiatus and the PDC World Championship Darts also having a break over the festive period, that it is going to be pretty slim pickings for sport over Christmas Day in particular.
However, there are still plenty of great sporting events taking place over Christmas for those of you that want to enhance your festivities with a wager or two.
In this article, we are going to preview some of the big sporting action you can enjoy on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and also Boxing Day and of course, all the odds we use are provided courtesy of bet365 Sport.
You can also enjoy betting on these fixtures in the United States and BetRivers Sportsbook offers a great selection of bets on many fixtures over the festive period and across a wide range of states that permit sports betting.
So let’s get started with a look at what is happening on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve Sporting Fixtures
-
NBA Fixtures
In the very early hours of Christmas Eve, starting at midnight and going through to the early morning, there are a total of 12 NBA games taking place (which kick off on the 23rd in the United States, but which due to the time difference will start on Christmas Eve in the UK).
The twelve games are as follows:
- Philadelphia 76ers v Atlanta Hawks (12am)
- Indiana Pacers v Houston Rockets (12am)
- Orlando Magic v New Orleans Pelicans (12am)
- New York Knicks v Washington Wizards (12.30am)
- Miami Heat v Detroit Pistons (12.30am)
- Dallas Mavericks v Milwaukee Bucks (1.30am)
- Utah Jazz v Minnesota Timberwolves (2.00am)
- Phoenix Suns v Oklahoma City Thunder (2.00am)
- Denver Nuggets v Charlotte Hornets (2.00am)
- Golden State Warriors v Memphis Grizzlies (3.00am)
- Portland Trail Blazers v Brooklyn Nets (3.00am)
- Los Angeles Lakers v San Antonio Spurs (3.30am)
Odds on these games will be available with bet365 later in this week as teams will be in action before these games take place with a full schedule of games from the 20th to 22nd December to be played too.
-
NFL Thursday Night Game
In addition to the NBA action, another early morning fixture sports fans should note is the Thursday Night Football action in the NFL, which gets underway in the UK at 1.20am on Christmas Eve morning (Friday).
In this game, the Tennessee Titans will host the San Francisco 49ers hoping to cement their place at the top of the AFC South ahead of the Indianapolis Colts, and also enhance their prospects of potentially finishing as the top seed in the AFC for the playoffs.
Their opponents, though are also looking to force their way into the playoff picture in the NFC, as they trail the Rams and Cardinals in the AFC West but still have a good enough record to potentially clinch a Wildcard spot, although they face competition from a number of teams for that spot.
Christmas Day Sporting Fixtures
-
NFL Christmas Day Game
In the United States, sport has traditionally played a key role in both their Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations and this year is no different as on Christmas Day, UK Time, the first of two back to back games in the NFL will get underway.
The first is a very important game in terms of the playoffs as the Green Bay Packers, who are chasing the top seed spot in the NFC, will host the Cleveland Browns, a team that are still harbouring hopes of winning their division or claiming a Wildcard spot with a strong finish to the season.
It will give fans a chance to see Aaron Rodgers and he high-power Packers offense go up against Myles Garret and his Browns defense in what is sure to be an intriguing match up and it is the first of two games back-to-back, but the second for UK NFL fans will kick off in the early hours of Boxing Day (see below).
-
NBA Christmas Day Games
As is the case in the NFL, the NBA Basketball has also featured Christmas Day games for a while and there are a couple of absolutely cracking game to enjoy over Christmas Day this year and into Boxing Day.
- New York Knicks V Atlanta Hawks (5pm)
- Milwaukee Bucks V Boston Celtics (7.30pm)
- Phoenix Suns V Golden State Warriors (10pm)
All six teams involved in these games will harbour serious ambitions of making the post-season and with the best two teams in the NBA in terms of their current records meeting in the 10pm game, you won’t be short of great basketball action on Christmas Day.
-
Crickets Third Ashes Test Starts
England’s toil against the Australians in the Ashes starts once again as late on Christmas Day, the third test match in the Ashes series gets underway and it is already looking likely to be a very long slog for England. They are going to need to win here to stand any chance of avoiding another heavy defeat to the Aussies and on past showing, that hasn’t looked likely.
Boxing Day Sporting Fixtures
-
Premier League Fixtures
Boxing Day has always been a traditional day for sport in the UK and the United S
tates and this is when the Premier League should get back into action, Covid-19 permitting. Whether all nine games scheduled for Boxing Day take place remains to be seen, but currently the schedule is as follows. Kick off is 3pm unless stated.
- Liverpool v Leeds United (12.30pm)
- Wolves v Watford (12.30pm)
- West Ham v Southampton
- Tottenham v Crystal Palace
- Norwich City v Arsenal
- Manchester City v Leicester City
- Burnley v Everton
- Aston Villa v Chelsea (5.30pm)
- Brighton v Brentford (8pm)
This is followed by Newcastle v Manchester United which takes place at 8pm on the 27th December,
-
NFL Boxing Day Fixtures
In addition to a very early game kicking off at 1.15am in the morning on Boxing Day, which will see the Arizona Cardinals facing off against the Indianapolis
 Colts in what is a crucial game for both teams, there is also a full selection of NFL games taking place on Boxing Day. These games are:
- Detroit Lions @ Atlanta Falcons
- Los Angeles Rams @ Minnesota Vikings
- Jacksonville Jaguars @ New York Jets
- New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles
- Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots
- Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals
- Los Angeles Chargers @ Houston Texans
- Tampa Buccaneers @ Carolina Panthers
- Chicago Bears @ Seattle Seahawks
- Denver Broncos @ Las Vegas Raiders
- Pittsburgh Steelers @ Kansas City Chiefs
The big games here include the Steelers against the Chiefs, the Broncos against the Raiders in a key divisional clash, while Bills and Patriots game will have a big say in how the AFC East eventually finishes up.
-
NBA Boxing Day Fixtures
As we run into Boxing Day from Christmas Day, there are some more fantastic NBA games to enjoy. Kicking off with one of the biggest clashed in the NBA between two of the super-teams.
- Los Angeles Lakers v Brooklyn Nets (1am)
- Utah Jazz v Dallas Mavericks (3.30am)
- Miami Heat v Orlando Magic (8.30pm)
- Washington Wizards v Philadelphia 76ers (11pm)
- Cleveland Cavaliers v Toronto Raptors (11pm)
- Sacramento Kings v Memphis Grizzlies (11pm)
While the Lakers v Nets will no doubt attract plenty of attention the Wizards and Cavaliers games also have plenty of interest with potential playoff contenders matching up, while the Jazz v Mavericks will be interesting if Luka Doncic is fit again for Dallas.
One of the most popular horse racing meets of the year also takes place on Boxing Day at Kempton Park, with the signature race being the King George VI chase. The race has featured a number of hugely popular and famous winners of the race including Desert Orchid (a 4-time winner), Kauto Star (a 5-time winner), Long Run, Cue Card, Thistlecrack, Best Mate and last year’s winner Frodon.
Frodon is back this year to try and win the race for a second time, but the ante post favourite is Clan Des Obeaux, who has won the race in 2018 and 2019 and is 11/4 with bet365 Sport at present.
*Please note all odds shown were correct at the time of writing but may have changed since and that all fixtures were set to be played at the time of writing but may be postponed and moved to a new date due to Covid.
Tags: bet365 Sport NBA NFL Premier League
Worried about your gambling?