Liverpool’s 12.30pm Bridge visit follows midweek Palace game as Chelsea’s December is set
The Premier League has fixed the dates and kick-off times of Chelsea's December league games, with Liverpool visiting Stamford Bridge three days after a Wednesday-night meeting with Crystal Palace. Every Chelsea league game in 2026 is now confirmed, though the Aston Villa date still depends on the Carabao Cup.
Chelsea will face Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in a Saturday lunchtime kick-off just three days after hosting Crystal Palace under the lights, after the Premier League confirmed its live UK television selections for the first three weeks of December on 19 October. The Liverpool game keeps its original date, but the start has been brought forward, with TNT Sports showing it live, the club said.
The Palace match falls on Wednesday 2 December and will be broadcast by Sky Sports. Liverpool have the same short turnaround: they host Sunderland that evening at the same time, so both sides arrive at the Bridge off a midweek fixture, according to the Premier League.
Xabi Alonso’s side then travel to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City on Saturday 12 December at 5.30pm, also on Sky Sports. The final league game before Christmas is at home to Aston Villa on Monday 21 December at 8pm, again on Sky.
Every Chelsea league game in 2026 now has a date
The festive fixtures were already in place. In September the club announced a trip to Coventry City on Sunday 27 December at 2pm and a visit to Ipswich Town on Wednesday 30 December at 8.15pm, both live on Sky Sports. With the four December changes added, supporters planning travel and tickets know when Chelsea play every remaining league game of the calendar year.
The timing matches the commitment the league made to supporters. When the 2026/27 schedule was released, the Premier League promised at least six weeks’ notice of broadcast picks up to December and set the week commencing 19 October for announcing selections for rounds 13 to 20. Tickets for the Palace game are priced at Category A, and members who attend will earn three loyalty points.
A cup run could pull the Villa game forward
One date remains provisional. The league says the Villa fixture will move to Saturday 19 December, keeping the same evening kick-off time, depending on EFL Cup participation. Chelsea’s schedule already sets aside Wednesday 16 December for the Carabao Cup fifth round, a midweek slot that would fall between the trip to Manchester and the Villa game.
The run that will shape that decision begins at Anfield. Chelsea earned the fourth-round tie by beating Leeds 6-3 in the previous round, and were allocated 6,025 away tickets, including 45 non-ambulant tickets and the same number for personal assistants, all of them digital. Sky Sports noted that the tie is one of six fourth-round meetings between two Premier League clubs and marks Alonso’s first return to Anfield as Chelsea manager.
That cup tie is the next fixed point in the calendar: Chelsea play Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday 28 October, at the same evening kick-off time as the Villa fixture, live on ITV and Sky Sports in the UK.
References
Fixture amendments for Premier League matches in December (Premier League)
Carabao Cup fourth-round draw: Liverpool to host Chelsea as Arsenal drawn away to League Two Fleetwood (Sky Sports)
Four Chelsea December fixtures moved for TV (Chelsea FC)
Premier League announce four Chelsea fixture changes as Xabi Alonso thrown curveball (Yahoo Sports)
Stamford Bridge: Arne Müseler, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons
