The Boxing Day of 1963… it has been remembered many times before. A selection of the results of that day? 10-1, 2-8, 4-4, 1-5… and so on. 62 years later, the matches won’t happen there, but there is still plenty of reason to turn on the TV on Boxing Day. And this despite the absence of the classic Boxing Day programming.
There is only one match scheduled in England. And although that with Manchester United – Newcastle United is a beautiful poster, it can be called meager. It has everything to do with the broadcast rights of the Premier League. The contracts stipulate that only five rounds may not be completed during the weekend, which means that the association now has no choice but to largely not have the Christmas match round take place on Boxing Day.
Attention at Old Trafford
The entire Championship will be in action on Friday, all teams also have to compete in League One and League Two. Although the main focus will of course be on Old Trafford, where Manchester United hopes to bounce back after two games without a win. Newcastle has been doing better in recent weeks, but had a negative outlier with the lost derby against Sunderland. If you win, Newcastle will move into the left-hand row, while Manchester’s position will come under pressure if you lose.
So more is happening outside England, including in Belgium. In the Jupiler Pro League it has been a custom for years to continue playing football during Christmas. Anderlecht, Club Brugge, Genk, Union… they will all be in action on Friday afternoon/evening. The game that seems to be going to be the best starts at 1:30 PM. Then Genk will receive number two Club Brugge at home. Leader Union then plays against Cercle.
Main course
In the meantime, there is of course also the African Cup all day long, with the first match also at 1:30 PM. However, the main course of the fifth day of the final tournament will not take place until 9:00 PM. Then Morocco and Mali will kick off their second group match. The Atlas Lions started the tournament with a 2-0 win over the Comoros, while they only managed a draw against Zimbabwe.
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