Live sport: How, when and where to watch all the best action on TV this Christmas
It’s the most wonderful time of the year if you are a sports fan with endless live action to get stuck into.
Here Morning Wire details the biggest and best events over the festive period and how to watch them.
Scroll down for a full list.
Football
It all gets underway this Saturday as Arsenal travel to a resurgent Everton for the early afternoon kick off with both on the cusp of appointing new managers in Carlo Ancelotti and Mikel Arteta.
Later in the day third place play second as Manchester City host Leicester before on Sunday there’s a London derby that will see Jose Mourinho face former club Chelsea and former player Frank Lampard.
Amazon Prime will be showing every match live on Boxing Day with Liverpool’s trip to Leicester in the evening the pick of the bunch, before BT Sport have live coverage of nine games on New Years Day leaving plenty of choice.
Cricket
England welcomed back James Anderson this week as they drew a two-day warm-up match against a Cricket South Africa Invitation XI in Benoni.
It was his first appearance since injuring his calf on day one of the first Ashes Test in August and is a welcome boost for England ahead of the first Test with South Africa.
The five-day Test gets underway on Boxing Day and all the action is live on Sky Sports.
Rugby Union
BT Sport has exclusive rights to show Premiership Rugby and the festive action gets underway this weekend as Exeter Chiefs travel to struggling Leicester on Saturday before London Irish welcome Bath Rugby on Sunday.
There are four live games over the course of the following weekend, with Exeter against Saracens the must-watch affair of the weekend on Sunday 29 December.
Darts
The World Darts Championship is already underway and has thrown up a number of surprises so far with last year’s runner-up, the 2018 champion, the world No 9 and the five-time world champion all eliminated.
It also saw Fallon Sherrock become the first woman to win a match at the World Championship by coming from behind to beat Ted Evetts 3-2.
All the coverage is live on Sky Sports and there are games everyday up until the final on New Years Day, except for a three-day break over Christmas (24-26 December), and rest day on 31 December.
Racing
The festive horse racing gets underway with the aptly-named Christmas Racing Weekend at Ascot this Saturday ahead of the highly-anticipated King George VI Steeple Chase which is part of a full racecard at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.
All the racing will be live on either ITV or ITV4 with racing from Chepstow, Newbury and Leicester prior to Cheltenham’s New Years Day Racing.
See below for a full list of live action below.
Football
Saturday 21 December
12:30pm – Everton v Arsenal – BT Sport
5:30pm – Manchester City v Leicester City – Sky Sports
Sunday 22 December
2pm – Watford v Manchester United – Sky Sports
4:30pm – Tottenham v Chelsea – Sky Sports
Thursday 26 December
12:30pm – Tottenham v Brighton – Amazon Prime
3pm – Bournemouth v Arsenal – Amazon Prime
3pm – Chelsea vs Southampton – Amazon Prime
3pm – Aston Villa v Norwich City – Amazon Prime
3pm – Everton v Burnley – Amazon Prime
3pm – Sheffield United v Watford – Amazon Prime
3pm – Crystal Palace v West Ham – Amazon Prime
5.30pm – Manchester United vs Newcastle United – Amazon Prime
8pm – Leicester City v Liverpool – Amazon Prime
Full day of Championship football on Sky Sports red button
Friday 27 December
7:45pm – Wolves v Manchester City – Amazon Prime
Saturday 28 December
12:30pm – Brighton v Bournemouth – Sky Sports
5:30pm – Norwich v Tottenham – Sky Sports
8pm – Burnley v Manchester United – BT Sport
Sunday 29 December
2pm – Arsenal v Chelsea – Sky Sports
4:30pm – Liverpool v Wolves – Sky Sports
Full day of Championship football on Sky Sports red button
Wednesday 1 January
12:30pm – Brighton v Chelsea – BT Sport
12:30pm – Burnley v Chelsea – BT Sport
3pm – Newcastle v Leicester – BT Sport
3pm – Southampton v Tottenham – BT Sport
3pm – Watford v Wolves – BT Sport
5:30pm – Manchester City v Everton – BT Sport
5:30pm – Norwich v Crystal Palace – BT Sport
5:30pm – West Ham v Bournemouth – BT Sport
8pm – Arsenal v Manchester United – BT Sport
Full day of Championship football on Sky Sports red button
Cricket
Thursday 26 December – Monday 30 December
South Africa v England – First Test – Sky Sports
Rugby Union
Saturday 21 December
3pm – Leicester Tigers v Exeter Chiefs – BT Sport
Sunday 22 December
3pm – London Irish v Bath Rugby – BT Sport
Friday 27 December
7:45pm – Bristol Bears v Wasps – BT Sport
Saturday 28 December
2pm – Northampton Saints v Gloucester Rugby – BT Sport
4:30pm – Harlequins v Leicester Tigers – BT Sport
Sunday 29 December
3pm – Exeter Chiefs v Saracens
Darts
Ongoing – Wednesday 1 January
World Darts Championship – Sky Sports
Racing
Saturday 21 December
Ascot – ITV
1:50pm – Plymouth Gin Handicap Chase
2:25pm – Marsh Hurdle (Registered As The Long Walk Hurdle) (Grade 1)
3:00pm – Dave Dawes Silver Cup Handicap Chase (Listed Race) runners
3:35pm – Betfair Exchange Trophy (A Handicap Hurdle) (Grade 3)
Thursday 26 December
Kempton Park – ITV
1:20pm – The Ladbrokes Casino Steeple Chase (A Novices’ Limited Handicap)
1:55pm – The Ladbrokes Kauto Star Novices’ Steeple Chase (In Memory Of Nigel Clark) (Grade 1)
2:30pm – The Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle Race (Grade 1)
3:05pm – The Ladbrokes King George VI Steeple Chase (Grade 1)
Friday 27 December
Kempton Park – ITV 4
1:20pm – The Ladbrokes Wayward Lad Novices’ Steeple Chase (Grade 2) 2m
1:55pm – The Ladbrokes Mares’ Handicap Hurdle Race (Nhmops Bonus Race) 3m 121y
2:30pm – The Ladbrokes Desert Orchid Steeple Chase (Grade 2) 2m
3:05pm – The Ladbrokes Handicap Steeple Chase (0-145) 3m
Chepstow – ITV4
1:05pm – The Coral #Yourcall Novices’ Limited Handicap Steeple Chase
1:35pm – The Coral Finale Juvenile Hurdle Race (Grade 1)
2:10pm – The ‘The Smart Money’s On Coral’ Handicap Hurdle Race
2:50pm The Coral Welsh Grand National Handicap Steeple Chase (Grade 3)
Saturday 28 December
Newbury – ITV
1:50pm – The Betway Heed Your Hunch Handicap Hurdle Race
2:25pm – The Betway Mandarin Handicap Steeple Chase
3:00pm – The Betway Challow Novices’ Hurdle Race (Grade 1)
3:35pm – The Betway Novices’ Handicap Steeple Chase
Leicester – ITV
2:40pm – The Leicestershire Silver Fox Handicap Steeple Chase (Qualifier For The Challenger Middle Distance Chase Series Final)
3:15pm – The Leicestershire Bronze Fox Handicap Hurdle Race
Wednesday 1 January
Cheltenham – ITV
1:25pm – The 888 Sport Dipper Novices Steeple Chase (Grade 2)
2:00pm – The 888 Sport Handicap Steeple Chase (Grade 3)
2:35pm – The 888 Sport Handicap Hurdle Race
3:10pm – The Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle Race (Grade 2)