Chelsea’s Antonio Conte and his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola are among the Premier League managers who will sample England’s Boxing Day football extravaganza for the first time on Monday.
While the rest of the population gorges on Christmas turkey dinners and knocks back festive drinks, 16 teams will be gearing up for matches as part of a custom that stretches back over 150 years.
With Chelsea six points clear at the summit and chasing a 12th consecutive win, which would set a new club record, Conte is approaching the visit of Bournemouth with a spring in his step.
“This is the first experience for me and my family, to work, to play football (at this time of year),” said the Italian.
“It can be, and I hope it will be, a fantastic experience. The atmosphere we find in this period is very difficult to find in another period. It’s fantastic.”
Chelsea have registered 11 consecutive wins within the same season for the first time after winning 1-0 at Crystal Palace last weekend.
Another victory will leave them one win from equalling Arsenal’s 2002 record for successive wins in the same campaign, which they extended to 14 the following season.
But Conte will be without both top scorer Diego Costa and midfield lynchpin N’Golo Kante after they picked up suspension-incurring bookings at Palace.
Guardiola, too, is full of festive cheer following his side’s 2-1 comeback win over Arsenal last weekend, which left City seven points below Chelsea in third place.
While the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach appreciates the novelty of Christmas football, he is preparing for his side’s match at bottom club Hull City by pretending it is a regular fixture.
“This is my first year here and people say that at Christmas you have to be focused, because at home you celebrate with dinner and lunch, and we have to be prepared,” Guardiola said.
“We are going to train on the 25th in the afternoon and travel to Hull to play on the 26th. We will prepare for the game as if it was not Christmas time or Boxing Day.”
Arsenal slipped to fourth, nine points off the pace, after their loss at the Etihad Stadium, which followed hot on the heels of a 2-1 defeat at Everton.
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