Christmas Sport on TV: Celtic v Rangers, Hearts v Hibs, EPL football, rugby, darts and more

A feast of sport on the box to keep you entertained over the festive period

There is plenty of live sport on offer over the Christmas and New Year period with a host of live football including the Old Firm and Edinburgh derbies, 1872 Cup rugby and much more...

Saturday, December 23

Football: The action gets underway at 12.30pm on TNT Sports 1 as West Ham host Manchester United in the English Premier League's lunchtime kick-off. Alternatively, Sky Sports Football will be showing Leeds United v Ipswich Town in the English Championship at the same time. Rangers fans might be particularly interested in that one with former player Glen Kamara now a regular in the Leeds midfield since his £5m summer move from Ibrox. The English Premier League then takes centre stage again in the 5.30pm kick-off as title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal lock horns at Anfield live on Sky Sports Main Event.

Hibs host Hearts in a December 27 derby at Easter Road.

Fans of Hibs and the Scotland national team may take an interest in the Hellas Verona v Cagliari match being shown on TNT Sports 4 at 5pm for a chance to see former Easter Road youngster Josh Doig in action in Serie A, although the 21-year-old has been an unused substitute since his last appearance on November 10. Roma v Napoli is also a tasty looking fixture on TNT Sports 1 kicking off at 7.45pm.

Rugby: Scotland rugby fans may want to tune into Bath v Harlequins in the Gallagher Premiership for a chance to see Finn Russell in action. He is part of a strong Scottish contingent at Bath alongside Josh Bayliss, Cameron Redpath and Ruaridh McConnochie. The match kicks off at 3.05pm and will be shown live on TNT Sports 1. There is also the chance to watch another Scotland star, Blair Kinghorn, in action for new club Toulouse as they take on Toulon in the French Top 14 live on Viaplay Sports 2, kick-off 8pm.

Darts: The World Darts Championship second round concludes across two sessions with World Matchplay winner Nathan Aspinall, ninth seed Jonny Clayton, 2021 semi-finalist Stephen Bunting and 2022 World Youth Champion Josh Rock all taking to the stage. The action will be shown on Sky Sports Arena from 12.30pm onwards as well as Sky Sports Main Event at 3pm and 8.30pm. The tournament then takes a three-day break over Christmas, resuming on Wednesday, December 27.

Sunday, December 24

The second leg of the 1872 Cup should be tasty.

Football: Christmas Eve action gets underway with Motherwell v Rangers in the Scottish Premiership in the 12 noon kick-off at Fir Park live on Sky Sports Football. The second half of the match clashes with the start of Wolves v Chelsea in the English Premier League, which gets underway at 1pm at Molineux and will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event.

Monday, December 25

A day to spend with family where TV choices include the King's Speech, Tabby McTat, Toy Story 4 and Doctor Who, but for the sports fan who simply must watch live action on Christmas Day then Sky Sports NFL is showing three American football matches while you can find live NBA basketball on TNT Sports 1.

Tuesday, December 26

There is plenty live sport on TV over Christmas and New Year including big football and rugby derbies in Scotland. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

Football: There is a Boxing Day feast of English Premier League football taking place on Amazon Prime Video with five matches being shown back-to-back on the subscription platform. Newcastle v Nottingham Forest kicks things off at 12.30pm before Bournemouth v Fulham and Sheffield United v Luton Town are shown concurrently at 3pm. Burnley v Liverpool is next up at 5.30pm before Manchester United v Aston Villa concludes nearly 10 hours of non-stop live football in the 8pm kick-off.

Celtic are also in action on Boxing Day, away to Dundee, in a Scottish Premiership match that will be shown live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event with kick-off set for 3pm. There are also three English Championship matches taking place on Sky Sports Football - Preston v Leeds at 1230pm; Birmingham v Stoke at 5.15pm and Ipswich v Leicester at 7.45pm. A choice of nine live football matches in total!

Rugby: There are three URC derby matches being shown on Viaplay Sports 1 on Boxing Day as follows – Cardiff v Dragons at 3pm (also on BBC 2 Wales), Scarlets v Ospreys (also on S4C) at 5.15pm and Munster v Leinster at 7.35pm.

Horse racing: STV and ITV1 will be showing the action live from Kempton and Wetherby from 12.30 to 3pm, with the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase, in its earlier slot of 2.30pm this year, providing the main event.

Liverpool and Arsenal give armchair viewers a pre-Christmas gift.

Wednesday, December 27

Football: Amazon Prime Video is again the place to be for live English Premiership football with three matches being shown in the evening. Brentford v Wolves and Chelsea v Crystal Palace will both be broadcast at 7.30pm while Everton v Manchester City gets underway at 8.15pm. North of the border, all eyes will be on the Edinburgh derby between Hearts and Hibs at Easter Road, which is live on Sky Sports Football, kick-off 8pm.

Darts: The World Darts Championships returns for the opening two sessions of round three, which will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena from 12.30pm and 7pm.

Thursday, December 28

Football: Two more English Premier League matches will be shown on Amazon Prime Video with Brighton v Tottenham, and the chance to watch Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour in action for the home side, kicking off at 7.30pm while Arsenal v West Ham gets underway at the later 8.15pm start time.

Darts: The World Darts Championship third round continues with three matches in the afternoon session and three matches in the evening, which will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena from 12.30pm and 7pm.

Horse Racing: ITV4 will be showing the action from Kempton and Chepstow from 12.30 to 3.30pm with the Coral Welsh Grand National the highlight where Venetia Williams’ Quick Wave and the Harry Fry-trained Ask Me Early are well-fancied in the antepost market.

Friday, December 29

Football: The English Championship takes centre stage and there will be Scottish interest in Southampton v Plymouth Argyle at 6pm on Sky Sports Football with national team players Che Adams and Stuart Armstrong among the Saints ranks, while ex-Rangers striker Ryan Hardie is a key player for Argyle. This is followed by West Brom v Leeds on the same channel in the later 8.15pm kick-off. Scottish Championship matches are proving a popular addition to BBC Scotland’s Friday night line-up with Dundee United v Partick Thistle the latest offering with the action getting underway at 7.45pm.

Darts: The World Darts Championship third round concludes while the fourth round gets underway. You can watch all the action on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena from 12.30pm and 7pm.

Basketball: Caledonia Gladiators, the sole-Scottish team in the British Basketball League, the top tier of the sport in the UK, are in action against London Lions. Tune into Sky Sports Mix from 7.30pm.

Horse racing: ITV4 will broadcast from Leopardstown and Leicester with coverage taking place from 12.45 until 3.30pm. The spotlight will be on Ireland and day three of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival. The 175,000 euro Savills Chase is the top-class highlight alongside the three-mile Christmas Hurdle.

Saturday, December 30

Football: Game of the day takes place in Scotland where Celtic host Rangers in the Old Firm derby. The Scottish Premiership showdown is live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football and coverage starts at 11.30am ahead of the 12.30pm kick-off. The same two channels will also show Manchester United, who Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay is now captaining, away to Nottingham Forest in the tea-time game in the English Premier League, which kicks off at 5.30pm. TNT Sports 1 will also show Luton Town v Chelsea in the EPL, 12.30pm kick-off.

Rugby: All eyes will be on Murrayfield for the second leg of the 1872 Cup between Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors. The URC match is due to kick-off at 3pm and will be shown live on Viaplay Sports 1.

Darts: The fourth round of the World Darts Championship concludes before the tournament takes a one-day break ahead of resuming on New Year's Day. The afternoon session starts at 12.30pm and the evening session gets underway at 7pm, both live on Sky Sports Arena and Sky Sports Main Event.

Horse racing: ITV4 coverage comes from Leopardstown and Doncaster from 12.45 until 3.30pm. The Matheson Hurdle is the highlight at Leopardstown with the Neville Hotels Novice Chase (1.45) the other Grade One on the supporting card.

Sunday, December 31

Football: There is only one live football match taking place in the UK on Hogmanay and it comes from Craven Cottage where Fulham host Arsenal in a 2pm kick-off live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.

Rugby: Anyone looking for a rugby fix before the bells can find it on Viaplay Sports 1 in the shape of Castres v Perpignan in the French Top14 at 1pm or on TNT Sports 1 as Bath travel to Leicester Tigers for a 3pm kick-off in the Gallagher Premiership.

Horse Racing: The Coral Challow Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury is the annual highlight in Britain on New Year’s Eve and will be shown as part of ITV4's racing coverage which runs from 1 until 4pm.

Monday, January 1

Football: There is plenty live football to nurse you through your New Year's Day hangover with Sky Sports showing four matches across the top three divisions in England. The lunchtime kick-off sees Sunderland and newly-appointed head coach Michael Beale, who was recently sacked by Rangers, hosting Preston North End in the Championship at 12:30pm. It's then down to League One as Derby County take on Peterborough United at 3pm before Sheffield Wednesday welcome Hull City in the Championship at 5.15pm – all three matches shown live on Sky Sports Football. Those are the appetisers for the evening Premier League showdown between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Anfield live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, kick-off 8pm.

Rugby: Welsh and Irish derby matches in the URC are being shown live on New Year's Day with Ospreys v Cardiff (3pm) available free-to-air via BBC 2 Wales and the BBC iPlayer, likewise Dragons v Scarlets on S4C at 5.15pm. Both games are also on Viaplay Sports 1. The other two matches – the Irish derbies Connacht v Munster and Leinster v Ulster – are on Viaplay Sports 1 starting at 3pm and 5.15pm respectively.

Darts: The World Darts Championship resumes with the quarter-finals taking place across the afternoon and evening sessions, which will be shown on Sky Sports Arena only.

Horse Racing: The six-day run of terrestrial TV concludes with seven New Year’s Day races from Cheltenham, Musselburgh and Tramore, with coverage lasting from 1 until 3.30pm on STV and ITV1. Musselburgh features the Hogmaneigh Handicap Hurdle and 'Auld Reekie' Handicap Chase.

Tuesday, January 2

Football: The first live Scottish Premiership match of 2024 sees Celtic travel to St Mirren for a 5pm kick-off live on Sky Sports Football. The evening match comes from the English Premier League as West Ham host Brighton on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League at 7.30pm.

Darts: The Word Darts Championship reaches the semi-final stage with coverage starting on Sky Sports Arena at 7.30pm.

Wednesday, January 3

Darts: Expect fireworks as the World Darts Championship final at the Alexandria Palace takes place on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena from 7.30pm onwards.