Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest kick off a busy Boxing Day of English Premier League football at 12.30pm, with Eddie Howe’s ravaged Magpies desperate to get back on the winning trail.

Following last weekend’s defeat at Luton, further questions are being asked of Newcastle’s squad depth. Manager Howe is dealing with an injury crisis but is refusing to use that as an excuse for sub-standard results. Asked if his players were running on empty, Howe said: “No, I don’t think we can say they’re running on empty. Of course it’s been a very difficult and challenging period for us, but other than an acknowledgement of that, I don’t know where you go from there because we’ve got another game in three days’ time, so we’ve got to find a way to refill our energy levels and go again. This game is unforgiving and no one is going to help us. We can only help ourselves.” Newcastle can take heart that the match against struggling Forest is at home, given they have won their past seven league matches at St James’ Park.

There are two 3pm games, with Bournemouth taking on Fulham at the Vitality Stadium and a massive match at the foot of the table as Sheffield United host Luton. Then at 5.30pm, Liverpool travel to Burnley with their own injury issues. With regular left-back Andy Robertson still recovering from shoulder surgery, his deputy Kostas Tsimikas is now also sidelned after breaking his collarbone against Arsenal. “Robbo will be back (next month) and Kostas will be definitely out for a long while,” confirmed manager Jurgen Klopp. “I didn’t have time to think it through yet, but it is really tough for us now.”

Newcastle United will be looking for inspiration from striker Callum Wilson.

The 8pm is match is Manchester United against Aston Villa, with Old Trafford expected to be a lively place following the confirmation of Jim Ratcliffe’s investment. United lost their last outing at West Ham 2-0 and are in desperate need of a pick-me-up. “We keep losing games, losing points and we’re making it very hard for ourselves – especially that second half, it’s not good enough,” said defender Luke Shaw.

Amazon Prime Video has the rights to all the matches on Boxing Day and all five will be broadcast across its platforms.

What channel is Newcastle v Forest, Burnley v Liverpool and Man Utd v Aston Villa on? Full TV details for Boxing Day football