Why Sheffield Wednesday fans are annoyed by Sheffield United’s Premier League fixture list schedule

Sheffield United start their first season back in the top flight with a visit to Bournemouth.

Fans have been combing through the fixture list all morning, picking out trips to Liverpool on New Year’s Day and Manchester United on March 21 as two of the standout fixtures.

However, the fixture list has left some Sheffield Wednesday fans frustrated after looking at the Christmas schedule.

The Championship fixtures will be released on Thursday, June 20, but Wednesday fans can already make Boxing Day plans.

Sheffield United take on Watford at home on Boxing Day, meaning that Sheffield Wednesday will be playing away from Hillsborough.

This is because the football league operates a pairing system, meaning paired teams cannot play at home on the same day.

As a result, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday do not play at home on the same day for a number of reasons including crowd control, transport and shared resources.

This means that Sheffield Wednesday fans will be forced, once again, to travel to an away match on Boxing Day.

Sheffield Wednesday have not played a Boxing Day game at home since beating Birmingham City 3-0 in 2015.

One Wednesday fan tweeted: “Looks like 4 seasons in a row #swfc away on Boxing Day.”