Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Eredivisie: When will major European leagues return to action
- Seb Sternik
- 25 December 2022
Boxing Day marks the return of Premier League football following an enthralling World Cup break, but what about everybody else?
With Christmas behind us, the attention turns to a packed Boxing Day fixture list in the Premier League. Brentford host Tottenham in the opening match on Monday afternoon before the rest of England's top tier resume their campaigns.
Here, Planet Sport reveals when Europe's other major competitions return to action.
Ligue 1 - December 28
Top tier football returns in France just two days after England, with six games taking place on Wednesday, December 28.
Defending champions and league leaders Paris Saint-Germain will be one of the teams in action as they host Strasbourg.
However, the first two games on that day will see a huge relegation scrap between 18th placed AC Ajaccio and bottom-of-the-table Angers, plus Troyes against Nantes.
Liga Portugal - December 28
Action over in Portugal also resumes on Wednesday, December 28.
Two games will be on the menu as Portimonense take on Casa Pia and FC Porto host Arouca.
League leaders Benfica will resume their campaign two days later with an exciting trip to third-placed Braga.
La Liga - December 29
Spanish football will mark its comeback on Thursday, December 29.
There will be three games on offer, starting with a clash between Girona and Rayo Vallecano.
Real Betis will host Athletic Bilbao later in the day, before Atletico Madrid take on Elche in the main event.
Real Madrid are set to return a day later with a trip to Valladolid. Barcelona, on the other hand, take on Espanyol in a much-anticipated derby on New Year's Eve.
Serie A - January 4
Sadly, football fans will have to wait until the start of 2023 to see the return of Serie A.
The competition will resume on Wednesday, January 4, with a full round of fixtures taking place on that day.
AC Milan, for instance, travel to Salernitana for an early kick off. Jose Mourinho's AS Roma will host Bologna later in the afternoon, while city rivals Lazio travel to Lecce.
Juventus are also on their travels and will take on Cremonese. However, the big hitting main event will take place in the evening as Inter host Napoli in a potential blockbuster.
Eredivisie - January 6
The action over in the Netherlands will return on the first full weekend of 2023.
Friday, January 6, will see the first match between high-flying Twente and strugglers FC Emmen.
PSV will resume their campaign a day later against Sparta Rotterdam. League leaders Feyenoord and defending champions Ajax will play on the Sunday of that weekend against Utrecht and Nijmegen.
Bundesliga - January 20
While most competitions return quite briskly following the World Cup break, the Bundesliga will make us wait until late January.
Football will return in Germany on Friday, January 20, with Bayern Munich travelling away to RB Leipzig.
Freiburg, who are currently Bayern's top title rival, will be back a day later with an away game against Wolfsburg.
As for Jude Bellingham and co, Borussia Dortmund will be back on Sunday, January 22, with a home clash against Augsburg.
