While many of the old staples of English football have been replaced, Boxing Day football continues to be beloved by fans across the country.

The 2024/25 season will be no different and Chelsea supporters have an exciting London derby with Fulham to look forward to.

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What better way to wear off some of the turkey and mince pies than a gentle stroll down Fulham Road before watching Enzo Maresca’s men take on our nearest neighbours?

With the 2024/25 fixtures released this morning, we took a look back at some of our most memorable Boxing Day clashes over the years.

1996/97 – Aston Villa 0-2 Chelsea

Villa Park in the mid-1990s was a trip few clubs looked forward to and the Blues headed to the Midlands to face a team who had finished fourth and won the League Cup the season before.

Under the stewardship of the great Ruud Gullit, following Glenn Hoddle’s departure to join England, this was a new-look Chelsea team, which included soon-to-be club legends Gianfranco Zola and Roberto Di Matteo in their first seasons at the Bridge.

Zola’s artistry would ultimately help Chelsea finish sixth (one place below Villa), win the FA Cup and secure him the FWA Footballer of the Year Award. And not for the first or last time that season, the little genius would be the match-winner as he bagged his third and fourth goals for the club, although they did arrive courtesy of a big deflection and with a bit of help from future Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Bosnich.

2005/06 – Chelsea 3-2 Fulham

With fixture schedulers often attempting to keep teams local for at least one of their festive fixtures, unsurprisingly, this west London derby has frequently taken place during the Christmas and New Year period.

The Blues had won 15 of our 17 Premier League matches heading into the clash on Boxing Day 2005 and by the third game of the campaign, had already gone top of the table and would not relinquish that position all season as we retained the title.

It looked like another comfortable win was on the cards for Jose Mourinho’s troops as we rushed to a 2-0 lead through William Gallas and Frank Lampard.

But within five minutes, Brian McBride had scored and a Heidar Helguson penalty made it 2-2 just before the hour mark.

Two moments of real quality were to decide the contest though as Joe Cole picked out the run of Hernan Crespo with a deep cross and his classy volley while on the run secured all three points.

2007/08 – Chelsea 4-4 Aston Villa

For some people, Boxing Day is all about having a lazy afternoon nap after overeating their Christmas dinner leftovers. Well, there was no chance of that for those inside Stamford Bridge on December 26 2007.

Eight goals, three outstanding finishes, three red cards, two penalty kicks and drama until the very end; this was a Premier League classic.

Shaun Maloney’s brace – which included an uncharacteristic fumble from Petr Cech – saw the Villains go 2-0 up before Zat Knight was sent off and Andriy Shevchenko converted the resulting spot-kick.

The Ukraine icon would score an exceptional equaliser from long range before Alex added a thumping third to give the Blues the lead for the first time.

The momentum continued to swing as Martin Laursen equalised, Ricardo Carvalho saw red for a two-footed lunge and Michael Ballack made it 4-3 with just three minutes of normal time remaining through a high-quality, low free-kick.

But the drama was not done there as in injury-time, referee Phil Dowd adjudged Ashley Cole to have handled while blocking on the line, giving the left-back a straight red card and leaving Gareth Barry to covert the game’s eighth goal.

2014/15 – Chelsea 2-0 West Ham United

Another Boxing Day London derby win arrived when Chelsea – on our way to a Premier League and League Cup double – defeated West Ham United courtesy of goals from John Terry and Diego Costa.

With Jose Mourinho in his second season since returning to the club, Chelsea went top of the table on week one of the campaign and apart from a brief spell across matchday two, stayed there all season.

Terry tapped in Costa’s knockdown for 1-0 just after the half-hour mark and the striker then scored with an excellent trademark finish in the second period.

But in truth, it would have been an absolute rout had it not been for West Ham goalkeeper Adrian as the Blues laid siege to his goal throughout.

2016/17 – Chelsea 3-0 Bournemouth

No Kante. No Costa. No problem. This was Antonio Conte’s Chelsea at their dominant best as despite missing two of their key players and starting with no recognised striker, the Blues made it a club record 12 consecutive Premier League wins at the Bridge.

The front three of Eden Hazard, Willian and Pedro took a bit of time to bed in on the day but eventually ran riot against Eddie Howe’s side.

Pedro curled in from outside the box and also had a shot deflected in for a brace, with Hazard converting a penalty he had won in between.

Chelsea would finish the season as champions for a fifth time, Conte would claim the LMA Manager of the Year crown, Kante would lift the PFA Player of the Year award, Costa would end the campaign with another 20-plus goals, and there would be four Blues in the PFA Team of the Season.

Bournemouth were just the latest side to succumb to this excellent Chelsea team.

Chelsea’s Boxing Day results during the Premier League era

1992/93 – Chelsea 1-1 Southampton (Newton)

1993/94 – N/A (Lost 3-1 away to Southampton on December 27)

1994/95 – Chelsea 2-3 Manchester United (Spencer (pen), Newton)

1995/96 – Chelsea 1-2 Wimbledon (Petrescu)

1996/97 – Aston Villa 0-2 Chelsea (Zola x2)

1997/98 – Chelsea 1-1 Wimbledon (Vialli)

1998/99 – Southampton 0-2 Chelsea (Flo, Poyet)

1999/00 – Southampton 1-2 Chelsea (Flo x2)

2000/01 – Ipswich Town 2-2 Chelsea (Gudjohnsen x2)

2001/02 – Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea (Lampard)

2002/03 – Chelsea 0-0 Southampton

2003/04 – Charlton Athletic 4-2 Chelsea (Terry, Gudjohnsen)

2004/05 – Chelsea 1-0 Aston Villa (Duff)

2005/06 – Chelsea 3-2 Fulham (Gallas, Lampard, Crespo)

2006/07 – Chelsea 2-2 Reading (Drogba x2)

2007/08 – Chelsea 4-4 Aston Villa (Shevchenko x2 (1x pen), Alex, Ballack)

2008/09 – Chelsea 2-0 West Bromwich Albion (Drogba, Lampard)

2009/10 – Birmingham City 0-0 Chelsea

2010/11 – N/A (Lost 3-1 away to Arsenal on December 27)

2011/12 – Chelsea 1-1 Fulham (Mata)

2012/13 – Norwich City 0-1 Chelsea (Mata)

2013/14 – Chelsea 1-0 Swansea City (Hazard)

2014/15 – Chelsea 2-0 West Ham United (Terry, Costa)

2015/16 – Chelsea 2-2 Watford (Costa x2)

2016/17 – Chelsea 3-0 Bournemouth (Pedro, Hazard, S.Cook OG)

2017/18 – Chelsea 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion (Morata, Alonso)

2018/19 – Watford 1-2 Chelsea (Hazard x2 (1x pen))

2019/20 – Chelsea 0-2 Southampton

2020/21 – Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea (Abraham)

2021/22 – Aston Villa 1-3 Chelsea (Jorginho x2 (2x pens), Lukaku)

2022/23 – N/A (Beat Bournemouth 2-0 at home on December 27)

2023/24 – N/A (Beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at home on December 27)