One of football's oldest traditions is the Boxing Day fixture. Brentford's game this year is one of the more unusual ones - an evening trip to Brighton and Hove Albion. It is, however, a momentous one, our first ever Premier League Boxing Day game.

The Bees head south for a match that will kick-off at 8pm on Boxing Day, Sunday 26 December. It is the first of a trio of Christmas matches. It also sees Brentford's return to Premier League action.

The Bees have not played in the Premier League since Friday 10 December. That night Brentford scored late goals to take a 2-1 win. Subsequent games against Manchester United and Southampton were postponed before Brentford lost a Carabao Cup Quarter Final to Chelsea last night.

Brighton have also had two matches postponed. The weekend Brentford were beating Watford, their game against Tottenham Hotspur was postponed and they also have to rearrange a match against Manchester City. Defeat to Leicester City in the Carabao Cup in October means Brighton have not played since 15 December and only once since 4 December.

Their most recent game was a 1-0 home defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers. That was a third loss in an 11-match run without a win. Eight of those matches have been draws, including against high-flying Arsenal, Liverpool and West Ham United.

Brighton now sit 13th in the Premier League table. They, like Brentford, have 20 points from 16 games but are behind The Bees on goal difference. Both sides sit in a group of six teams separated by three points.

The teams met earlier in the season at our new stadium and Brighton took the win thanks to a last minute goal from Leandro Trossard. This will be Brighton's fifth season in the Premier League and the teams last met in the 2016/17 campaign. The Bees had the better of it that year, winning away and drawing at Griffin Park. Brentford won three and lost one of six games between the teams when they were both in the second tier, while Brighton also won an FA Cup tie. Prior to that, The Bees won just one in seven games over a seven year spell.

Tickets are available for this match until 5pm this evening, Thursday 23 December. They are only available from our Box Office. See full ticket information here.

The match will be live on Sky Sports in the UK and Brentford fans can also listen live on Bees Player. Full information on the service can be seen here. Bees fans living overseas should check this page to see if they can watch the game live.

Fans attending the game are reminded that COVID-19 protocols are in place at all major outdoor events. Brentford supporters will need to show proof of their COVID status to gain entry. This is a condition of attendance. See full details of all Brentford FC COVID protocols here.