Liverpool will not be allowed to host Real Madrid in the league phase of this year’s Champions League under new rules.
Real Madrid have visited Anfield during the group stage for the past two seasons running, with Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo sealing a 2-0 victory in the 2024-25 season and Mac Allister scoring the only goal of their encounter the following campaign.
However, Uefa has introduced a ruling to avoid the same exact fixture being repeated in the league phase of Europe’s premier competition – which was revamped to the current format for the 2024/25 season – for three years running.
Andoni Iraola’s side could still be drawn to visit the Bernabeu in the league phase, which would not fall foul of the regulations.
Paragraph 16.03 of last season’s Champions League regulations notes: “Uefa administration may determine alternative conditions for the draw in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee and may adapt any of the conditions of the draw to avoid deadlock situations and/or take into account any relevant constraints in light of decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee.
“The Uefa Club Competitions Committee has determined an additional condition that may be applicable to the Uefa Champions League draw for the 2026/27 season, deciding that any individual fixture between the same two teams may not be repeated in the same competition with the same home team for three consecutive seasons.
“This means that if any teams that already played against each other in the league phase of the Uefa Champions League in the 2024/25 season are again drawn against each other, with the same home team, in the league phase of the Uefa Champions League in this 2025/26 season, those teams will not be able to be drawn against each other with the same home team in the 2026/27 season.”
The draw for this season’s league phase at a ceremony in Monaco.
The draw will arrange the eight matches each team contests in the 36-team first phase – facing two teams from pots one, two, three and four. Half of the matches will be at home, the other half away.