Liverpool are unlikely to welcome Real Madrid to Anfield during the league phase of this season’s Champions League, following a UEFA rule that prevents the same fixture from recurring under identical circumstances for three consecutive campaigns.
The Reds have faced the Spanish giants at Anfield in the opening stage of Europe’s premier club competition in each of the last two seasons. To avoid repetitive matchups, UEFA implemented a regulation that restricts the possibility of the same teams playing one another with the same home side for three consecutive years.
As a result, Liverpool cannot be paired with Real Madrid at Anfield in the 2026/27 league phase. However, a meeting between the two clubs is still possible if Andoni Iraola’s side are drawn to travel to the Santiago Bernabéu when Thursday’s draw takes place.
The rule stems from UEFA’s competition regulations, which grant organisers the authority to modify draw conditions when necessary. Under the governing body’s framework, special provisions can be introduced to prevent complications and ensure a wider variety of fixtures throughout the league phase.
A specific condition approved by UEFA’s Club Competitions Committee applies to the Champions League draw for the 2026/27 campaign. The measure states that an identical fixture cannot be repeated in the same competition with the same club playing at home for three successive seasons.
In practical terms, if two teams met during the league phase in 2024/25 and were drawn together again in 2025/26 with the same club hosting on both occasions, UEFA’s rules prevent that exact home-and-away arrangement from happening for a third consecutive year in 2026/27.
That regulation directly affects Liverpool and Real Madrid, whose recent meetings at Anfield mean another league-phase clash on Merseyside is off the table. A showdown in Madrid, however, remains firmly in play as both clubs await their European fate.
Liverpool beat the Champions League record holders 2-0 at Anfield, thanks to Cody Gakpo and Alexis Mac Allister’s goals in the 2024/25 season. The Argentine scored the winner in a 1-0 game when both sides met again at the same venue the following season.
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