Liverpool 'banned' from hosting Real Madrid at home in the Champions League

A modification in UEFA rules could stop Real Madrid from facing Liverpool at Anfield in the group phase of the 2026/27 Champions League.

On the evening of August 28, all six English clubs including Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham, and Newcastle learned their group stage opponents. Champions League 2025/26 under the new format featuring 36 teams, each playing 8 matches.

Notably, Trent Alexander-Arnold will travel with Real Madrid to Anfield to face Liverpool. However, due to a UEFA rule change starting from the 2026/27 season, Liverpool will no longer host Real Madrid at Anfield if the two teams meet again.

On UEFA’s official site, the Club Competitions Committee stated: “The committee has introduced an additional condition applicable to the 2026/27 Champions League draw, whereby no fixture will be repeated at the same home venue for three consecutive seasons. This means if two teams met in the 2024/25 group stage and again in 2025/26 with the same home team, the 2026/27 meeting cannot take place at that same venue (though they can still face each other at the opponent’s stadium).”

This implies that after Liverpool hosted Real Madrid at Anfield in the previous and current seasons, if they are drawn together again in 2026/27, the match will definitely be held at Santiago Bernabéu.

The draws for the English representatives

• Arsenal: Bayern Munich (home), Inter (away), Atlético (home), Club Brugge (away), Olympiakos (home), Slavia Prague (away), Kairat Almaty (home), Athletic Club (away).
• Chelsea: Barcelona (home), Bayern Munich (away), Benfica (home), Atalanta (away), Ajax (home), Napoli (away), Pafos (home), Qarabag (away).
• Liverpool: Real Madrid (home), Inter (away), Atlético (home), Frankfurt (away), PSV (home), Marseille (away), Qarabag (home), Galatasaray (away).
• Man City: Dortmund (home), Real Madrid (away), Leverkusen (home), Villarreal (away), Napoli (home), Bodø/Glimt (away), Galatasaray (home), Monaco (away).
• Newcastle: Barcelona (home), PSG (away), Benfica (home), Leverkusen (away), PSV (home), Marseille (away), Athletic Club (home), Union SG (away).
• Tottenham: Dortmund (home), PSG (away), Villarreal (home), Frankfurt (away), Slavia Prague (home), Bodø/Glimt (away), Copenhagen (home), Monaco (away).

These draws mean former Spurs captain Harry Kane will return to North London to face Arsenal. Kevin De Bruyne will play for Napoli and meet Man City at Etihad. Meanwhile, David Luiz will return to Stamford Bridge with Cyprus club Pafos.

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