Liverpool will not host Real Madrid at Anfield in the 2026-27 Champions League league phase. UEFA has introduced a rule that blocks the same home fixture from occurring three seasons in a row.
That decision removes one of European football’s most charged modern matchups from the Anfield calendar before Thursday’s draw. Liverpool have beaten Real Madrid at home in each of the last two league phases, winning 2-0 in 2024-25 and 1-0 in 2025-26.
The two sides can still meet in the league phase. If they do, the match will be played at the Bernabeu in Madrid.
UEFA rule ends a third straight Anfield meeting
UEFA’s new draw condition for 2026-27 states that the same fixture, with the same home team, cannot be repeated three seasons running in the same competition.
This regulation directly affects Liverpool and Real Madrid. The Reds hosted the Spanish giants in both previous league phases. With both clubs in pot one for Thursday’s draw, a third consecutive Anfield meeting is off the table.
Paragraph 16.03 of last season’s Champions League regulations spells out the rule. UEFA’s administration can set alternative draw conditions, based on principles from the Club Competitions Committee, and can adapt those conditions to avoid deadlocks or address relevant constraints.
For Liverpool, the impact is clear. Another famous European night against Real Madrid at Anfield is no longer possible this season.
Anfield witnessed back-to-back Liverpool wins over the 15-time European champions: 2-0 in 2024-25, 1-0 last term. That run ends here.
Bernabeu trip remains possible for the Reds
Liverpool, whose Champions League qualification outlook has drawn attention, join Real Madrid, Inter Milan, and Arsenal among the 36 teams in Thursday’s league-phase draw. All four clubs are in pot one, reflecting their status among UEFA’s nine highest-rated participants this season.
The current format, introduced in 2024-25, gives each club eight matches against eight different opponents. Teams face two opponents from each of the four pots, playing one home and one away game against a side from every pot.
Liverpool and Real Madrid are not prevented from facing each other entirely. The restriction applies only to the home venue. Any league-phase meeting this season would take place in Madrid, not Merseyside.
That change will sting for supporters who watched Liverpool win both recent Anfield contests. The fixture itself survives in the draw, but the unique atmosphere of Real Madrid arriving at Anfield will not return for a third straight league-phase season.
Inter Milan and Arsenal are the only other clubs affected by the same rule. Inter hosted Arsenal in each of the last two league phases, winning 1-0 two seasons ago before Arsenal won 3-1 last term on their way to their first Champions League final in 20 years.
As with Liverpool and Real Madrid, Inter and Arsenal can still be paired, but not with Inter at home for a third consecutive season. Thursday’s draw will reveal whether Liverpool’s recent Anfield wins over Real Madrid are followed by a return match at the Bernabeu.