A UEFA rule change could effectively prevent Real Madrid from playing Liverpool at Anfield in the 2026/27 Champions League initial league phase. On Thursday afternoon, all six Premier League clubs – Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham, and Newcastle – learned their opponents for the eight-game, 36-team league stage of Europe’s premier competition.
Naturally, the draw produced some mouthwatering ties. Tottenham will travel to holders Paris Saint-Germain in a repeat of the Super Cup, while Chelsea – whose supporters entered this campaign among the most optimistic – face a daunting run against Spanish champions Barcelona, German champions Bayern Munich, and Italian champions Napoli.
Another standout fixture is Real Madrid’s scheduled trip to Anfield. The Reds have faced the Spanish giants frequently in recent years, including two Champions League final defeats, but this clash carries added drama: it would mark Trent Alexander-Arnold’s first return to his boyhood club since departing at the end of the 2024/25 season.
Why Liverpool Cannot Play Real Madrid At Home in 26/27 Season
According to UEFA’s website, “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.”
Because Liverpool hosted Los Blancos both last season and are set to do so again this term at Anfield, any meeting next season would have to take place at the Bernabeu. That may come as a relief to Trent, after he was on the winning side last season when second-half goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo lifted the Reds to the top of the league phase.
Manchester City are another club probably sick of the sight of Real Madrid, with the sides set to meet for the sixth time in seven seasons this term. However, because last season’s clash came in a league phase playoff, it does not fall under the same rule – meaning they could still face each other at either venue in the 2026/27 season.