Liverpool will not be allowed to host Real Madrid at Anfield in the Champions League group stage next season.
Arne Slot’s team face Real at home on Tuesday, going into the match with six defeats in their last eight games across all competitions, although they did record a 2-0 Premier League win over Aston Villa on Saturday.
In this season’s Champions League, Liverpool have beaten Atletico Madrid and Frankfurt but suffered a loss to Galatasaray on matchday two. Real Madrid, on the other hand, have won all their games so far and currently sit top of the league phase.
However, a lesser-known UEFA rule means this will be the final group-stage meeting at Anfield for at least the next two years.
UEFA has added a regulation—effective from the 2026/27 draw—that prevents the same fixture from having the same home team three seasons in a row. Since Liverpool hosted Real last season and are hosting them again this season, they cannot be drawn to play Real at Anfield in next year’s group stage. If the two clubs are paired again, the match must take place at the Bernabeu instead.
To maintain the requirement of four home and four away matches, one of Liverpool’s other away fixtures would then be switched to Anfield. The rule only applies to the league (group) phase and does not affect knockout matches.
UEFA’s official wording states that if two teams play each other in the league phase in back-to-back seasons with the same home team, they cannot be drawn with the same home team again in the third season—though they may still face each other at the opposite venue.
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