Liverpool will not be able to face Real Madrid at Anfield in this season’s UEFA Champions League as per the European governing body’s rules.

The six-time Champions League winner hosted the record 15-time champion in the last two seasons, with Liverpool walking away with wins on both occasions.

Why can’t Liverpool face Real Madrid at Anfield?

Liverpool will not be able to host Real Madrid due to a UEFA rule that aims to avoid the same fixture occurring in the league phase for three successive years.

Can Liverpool face Real Madrid in Bernabeu?

Yes, Liverpool and Real Madrid can face each other at the Bernabeu due to an additional condition introduced by the UEFA Club Competitions Committee.

“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,” paragraph 16.03 of last season’s Champions League regulations reads.

“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,” it added.

What happened in the last two meetings between Liverpool and Real Madrid?

In 2024-25, the first season of the revamped format, second-half goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo secured a 2-0 victory. Mac Allister found the back of the net the following edition, with a 61st-minute header off Dominik Szoboszlai’s free kick.

Published on Aug 26, 2026