Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Liverpool, Real Madrid, Champions League, Football
Ryan Smart
Liverpool have been banned from facing Real Madrid in the Champions League at Anfield in next season's group stage.
Arne Slot's side head into Tuesday's home group stage fixture against Real having lost six of their last eight matches in all competitions, though did beat Aston Villa 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.
As far as the Champions League is concerned, Liverpool have defeated Atletico Madrid and Frankfurt in their three matches thus far this season, but lost to Galatasaray on matchweek two.
Real, meanwhile, have a 100 per cent record and top the league phase going into Tuesday's clash.
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But a little-known UEFA regulation means that it will be the last time they visit Anfield for a group stage match for at least two years.
UEFA introduced a new rule into the 2026/27 draw stating that teams who were drawn against each other twice in two consecutive seasons, with the same home team, could not be drawn into the same fixture for a third season.
With Liverpool having defeated Real 2-0 at Anfield in the group stage last season, the new rule means that, if they were to be drawn against the Spanish giants again next term, the fixture would have to be played at the Bernabeu instead.
That would then force one of Liverpool's away matches to be moved to Anfield in order to maintain the four home and four away fixtures rule.
The regulation only applies to the group stage and not a knockout stage fixture.
The UEFA rule in full reads: "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 (although, for the sake of clarity, those teams could still be drawn against each other at the venue of the other team)."