UEFA regulations have imposed a different course for any potential clash between Real Madrid and Liverpool in the league stage of the 2026-2027 Champions League.
The draw for the league stage will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 27 at 7 p.m. Mecca time, inside the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Each team will face 8 opponents, with 4 matches at home and 4 away.
UEFA has adopted a rule to prevent the same match from being played by the same team during the league stage for three consecutive seasons.
Liverpool hosted Real Madrid in the league stage for the 2024-2025 season, winning with two goals without reply, scored by Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo in the second half.
The clash was repeated at Anfield in the following season 2025-2026, and Liverpool again managed to win with a goal for nothing, which carried Mac Allister’s signature with a header after a free-kick goal by Dominik Szoboszlai.
The rule states that if two clubs have faced each other in the past two seasons, and both matches have been played at the same team’s stadium, the match cannot be repeated at that stadium for the third season in a row.
Accordingly, the draw will not allow Liverpool to host the Royal Club for the third season in a row, but it is still possible that Real Madrid will be drawn to face the English team at the Santiago Bernabéu, and they could meet later in the knockout stages.
