Thursday’s Champions League draw on CBS Sports Golazo Network will showcase a variety of matchups for Europe’s elite clubs, yet a Liverpool‑Real Madrid encounter at Anfield will not occur this season following UEFA’s new rule designed to prevent the same fixture from recurring year after year in the league phase.
Liverpool and Real Madrid have faced each other at Anfield in the last two seasons, with the home side winning 2‑0 and 1‑0, but a repeat fixture on Merseyside is barred this year. UEFA’s procedure states that for the current league phase the exact same matchup cannot be repeated for three consecutive seasons; if the draw were to pair these two clubs, UEFA would instead have Real Madrid host the game.
Consequently, Andoni Iraola’s side may be scheduled for an away match at the Santiago Bernabéu, while a third trip to Anfield is ruled out—likely a relief to José Mourinho, given how his predecessors have fared in that role. The Liverpool‑Real Madrid fixture is one of two pairings that cannot be repeated this season. Arsenal travelled to the San Siro in the 2024‑25 and 2025‑26 league phases, losing the first meeting and winning the second against Inter, and will not meet in Milan for a third time this season.
Paragraph 16.03 of UEFA’s tournament regulations for the 2025‑26 season confirms that this amendment takes effect for the current league phase, with the draw set for midday ET on Thursday, September 27. The regulations state, “UEFA administration may determine alternative conditions for the draw in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee and may adapt any of the conditions of the draw to avoid deadlock situations and/or take into account any relevant constraints in light of decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee.”
“The UEFA Club Competitions Committee has determined an additional condition that may apply 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.”
The league phase of the Champions League, introduced in the 2024‑25 season, sees each of the 36 qualified clubs play eight games, with each side contesting one home and one away match against a separate opponent from each of the four seeding pots. The top‑eight ranked teams advance to the round of 16, while teams ranked ninth to 24th must enter a playoff round to determine their progression.
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.jpeg?w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1 "‘He was tested, went too defensive too early’ – Pujara questions Shubman Gill’s captaincy on Day 4 of Colombo Test")
