The draw for the League Phase of this season’s Champions League takes place on Thursday, with Europe’s top teams discovering their fate for the first stage of the 2026–27 tournament.As part of the format revamp that happened ahead of the 2024–25 season, each of the 36 qualified teams are drawn to face eight opponents (four home, four away) with results contributing to one big table—rather than smaller groups, as in previous years.The eight teams with the most points then qualify for the Round of 16, while teams from 9–24 go into a preliminary playoff.There are rules on who a team can and cannot meet in the League Phase. For example, teams cannot face an opponent from the same country, while teams must be drawn against two opponents from each Pot (1–4), which separates clubs based on UEFA coefficient—a ranking system based on performance from the last five years.However, that is not all, and there is another rule which means one iconic matchup is definitely off the table when the balls are drawn in Nyon, Switzerland on Thursday.Why Can’t Liverpool Play Real Madrid at Anfield?Alexis Mac Allister scored the only goal when these two met last season. | Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty ImagesLiverpool are prevented from hosting Real Madrid in this season’s League Phase, due to a rule that aims to ensure variety in the fixture list.In both seasons since the Champions League’s format overhaul, Liverpool have hosted Real Madrid at Anfield in the League Phase, but won’t be able to do so for a third year running.Paragraph 16.03 of last season's Champions League regulations sets out the rule that prevents the same fixture occurring for three successive years.“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.“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.”Real Madrid Can Still Meet Familiar FoeHaaland’s City loom again for Real Madrid. | Naomi Baker/Getty ImagesWhile the UEFA rule stops Liverpool hosting Madrid, there is nothing to limit the chance of the Spanish giants coming up against Manchester City yet again this year.Madrid and City have played each other 13 times since 2019–20, but have not had the same run of League Phase meetings to trigger a UEFA intervention.In 2025–26, the two sides met three times across both the League Phase and Round of 16, while they have faced off in the knockout stages of the last five tournaments.Both teams are in Pot 1 for the League Phase draw this year and given Real Madrid cannot meet Barcelona or Atlético Madrid, Los Blancos have a 40% chance of facing City either home or away when the draw is made.When and Where Could Liverpool Face Real Madrid?If Liverpool face Real Madrid in the League Phase, it will be at the Bernabéu. | Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesThe two European giants with 21 titles between them can still meet in the League Phase, but only at the Bernabéu.From the knockout phase, all bets are off and, there will be nothing preventing Liverpool and Real Madrid from meeting at Anfield should their paths cross.Liverpool won both of their previous League Phase meetings with Madrid in the new-look Champions League.Back in 2024–25, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo scored in a 2-0 victory, while the former was on the scoresheet again last season as the Reds saw off Madrid at home.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow