Arsenal will not play Inter Milan away and Liverpool cannot be drawn against Real Madrid at home in the upcoming Champions League draw. A new UEFA rule introduced for this campaign bans teams from playing the same fixture in three consecutive years.
New rule explained
It has been two years since UEFA remodelled its competitions, replacing the traditional group stage with a "Swiss Model" league phase. Instead of eight groups of four, the Champions League and all other European competitions now have one 36-team league.
Every side is drawn against eight different opponents, two from each of the four seeding pots, with one home tie and one away tie from each. The top eight in the phase progress to the round of 16. Those in 9th to 24th place play a play-off before that stage, and teams who finish 25th to 36th are eliminated.
A host of rule changes accompanied this shift. From 2026/27 onwards, a new condition has been introduced: no fixture between the same two teams can be repeated with the same host in three consecutive seasons. This could impact both Arsenal's and Liverpool's league-phase draws.
Arsenal's Inter history
For the last two Champions League renewals, Arsenal have travelled to the San Siro to face Inter. In the 2024/25 season, they were beaten 1-0 after Hakan Calhanoglu converted a late first-half penalty.
One year later, the draw handed them another trip to Italy, though this time they ran out convincing winners. Gabriel Jesus grabbed a brace and Viktor Gyokeres rounded off a 3-1 victory. Arsenal went a perfect eight wins out of eight in the opening stage on their way to the final in Budapest, where they lost on penalties to reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Because Mikel Arteta's team have faced Inter at the San Siro in the last two league phases, they cannot be drawn against the Italian team away in the upcoming draw. This does not stop them from drawing Inter at home, however. The rule only applies to the same fixture at the same venue, so Inter could be given a trip to the Emirates.
Liverpool's Real Madrid ban
Liverpool, who cannot face Arsenal or any other English side until the knockout stages under the league-phase rules, are in the same position. The Reds welcomed Real Madrid to Anfield in 2024/25 and snapped an eight-game winless run against them with a 2-0 victory. Goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo sealed the deal.
It was Real Madrid against Liverpool last season, too, as they hosted the Spanish giants in the league phase. Mac Allister netted the only goal of the game as Liverpool beat Real Madrid 1-0.
Like the Gunners, then, Andoni Iraola's Liverpool have a 'banned' fixture in the upcoming draw: they cannot be given a home tie with Real Madrid. But the inverse is allowed, so they could draw Jose Mourinho's side away and face a journey to the Bernabeu.
The now-automated league phase draw is expected to get underway at around 5pm on Thursday, when the Reds and the Gunners, the only English sides impacted by the new rule, alongside Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa, will learn their fate.
