The qualifying rounds for the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League commenced this week, two months before Liverpool enter the league phase of the tournament.
The Reds finished top of the expanded league table in the competition last season under its radical new format, only to be eliminated on penalties in the round of 16 by eventual trophy winners Paris Saint-Germain.
The governing body of European football has confirmed a slight yet potentially significant tweak to the tourmaent for the upcoming campaign, one which could possibly have implications for the Reds.
UEFA confirm Champions League change for 2025/26
As reported by Dale Johnson for ESPN, UEFA have amended the regulation for the Champions League knockout phase which is intended to reward sporting merit from the league phase, rather than using a random draw to determine the order in which two-legged ties are played.
The teams which finish first and second in the league phase will now be guaranteed to have the second leg at home in each round up to the final, should they progress that far, while the top four sides would be afforded that benefit up to and including the quarter-finals.
However, should the lower-placed team win a knockout tie (as PSG did against Liverpool in March), they would effectively ‘win’ the right to home advantage for the second leg. For example, should 1st lose to 16th, the 16th-placed team would have the second leg at home all the way until the final, if they get that far.
The decision to move away from re-ranking each tie as the rounds progress inadvertently places the teams finsihing third and fourth at a disadvantage, as they’ll no longer be able to have their semi-final second leg at home, even if they come up against a side finishing as low as 24th in the league phase.
How could that impact Liverpool’s approach to the Champions League?
Theoretically the Reds should’ve benefitted from topping the league phase last season, but in reality they were unfortunate to come up against a PSG side who stuttered before Christmas but have been imperious throughout 2025.
Some Liverpool fans might duly argue that finishing anywhere in the top eight would do, so as to avoid going through an extra Champions League round in February, although many of our greatest European nights have been with the second leg at Anfield, where we know the task in hand and the supporters respond accordingly.
It’s not an issue that Arne Slot’s side will encounter until next spring, as the league phase obviously has to be negotiated first, although it might become more significant by the time we get to the New Year.
The time will come when Kopites are buzzing for Champions League nights at Anfield, but for now, LFC remains a club in mourning after the tragic death of Diogo Jota, to whom so many heartfelt tributes have been paid on Merseyside and beyond.
Liverpool’s first pre-season friendly against Preston on Sunday represents a tentative initial step back towards a sense of routine for the players as they try to come to terms with the awful events of last Thursday.
