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All UEFA Champions League & UEFA Europa League Venue Changes Confirmed

All UEFA Champions League & UEFA Europa League Venue Changes Confirmed

16 February, UCL: RB Leipzig vs Liverpool (moved to Budapest, Hungary)

The saying "home away from home" is taking on a new meaning in this season's UEFA Champions League and Europa League, with teams such as RB Leipzig, Manchester United and Arsenal having to move their home matches to neutral venues.

Scroll through the gallery above to see the games that have had to be moved so far.

Europe's elite club competition returns this week when Leipzig host the Reds on Tuesday night. However, the Bundesliga side were not allowed to host the 2018/19 UCL winners in Leipzig due to COVID-19 restrictions preventing travel from the UK to Germany.

As a consequence, the German club will now "host" the Reds at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary. The same stadium will also stage the first leg of Borussia Monchengladbach's round of 16 tie with Manchester City on 24 February.

The return fixtures of both match-ups are also under threat, with German government stating that the Bundesliga sides need to quarantine for two weeks upon their return from their games in the UK.

This is according to current coronavirus regulations, which would leave Liverpool and City with no choice but to move their home fixtures out of the UK. There is, however, a review of the German COVID-19 rules on 5 March, just five days before Liverpool are supposed to host Leipzig at Anfield, and those regulations could potentially be relaxed.

In addition, the first leg of Atletico Madrid's clash with Chelsea, which is set to take place on 23 February, was moved to the Arena Nationala in Bucharest, Romania.

Meanwhile, in the Europa League, Arsenal will play the first leg of their round of 32 tie against Benfica "away" at Rome's Stadio Olimpico, while United will "host" Real Sociedad at the Juventus Stadium in Turin for their first-leg encounter.

Other games affected are:

18 February: Molde vs Hoffenheim (to be played in Vila-real, Spain)
18 February: Wolfsburg vs Tottenham Hotspur (to be played in Budapest, Hungary)
25 February: Arsenal vs Benfica (to be played in Piraeus, Greece)

Read: The Top Goalscorers In Europe So Far This Season

It remains to be seen if more fixtures will be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and the regulations that follow it, but for some teams, the home advantage – albeit already without fans in the stands – has completely fallen away.

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