Copa Libertadores Futures 2024 (Knockout Rounds)

The 2024 Copa Libertadores group stage has ended and there are plenty of familiar faces left in this competition who always make deep runs in this tournament, but there have also been a few surprise teams making it out of the group stage as well. Now with the Round of 16 matches set and ready to begin on August 13, it is time to see who still has the best chance of making a deep run to the final to lift the trophy.

Flamengo +350: Flamengo is coming into this Round of 16 as the team with the best chance to win the title according to the oddsmakers. Flamengo was picked as the team with the best chance to win in a Copa Libertadores article prior to the group stage starting, and they still have a very good chance at winning this competition as they have one of the more talented squads in all of South America. The price has not changed from +350 prior to the 2024 edition of the competition starting. Flamengo is currently one of the top teams in the Brasileirao this season, fighting for the title, and this is a competition they are going to be focused on winning as it is the most desired trophy by these bigger clubs. Flamengo has not won many trophies recently so motivation is going to be high in this tournament, and this is a competition they have had a lot of success in over recent years. They have appeared in the Final in 2 of the last 3 seasons, winning the trophy just 2 seasons ago, and they have won the competition twice in the last 5 seasons as well. Flamengo always makes a deep run in this tournament and with the talent they have in their squad, they are still the best team in the competition this season. There is value at this price for Flamengo to lift the trophy this season. 

Palmeiras +400: Palmeiras is coming into this Round of 16 as the team with the next best chance at winning the title according to the oddsmakers. Palmeiras is another club that has had a lot of success in this tournament in recent years, making 2 appearances in the Final over the last 4 seasons and winning both times, but they have not made an appearance in the Copa Libertadores Final over the last 2 seasons and their team is not as strong this season. They have won the Brasileirao Title the last 2 straight seasons, but they have lost some of their talent this year and have struggled in the league. They still topped their group in the group stage at 4-2-0, but they are not going to have an easy opponent in the Round of 16. They will have to face another club from Brasil in their first match, playing against Botafogo, and Botafogo has been a very good team over the last 2 seasons. Botafogo was leading the title race last season before allowing Palmeiras back in it late in the year, and Botafogo is right at the top of the table in the Brasileirao once again this season. They have also won 2 of the last 3 meetings against Palmeiras over the last 2 seasons, keeping them from scoring a goal in 2 of those matches as well. This is not a great price for a Palmeiras side that has a very tough opponent right in the Round of 16 as this team could see an early exit with their squad losing talent this year as well. Even if they do get by Botafogo, Palmeiras does not have the best squad in this competition and there are other teams that could give them trouble deeper in the tournament. Palmeiras is not the best option here to lift the trophy this season. 

River Plate +450: River Plate is coming into this Round of 16 as the team with the next best chance at winning the title according to the oddsmakers. River Plate is regarded as the best team in Argentina and they are definitely one of the bigger clubs with a very intimidating stadium to play in, but the results simply have not been there in any of their competitions this season to show that this is even the best team in Argentina. They struggled in the 1st phase of their domestic season as they barely topped the table by 1 point in the Copa de la Liga, but they also fizzled out in the 1st round of the playoffs, losing to the eventual champions Estudiantes. They were the clear favorite to win the LPF title this season as well, but they have struggled more in this 2nd phase of the season as they are currently sitting in 12th place after 7 matches this season in their own league table. They topped their group in the group stage of this competition at 5-1-0, but they were in a much weaker group with no clubs from Brasil or Argentina. They are not going to have an easy opponent in the Round of 16 either as they have to face Talleres who is currently in 2nd place in the league table and has been one of the better teams in Argentina all year. River Plate has struggled against Talleres as well, losing 4 of their last 6 meetings with just 1 win in that span. River Plate does not have the best squad in this tournament so even if they get past Talleres in the first round, they are going to run into a better team eventually. They have not shown in their league matches this season either that they can dominate a stronger squad from their own league. There has only been 1 club from Argentina in the Copa Libertadores Final over the last 4 seasons which was Boca Juniors last season and River Plate has not made an appearance there since 2019 when they were the runner up. They have only won the competition once in the last 8 seasons and that was back in 2018, but this is not going to be their year as they do not have the squad to do it. There is no real value in River Plate to win the competition this season. 

Fluminense +700: Fluminense is coming into this Round of 16 as the team with the next best chance at winning the title according to the oddsmakers. Fluminense topped their group in the group stage at 4-2-0, but they did not play in a very strong group as there were no other clubs from Brasil or Argentina, the 2 strongest leagues in South America. They have also fallen completely out of form since the group stage and have struggled to get points in their own domestic league. Fluminense are actually the defending champions from last season as they beat Boca Juniors in the Final, but this is nowhere near the same quality team that had such a great season all around last year. They also have a tough opponent in the Round of 16 who they have struggled with a lot over the years. They will see Gremio in the Round of 16 and Gremio has not been a dominant team this season as they also lost some talent from last year, but they have been a wild card with their performances and they tend to dominate this Fluminense side. Gremio has won the last 7 straight meetings with Fluminense and Fluminense has failed to score a goal in 5 of those 7 matches. There is a very good chance that the defending champions go down in the Round of 16 but even if they do get past Gremio, they do not have the talent or depth in their squad to make a deep run in this competition. Even their win in this competition last season was the first time they have been back to the finals in 15 seasons. There is no value in Fluminense to win this competition and repeat as the champions. 

Atlético Mineiro +800: Atlético Mineiro is coming into this Round of 16 as the team with the next best chance at winning the title according to the oddsmakers. They topped their group during the group stage at 5-0-1 and have been a very dominant team in this competition, but they have been starting to fall out of form recently in their domestic league. They recently hired a new manager and they have been starting to improve once again after a stretch of poor form, but they have still been very inconsistent in their matches. They have a very good squad with a lot of talent, but it has not been enough in this competition in recent years. They have struggled to get to the Final, making no appearances in the last 10 straight seasons, and they have even struggled to win the Brasileirao Title consistently. They have an easier matchup in the Round of 16, but they are still facing a club from Argentina that plays in a very strong league, and San Lorenzo also has a very good defense that can cause problems for this Atletico Mineiro attack. Even if Atletico Mineiro makes it past them, they will eventually run into a stronger team that takes them out as they usually go out before they can get to the Final. There are better teams in the tournament this year and Atletico Mineiro will fall short once again. There is no value in them to win this competition this season. 

Botafogo +900: Botafogo is coming into this Round of 16 as the team with the next best chance at winning the title according to the oddsmakers. Botafogo does not have a history of going deep into this competition in recent years, but they have been improving a lot over the last 2 seasons. Last season, they were a huge threat in the Brasileirao all year as they led the table with a 10+ point lead for most of the season before collapsing in the final weeks, but they are back on top this season with one of the better teams in Brasil. They are going to be focused on going deep into this competition. They have a tough opponent in the Round of 16 as they are taking on Palmeiras who is one of the favorites to win the tournament, but Palmeiras has not been as good as their teams in previous years and Botafogo has actually beaten them twice in 3 matches over the last 2 seasons. Palmeiras has failed to score in 2 of those 3 meetings and Botafogo has a very good defense that is one of the best in Brasil. Botafogo has been steadily improving over the last few seasons and with the experience they gained from being one of the better teams in Brasil last year, they can draw from that in this competition and make a deep run. They have the talent in their squad and they have the defense to go far which will be very important in a competition like this. Botafogo is a true dark horse to win this competition this season, there is value in them to win at this price. 

There are plenty of good teams in this competition and some that were not mentioned here, but in reality this competition has been dominated by a select few teams over the last few years so there is not going to be much room for these smaller clubs from weaker South American leagues to go deep. This competition has been dominated by clubs from Brasil and Argentina over the last few years as there has not been a club from another country in the last 7 straight Copa Libertadores Finals, and 9 of the 14 teams that have appeared in those finals have been from Brasil as well. Brasil is still the strongest league in all of South America with plenty of talented teams this year and it is very likely that the winner of this competition will come from the Brasileirao as they have in the last 5 straight Copa Libertadores Finals. Flamengo is still the best team in this competition and will be focused on winning trophies this year after falling short the last few seasons. Flamengo at +350 has value here as they are the most likely team to win the tournament this season, but Botafogo at +900 is also a very good dark horse as they have a great defense and will be a threat deep in the tournament.