Copa Libertadores Futures (2024 Season)

The Copa Libertadores group stage is back and will be starting on Tuesday, April 2nd for the 2024 season. This competition has a rich history of Argentinian clubs dominating with 4 of the 5 most winningest clubs being from the country, but in recent years Brazil has begun to dominate with Brazilian clubs winning the last 5 straight as well as 6 of the last 7 titles. Fluminense are the defending champions from the 2023 season and now with the 2024 season right around the corner, it is time to see who has the best chance of winning the title this year.

Flamengo +350: Flamengo is coming into this season as the team with the best chance to win the title according to the oddsmakers. Flamengo is always a threat to win this competition as they have been one of the powers in Brazilian football over the last few years. Last season, they finished in 4th place in the Brasileirao Serie A, but they fizzled out of this competition in the Round of 16 against Olimpia. That exit has definitely left a bad taste in their mouths and they will be pushing to win this competition once again, making a much deeper run this season. Flamengo has been very good in the Copa Libertadores over the last 5 years as they have won the title 2 times and were the runners up 1 time in that span. This will be a competition they are focused on winning this year as they last won it in 2022 and they have not lost much talent from their team last season. They have actually improved in some key areas as their defense needed help and they have brought in some solid defenders in Leo Ortiz and Matias Vina to provide some depth when their squad is thin. They also picked up a defensive minded midfielder in Allan from Atletico Mineiro, as well as bringing in central midfielder Nicolas de la Cruz from River Plate. This Flamengo team already has a lot of potent attacking talent as well and they added to it with a young star in Matheus Goncalves. Flamengo struggled with their form last season to stay consistent but with the additions they have made for this season, they have been playing much better as they are ending their Carioca season very hot and great on defense, going into the Brasileirao in great form to start the season. Flamengo is going to be one of the dominant clubs in South America this season once again and they are a real threat to winning this title. 

Palmeiras +400: Palmeiras is coming into this season as the team with the next best chance at winning the title according to the oddsmakers. Palmeiras is another team that is always a threat to win this competition as they have been one of the powers in Brazilian football over the last few years. Last season, they won the Brasileirao Serie A Title but they fell short in the Copa Libertadores semi final against Boca Juniors. Palmeiras is going to be more focused on this competition this season after getting so close last year, especially since they won the league title last season as well. They have the talent on their team to make a deep run here, but their depth will be an issue as they get deeper into the competition. They did add some depth in the transfer window but they did not bring in any talent that is going to have a big impact on the pitch for them. They are also going to lose one of their star players midway through the season as Endrick will be leaving for Real Madrid in July. Palmeiras has been in good form in their Paulista Serie A1 as the season is coming to an end soon, but their defense has been allowing quite a few goals in their matches. This defense has regressed from last season and although Palmeiras has the talent to get them deep into this competition, their defense is what will be their dagger when they go up against a stronger team with a good attack and better defense. There are better options in this competition this season as it is not going to be Palmeiras’ year to win the title. 

Fluminense +600: Fluminense is coming into this season as the team with the next best chance at winning the title according to the oddsmakers. Fluminense finished last season in 7th place in the Brasileirao Serie A but they did go on a run in this competition out of nowhere, beating Boca Juniors in the finals and winning the Copa Libertadores Title. Their run last season did not really come out of nowhere as they were the best team in the Carioca that season and came into the 2023 season playing in such great form that it translated throughout the season, especially in this competition, but they are nowhere near that form coming into this season as they have been awful in their Carioca. It is also going to be very hard for them to repeat as champions since Palmeiras was the last team to do it in 2021-2022, and it does not happen often as the last team to do it prior to Palmeiras was Boca Juniors back in 2000-2001. Furthermore, that title win last season was the only Copa Libertadores Title that Fluminense has ever won in their club history. Fluminense did bring in a lot of players in the transfer window to try and keep their success this season, but a lot of the players they brought in were either older players past the age of 30 or very young players under 20 who do not have much experience playing at this level. It has really shown in the way they have been playing in the Carioca this season and their defense is simply not up to the same standard as it was last year which was good enough to get them to the finals. Fluminense is not going to have a lot of success in this competition this season and they are not going to repeat as champions this year.

River Plate +600: River Plate is coming into this season as the team with the next best chance at winning the title according to the oddsmakers. River Plate was the best team in Argentina last season by far as they won the Liga Profesional de Futbol Title with an 11 point lead over 2nd place. They did not have a lot of success in Copa Libertadores though as they were knocked out by Internacional in the Round of 16. River Plate has had a lot of success in this competition in their club history as they are the 4th winningest club of all time, winning 4 Copa Libertadores Titles as well as being the runners up 3 times, but the last time they won the competition was back in 2018 as the Brazilians have been dominant in recent years. River Plate was actually the last non-Brazilian club to win the competition, but this is not the same team that won the domestic league last season. River Plate lost some major talent in the transfer windows and it has really reflected in the way they have been playing in the Copa de la Liga Profesional. They lost 2 key pieces in their attack with the departures of central midfielder Nicolas de la Cruz and center-forward Lucas Beltran. They also lost a lot of other talented players which they did not replace with players nearly as talented. River Plate is still going to a force in Argentina this season as they always are, but they do not have the talent to take on some of the stronger teams in this competition. River Plate does not have a good chance at winning the Copa Libertadores Title this season. 

There are plenty of teams on the list to win this competition but Brazil has the strongest clubs in all of South America right now and with the recent domination of the competition by Brazilian clubs, in reality, these are the 4 best clubs with a real shot at winning. Of these 4 clubs, there is only 1 that is clearly above all others and they are going to have the motivation this season after missing out on winning any trophies last season. This team is refocused this season, they have the talent, they have the depth, and they have won the competition twice in the last 5 years. Flamengo at +350 is the best option to win the 2024 Copa Libertadores Title.