Copa Libertadores Group Betting 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. Despite having just 3 different teams win the title in the last 5 years, there is still a lot of value to be found in the group betting as there have been many good teams from different countries, other than Brazil and Argentina, who have made it through the group stage and caused some problems in the knockouts as well. With the group stage now just around the corner, it is time to see who has some value to make it out of the group stage.

Group B: Group B is the group consisting of Sao Paulo -275, Talleres de Cordoba +400, Barcelona Guayaquil +550, and Cobresal +3300. Sao Paulo is the clear favorite to win this group at -275 but they are not a very dominant team so this is a steep price for them to win this group. Sao Paulo does have a very good defense that does not concede many goals, but their attack struggles to score goals, especially away from home. Leaning on their defense may be enough to qualify but they are going to struggle to pick up the points needed to win this group with that weaker attack. They won their group in Copa Sudamericana last season but they are going to be playing with much stronger competition here. Talleres has been on the rise recently as they finished in 2nd place last season in Argentina, behind River Plate who won the title, and they have a very good attack that is going to be able to bail them out of tight situations. Their defense has not been great to start the season but they did have one of the best defenses in their domestic league last season so they are going to be a very dangerous team in this group once they tighten up their defense. Talleres is a real threat to win this group with the talent they have and there is a lot of value in them here, Talleres to win Group B at +400.

Group C: Group C is the group consisting of Gremio -175, Estudiantes +250, The Strongest +600, Huachipato +2000. Gremio is coming into this competition as the favorite to win their group, but this is not the same team that did so well in the Brasileirao Serie A last season. Gremio came up from Serie B last season and made an immediate impact in Serie A as they acquired some big names including stars like Luis Suarez. They came close to winning the domestic league last season and did finish in the top 3, but now Suarez has left for Miami as well as some of their other talented players leaving and they are not going to be as good as they were last year. This club is due for some regression after performing so well in their 1st season up from Serie B and they are going to regress this year with the talent they lost. They are also going to have the added challenge of having to play extra midweek matches in this competition which is not something they had to do last season, usually focusing on just 1 match per week. They do not have the depth to dominate in this competition while also maintaining standing in the domestic league. Estudiantes has been improving in Argentina over the last year as they finished 5th in the domestic league last season and they also performed very well in their Copa Sudamericana group. They finished in 2nd place of their Copa Sudamericana group last season, but they were actually unfortunate as they were tied for 1st with 14 points but lost the group on goal differential despite scoring 14 goals and allowing just 1 in their 6 group matches. Estudiantes is going to be focused on this competition as it has been a very long time since they last won it, last winning the title in 2009, and they have had success in this competition since they are 5th on the all time list with 4 titles. Estudiantes has the talent to win this group with Gremio due for some regression this season, Estudiantes to win Group C at +250.

Group D: Group D is the group consisting of Botafogo -125, LDU Quito +150, Junior Barranquilla +800, and Universitario de Deportes +2000. Botafogo is the favorite to win this group and for good reason as they were one of the best teams in Brazil last season, coming very close to winning the title. They were a very good team and were leading the domestic league for most of the season, but in the final weeks of the season they really cracked under the pressure and blew their massive lead. They have a lot to focus on this season as they are going to be trying to recover from that monumental collapse at the end of last season while also trying to focus on going deeper into this competition. They have the talent to do well in this group but they do not have a lot of depth as they showed last season when they started to pick up injuries. They have not been in this competition in years either as the last time they were in Copa Libertadores was back in 2017 so there is a good chance the pressure will get to them once again. They do not have a walkover in this group either since they are in a group with LDU Quito who has a very good team. LDU Quito actually has more experience in this competition recently than Botafogo as their last appearance was back in 2021, but LDU Quito are also the defending champions of Copa Sudamericana as they won that competition last year. LDU Quito knows the grind of this competition much better than Botafogo does right now and that is going to help LDU Quito get through this group and even win it. LDU Quito to win Group D at +150.

Group B: One team that has a lot of value to qualify from this group is Talleres at -138. Talleres was mentioned earlier as a potential threat to win this group outright so -138 is not a bad price at all for them just to qualify even in 2nd place. Talleres to qualify at -138.

Group C: One team that has a lot of value to qualify from this group is The Strongest at +175. The Strongest is a club that has been very consistent over the last few years. They have not made it out of the Copa Libertadores group stage in the last 3 years, but they have made it to the Copa Libertadores group stage the last 3 straight seasons. Last season they finished last in the group but they are going to have a group with some weaker competition this time. Huachipato is a team they will have no problems with and even Gremio as well as Estudiantes could easily be defeated as they have not been dominant teams in recent times. The Strongest also has a huge advantage in their home matches since they are from Bolivia so teams have to play in a very high altitude that they are not used to, usually leading to weaker squads traveling for these matches. The Strongest to qualify at +175.

Group E: One team that has a lot of value to qualify from this group is Bolivar at +100. Bolivar returned to Copa Libertadores last season after missing the year prior, but they surely made an impact as they qualified from their group in 2nd place. They have been a very dominant team in their domestic league over the last year and they managed to get out of a very tough group last season, even pulling off a win over Palmeiras, the group winner. Bolivar also has a big advantage in their home matches as they play in Bolivia in a very high altitude so teams that come to visit do not usually do well, just as Palmeiras lost there last year. Their strong home advantage gives them a big edge over the other teams in this group as those will be precious home points that will be very tough for even the best team in the group to take from them. Bolivar to qualify at +100.

Group G: One team that has a lot of value to qualify from this group is Penarol at +100. Atletico Mineiro likely has this group locked up but the 2nd place spot is up for grabs as there is no clear 2nd best team in this group. Rosario Central has slightly better odds to qualify from this group, but they are not a very dominant team in their domestic league and they have a very weak attack that struggles to score goals as well. Penarol may play in a weaker domestic league but they dominate that league with a very potent attack that finds the net often. They also have a very good defense that does not concede many goals and that will take them far in this group stage when fighting for 2nd place. This is also a competition that Penarol will be highly focused on since they missed Copa Libertadores last season and they have had a lot of success in the competition as they are 3rd on the all time list with 5 titles as well as 5 times being the runners up. Penarol to qualify at +100.