We have 16 teams left in the Champions League. 7 of those teams have a Yank on their roster who has appeared this season, 5 of whom won their group. Obviously, this is by far the best opportunity for a Yank to win the Champions League in the 21st century. But will it happen? Among the 7 teams with a Yank, Bayern Munich, Man City, and perhaps Chelsea (at least on current form) feel like legit competitors to win the tournament. You could also see Juventus making a run. Otherwise the Yank teams feel like longshots. Among the non-Yank teams, Liverpool and PSG are the strongest competitors. What's your prediction? Will a Yank get the first CL win of the modern era? Got a Yank: Man City (Group Winner) Juventus (Group Winner) Dortmund (Group Winner) Bayern Munich (Group Winner) Barcelona Chelsea (Group Winner) Red Bull Leipzig Not a Yank PSG (Group Winner) Real Madrid (Group Winner) Liverpool (Group Winner) Lazio Sevilla Atletico Madrid Atalanta Porto Borussia Monchengladbach
Eh. Wouldn’t feel very meaningful if Steffen or Richards won it given their lack of contribution. If Reyna, Pulisic, Adams, Dest or McKennie won it that would be a lot cooler. -BVB = no chance - RB Leipzig = no chance - Barca = slight chance - Juve - chance - Chelsea - chance
Barca have no chance IMO. I think its possible that Richards could have a meaningful role in the next round, particularly if one of the old and tired CBs go down.
Yea, if injuries break the right way Steffen or Richards could have a meaningful role but that looks unlikely.
Richards looks to have the best chance to me. McKennie, Steffan with possible chances too, but I really doubt the others have much of a shot. That's still pretty good.
538, whose odds aren't great but they are odds, list the odds as such: Got a Yank: Man City: 24% Juventus: 3% Dortmund: 6% Bayern Munich: 17% Barcelona: 10% Chelsea: 7% Red Bull Leipzig: 3% Not a Yank PSG: 7% Real Madrid: 6% Liverpool: 7% Lazio: <1% Sevilla: 1% Atletico Madrid: 5% Atalanta: 1% Porto: <1% Borussia Monchengladbach: <1% Which puts an American winning at 70%. Personally, an American not win unless they're an integral part. Gotta keep the kids hungry for silverware when 2022 and 2026 roll around.
Now, the "correct" way to read these odds is this way: Having a Yank clearly improves your chances of winning, so all those teams should run out and get one!!!
I'd still think Pool are the overall favorites, but in aggregate i'd say the odds of a Yank winning vs not winning are about even, which is the first time we could have ever said that
Dortmund have a good chance to make the final 8 for the first time since what, 2016? If Haaland gets hot and they get a lucky draw, anything is possible...
Joe Scally officially moves from NYCFC to Gladbach in January, right? Obviously both the odds of Gladbach winning the CL and the odds of Scally making a contribution in CL are extremely low, but it's not completely impossible *insert "so you're saying there's a chance".gif here*
It would be cool if he gets a game if only to increase the record number of yanks with CL appearances. Isn’t he expected to join the first team straight away?
I can't see Steffen getting much PT unless City's #1 has a long-term injury, but it's 50-50 with Richards IMO. Bayern are showing some of their CBs/CB options the door and they really like what they've seen from a guy who is significantly ahead of logical expectations. That said, very few prospects make it anywhere and even fewer make it at Bayern. While I personally think it's unlikely that he'll go on loan in January, it all depends on who's borrowing (who's the coach, what's the club philosophy, will he be depth or rotator, etc.) and which other defenders move or stay. And, of course, Bayern have to win the damn thing.
Most likely matchups due to not being able to play teams from your own side and taking into considerations Group winners it really narrows down the chances of who you can play. Dortmund - Athletico/Porto/Atalanta/Sevilla/ Barcelona Juventus - Leipzig/Sevilla/Athetico/Porto/Gladbach Bayern-Porto/Atalanta/Sevilla/Lazio/Barcelona Chelsea- Lazio/Barcelona/Porto/Atalanta/Leipzig/Atletico City- Atletico/Porto/Atalanta/Gladbach/Sevilla/Leipzig/Barcelona/Lazio RBL - Juventus/Chelsea/City/Liverpool/Madrid Barcelona- PSG/Liverpool/City/Chelsea/Dortmund/Bayern NON US possible matchups PSG- entire runner up group except Leipzig due to no other restrictions based on their league teams Porto - likely only in a group pot of English due to the fact that Spanish teams and German teams have all teams remaining in competition. It will likely restrict their pool Lazio- PSG/Chelsea/Liverpool/CityMadrid/Bayern Atalanta- Bayern/Madrid/Liverpool/City/Chelsea/Dortmund/PSG Atletico- Dortmund/Juventus/Chelsea/CIty/PSG/Juventus/Liverpool Sevilla- Dortmund/Juventus/PSG/Liverpool/Man City/Bayern Madrid- Lazio/Atalanta/Leipzig/Porto Gladbach- City/Liverpool/Chelsea/PSG/Juventus Liverpool- entire runner up pool except Atalnta since all EPL teams finished atop group except United (elmininated) These are the only possible matchups based off of previous fomats unless someone knows more about Covid changes.