Daily Schmankerl: Chris Richards continues to impress; a Bayern-AEK Athens prediction; Nabil Fekir news; and MORE!

Chris Richards is making the most of his time in Munich (@USMNTvideos)

One of our favorite stories of the past few months has been watching the journey of American Chris Richards as he navigates the terrain of Bavaria on the Bayern Munich campus at Säbener Strasse.

The Texans Soccer Club product came to Bayern by way of FC Dallas and opened eyes with his performance over the summer in the International Champions Cup, along with his solid play for the Bayern U19 squad.

Here are some video highlights of Richards compiled by @USMNTvideos:

Bayern vs. AEK Athens (Bavarian Football Works)

Today’s Champions League tilt against AEK Athens at the Allianz Arena should be a game that Bayern is able to assert itself in early on the way to a dominant performance. Should...

The days of anything being with Bayern’s performances, however, are long gone. Dogged by injuries, inconsistency, questionable coaching decisions, and an under-performing roster, it has been a rough few weeks for Die Roten. All that said, this should be the opportunity for the squad to right itself...just ahead of Der Klassiker.

Like always, attempting to read Niko Kovač’s mind on how his lineup will shake out is near impossible; which in turn makes trying to predict who may score even harder. Even still, this should be a victory for Bayern.

Prediction: Bayern Munich 3, AEK Athens 0

Bayern rumored to be a leading contender for Nabil Fekir (Sport Witness)

Bayern has been linked to Lyon’s Nabil Fekir in the past and is allegedly a leading contender for his services:

‘For Nabil Fekir, summer 2019 is already tomorrow’ – L’Equipe kick off a Tuesday article on the Lyon player by making it very clear a transfer is on his mind.

There’s only two interested clubs named this time by the French newspaper, and those are Chelsea and Bayern Munich. With a ‘possible new chapter’ ahead in Fekir’s career, it’s claimed the two clubs have been watching him.

Liverpool was on the verge of signing Fekir, but was reportedly scared away by a lingering knee malady. Given Bayern’s injury track record, I’d offer a hard pass even if Fekir has good talent.

Bayern is number one for fan groups globally (@ESPNFC)

This is an impressive amount of fan groups...

Speaking of which...

A call for fan groups (BavarianFootballWorks.com)

We are trying something here at the Daily Schmankerl and need YOUR help. If you read my man Tommy Adams’ piece about his experience with the FCBNYC Fan Club (if you haven’t, SHAME ON YOU!), you could see how great the event was. So we want to highlight some of these wonderful groups that are out there globally and this is what we need from you:

• Name of the group
• Location
• Year founded
• Leadership (if you have people are kind of running the show)
• Meeting place
• Social media handles
• Pictures

We want to be able to feature a different fan group every week this season. Maybe we can do it, maybe not...but only YOU can help decide the fate of this idea. Send your info to: barrelsportsblog@gmail.com