Invincibles aplenty?

Marissa Lordanic

The invincible tag is a hard one to earn but at this stage in the season, the potential for a bumper crop of undefeated campaigns is high.

A third of the way into the top five European leagues, all but one competition has at least one team that has yet to taste defeat.

They’ve made it this far without losing, but how many will go all the way?

La Liga

Spain is the odd one out and not necessarily in a bad way. Every single team has won a game and every single team has lost a game. Barça is on 24 points and top of the table while Sevilla, Atleti and Alavés all sit on 20 points, goal difference separating them into second, third and fourth.

Premier League
England still has three teams who have yet to record a loss. Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool sit on the table in that order, the latter two separated only by goal difference, in what is a real rare feat.

Goal difference may be the deciding factor in England with all three teams scoring over 20 goals and conceding under 10. They will all be challenged, not just by each other but by the likes Tottenham and Arsenal who sit just behind them in fourth and fifth respectively.

However, there is an intangible quality that surrounds Manchester City. It’s the kind of thing that makes them look the best of the best and likely to go back to back.

Bundesliga Borussia Dortmund sit top of the table in Germany with seven wins and three draws to its name after ten rounds of competition. For BVB, the biggest challenge to this undefeated streak is imminent with a game against Bayern Munich on the weekend.Of all the leagues that currently have at least one undefeated team, Dortmund and the Bundesliga look most likely to lose that title, such is the nature of the German league.Ligue 1Paris Saint-Germain has created history by becoming the first club in Europe’s top five competition to win its opening 12 matches. The title is all but theirs barring what would have to be a spectacular fall from grace. PSG have had a stranglehold on the French title for a while now, winning five of the last seven and never finishing lower than second in that time.

If any team has shown consistent glimpses of being capable of an invincible season, it’s PSG. The reigning French champions have managed to restrict their losses to five or under in every season since 2010/11; in that season they lost eight and finished fourth.

Serie AMuch like Ligue 1, the Serie A title already feels like a forgone conclusion. Juve are six points clear of second-placed Inter and have only dropped points once this season when it drew 1-1 with Genoa.

Much like PSG, the Bianconeri have been dominant for a long time now, winning every title since 2011/12. The club is also no stranger to the Invincibles tag with the 2011/12 squad going through the entire Serie A season without defeat, recording 23 wins and 15 draws.

An eighth consecutive title seems all but secured, the bigger test will be to see if the team can do it without losing.