Crystal Palace are Europe’s most in-form team. Or, perhaps more accurately, no other top-flight club across the continent can match their unbeaten run in all competitions.
They are undefeated in 17 matches stretching back to mid-April, an impressive sequence that includes victories over Manchester City in last season’s FA Cup final and a follow-up success — albeit after a penalty shootout — against Premier League champions Liverpool in the Community Shield.
It has also taken in trips to Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, all clubs competing in this season’s Champions League. Aside from the run-in to last season’s FA Cup win, 11 of those matches have come in the Premier League. One more game without defeat would equal a club record set in 1969 when Bert Head’s side rose out of the second tier.
And their next opponent? A rematch with Liverpool, the only other team not to have lost in the Premier League to date this season, and sporting a pristine record at the top of the table. This will be Palace’s sternest test yet.
Yet Oliver Glasner and his players will not be perturbed. The Austrian has coaxed consistency from his squad, encouraging individuals to put the good of the collective first. His side have deffinished resolutely, conceding only 11 times in their past 17 games. Combine that with the form of striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, with 34 goals in 68 games under Glasner, and they are a formidable opponent.
Here, The Athletic views at how Palace’s 17-game record compares to those of other teams across Europe.
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich — Seven matches unbeaten (W7)
The Bundesliga champions have a 100 per cent record this season under manager Vincent Kompany, winning all seven of their games in all competitions, including a 6-0 victory over RB Leipzig and a 5-0 thumping of Hamburg. Last week, they beat Chelsea 3-1 in the Champions League.
Bayern’s last defeat came in the Club World Cup quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain in July, while they were also beaten by Benfica in the group stages of that summer competition. Their Bundesliga-only unbeaten run stands at 13 unbeaten games, stretching back to March 8.
Vincent Kompany and his players celebrate their Bundesliga success in May (Tom Weller/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Borussia Dortmund — Six (W4 D2)
Also unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season are Dortmund. Niko Kovac has seen his team win three of four league games, while they progressed to the second round of the German Cup and played out a 4-4 draw with Juventus in the Champions League.
Fourth-placed finishers in the league last season, they were last beaten in the summer’s Club World Cup, losing 3-2 against Real Madrid.
La Liga
Barcelona — Seven matches unbeaten (W6 D1)
The Catalan club’s last defeat came in the penultimate match of La Liga last season, falling 3-2 to Villarreal. Since then, they have won all but one of their games in all competitions, that being a 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano in the league.
Hansi Flick’s side, who won the title last season, notably thrashed Valencia 6-0 on September 14 and have won their last three games, including at Newcastle United in the Champions League, courtesy of Marcus Rashford’s brace.
Lamine Yamal was a key player in Barcelona’s title success (Maria Gracia Jimenez/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Real Madrid — Six (W6)
Runners-up in La Liga last season, Real Madrid have won every game they’ve played so far this term, with a 3-0 win over Real Oviedo in their second league game the most comprehensive to date.
Their last defeat was a 4-0 humbling by PSG in the semi-final of the Club World Cup. That, though, is the only time Xabi Alonso has lost since starting his role as manager in June, winning 10 of his 12 games in charge to date.
Serie A
Juventus — Five matches unbeaten (W3 D2)
Having finished in fourth place last season, Juventus are top of Serie A after four games this time round. They have won three of those, while also drawing 4-4 in that madcap Champions League game against Dortmund last week.
Their last defeat came in the Club World Cup last 16 against Real Madrid.
Francisco Conceicao celebrates with Khephrem Thuram in Verona on Saturday (Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)
Cremonese — Four (W2 D2)
Newly promoted Cremonese are sixth in Serie A and unbeaten across their four games to date, with the other two unbeaten teams in the division — Atalanta and Napoli — having lost in the Champions League last midweek.
Cremonese have not actually lost a game inside 90 minutes since the first leg of their promotion play-off semi-final against Juve Stabia in early May and would be eight games unbeaten had they not succumbed in a penalty shootout against Palermo in the first round of the Coppa Italia in mid-August.
Ligue 1
Rennes — Three (W1 D2)
The French top-flight club with the best unbeaten run in all competitions is, perhaps surprisingly, Rennes. Paris Saint-Germain’s six-game sequence without losing came to an finish on Monday when they lost at Marseille, so Rennes’ three matches without losing, including two draws, is the best in Ligue 1. They suffered a 4-0 defeat against Lorient in their second game of the season, but are now mounting a recovery.
Strasbourg — Two (W2)
Remarkably, two games unbeaten is enough for Strasbourg to take second place on the list in France. Monaco and Marseille may have gone three matches without defeat in the league, but both lost European games last week.
Best of the rest
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise — Nine matches unbeaten (W7 D2)
The Belgian side are enjoying a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions under manager Sebastien Pocognoli. They last lost in the Belgian Super Cup against Club Brugge in mid-July. In the league, they have won six times in eight games to open up a six-point lead at the top. Their most eye-catching result, though, was a 3-1 away victory over PSV in the Champions League last week on their debut in the competition.
AZ — 10 matches unbeaten (W8, D2)
AZ are enjoying a strong run in the Dutch Eredivisie, in part as a result of their participation in the UEFA Conference League play-offs. Five of their eight wins have come in that competition, but they have won three of their five league matches this season.
One of their rewards for building it into the group stage proper of the Conference League? A trip to Selhurst Park to take on Palace on November 6.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
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