When will Bayer Leverkusen suffer their first defeat of the season?

Like every other professional sport, football is a game of winning and losing. The best teams win more than they lose, but they do lose, while the bottom feeders are always known for having the ‘L’ tag around their name. Rarely do you find a team that is invincible across all competitions in a single season. Everyone gets to taste defeat. Every team has that one bad day at the office that spoils everything and shows everyone that they are mortals, after all. 

But this season, German club side Bayer Leverkusen are rewriting the rules of the old game. They have refused to be beaten. They have refused to have a bad day at the office. Since August 2023, when the season started, Die Werkself have refused to eat dust even when it looked like they were over and out. 

They have beaten, or at least shared the spoils with every team they have faced this season, both in Europe, DFB Pokal and the German Bundesliga. The most impressive thing about this feat is that they have achieved this despite already playing big hitters like Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig at least twice this season.

A Bundesliga Record 

Leverkusen have not just been unbeaten over a short period, they have extended this impeccable run to 36 games. For context, a normal Bundesliga season has 34 games, so it is safe to say that they have gone the equivalent of a full season in the league without a loss. 

No team in Bundesliga history has done this. Not the all-conquering Bayern side of Hansi Flick or Pep Guardiola, and certainly not Jürgen Klopp's gegenpressing machine during his Borussia Dortmund days. 

Led by the mercurial Xabi Alonso, who is attracting interest from Europe's top clubs for his stellar job at Bay Arena, Bayer Leverkusen are also the only side in Europe’s top five leagues per UEFA coefficient still unbeaten in all competitions. 

For a team that was on the brink of relegation in October 2022 and finished outside of the Champions League places in 2023, what Leverkusen is doing is nothing short of a miracle, as they are among the overperforming teams in Europe this season.

Their impressive season is making a mockery of soccer traditions and has proven that history and ‘football heritage’ as Jose Mourinho famously put it, could be overrated. Not only are Leverkusen invincible, but they are also playing good football. Alonso’s men are entertainers, as evidenced by the fact that they have scored a whopping 103 goals in 36 games. 

This shows they average an impressive 2.81 goals per game, while their ball possession average is 62.5%, making Bayer Leverkusen tickets one of the priciest possessions these days. 

Statistically, they are ranked inside the top five teams in Europe too, and if they continue at their current rate, they could go the entire season without tasting defeat.

But what are their chances of achieving this incredible feat that no Bundesliga team has been able to pull off? Can Alonso and Leverkusen really go the entire season without tasting defeat in the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and Europa League? Can Die Werkself join the great Ajax side of the mid-1990s to go the entire season with an unblemished record?

We look at their remaining top games this season to rate their chances of achieving this. 

Bayer Leverkusen vs Qarabag (Europa League)

Leverkusen will look to avoid another nail-biting outing when they host Azerbaijani professional soccer club Qarabag in the second leg of their Europa League tie. 

Qarabag almost became the first side to beat Xabi Alonso’s team this season after they went two goals up in the first half of the first leg of this tie. But an extra time equaliser from Patrik Schick ensured that Leverkusen lived to fight another day. 

After the scare in Baku, the Bundesliga leaders will be desperate to get the job done at Bay Arena as they look to reach the Europa League quarter-finals this year after crashing out in this round last year. Although Qarabag troubled them in the first leg, Leverkusen are the strong favourites in this tie and given their form at home, they should easily win this.

Liverpool, AC Milan, Roma and Others

Should Leverkusen get past Qarabag as we expect, they will still have tough fixtures waiting in the next rounds. The Bundesliga side are not the only top team in the Europa League. They could still face a Liverpool side flying high under Jurgen Klopp this season, or AS Roma, who have become rejuvenated by Daniele De Rossi, or AC Milan, who are a top side on their day. 

Should they avoid or win any of these teams and get to the finals, then Leverkusen could truly win the trophy unbeaten, as other teams Marseille, Freiburg, West Ham, Brighton, Benfica, Rangers, Atalanta, Slavia Prague and Sporting, are less difficult opponents in paper.

Freiburg vs Bayer Leverkusen 

Leverkusen’s visit to Freiburg just before the March international break is a potential banana skin. Freiburg are fighting to play in Europe next season and could offer Xabi Alonso’s side a stern test. The hosts for the day have lost just two games at home all season (before Leverkusen’s visit). 

However, with Freiburg’s defence shipping in 45 league goals–the second most goals conceded for teams inside the top eleven in the Bundesliga after 25 games–Leverkusen’s powerful attack should be able to give them maximum points in this fixture. 

Bayer Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim 

Leverkusen will end March at home when they welcome Hoffenheim. Like Freiburg, Hoffenheim should offer the hosts a stern test, given that they are also fighting to play in Europe next year. 

However, the game will be played at Bay Arena, where Leverkusen have been the strongest in the Bundesliga this season. Die Werkself have averaged 2.7 points per home game, and their seven goals conceded at home after 13 games is the least in the league. 

As such, the odds are in favour of another Leverkusen win. The head-to-head record also favours the hosts, who have beaten Hoffenheim 18 times in 32 games (D6, L8). So Leverkusen fans should be confident of their side winning.

Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen’s trip to Signal Iduna Park on April 21st would probably be the game where most fans would expect them to lose. Before this trip, Alonso’s men would have played Dusseldorf in the DFB Pokal, Union Berlin and Werder Bremen in the league, and they would most likely have won all three games.

But a crunch Bundesliga game at the Westfalenstadion may be the game where Leverkusen’s mortality is laid bare. Not only is Dortmund fighting for Champions League qualification, but they are also one of the teams that trouble Leverkusen the most in the Bundesliga, with 21 wins over Die Werkself in 49 games (D12, L16). 

However, Dortmund’s average form at home this season (W7, D2, L3) will encourage Alonso and his boys. Yet, one win from Leverkusen’s last six games against BVB (D1, L4) suggests it will be a tough game.  

Bayer Leverkusen vs Stuttgart 

Shortly after facing Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen will return home to play Stuttgart. Ordinarily, this fixture wouldn't be considered one of the tricky ties for the Bundesliga leaders. But Stuttgart's form this season has made this fixture one to watch. 

Apart from Leverkusen themselves, who are performing above expectation, Sebastian Hoeneß’s side are one of the surprise packages in the league this season. The Reds are only behind Leverkusen and Bayern Munich on points gained so far, with their haul of 53 points after 25 games placing them in a commanding position to secure the top four. 

However, the fact that five out of Stuttgart's six losses this season have come away from home proves how poor they can be on their travels.

Eintracht Frankfurt vs Bayer Leverkusen

Leverkusen’s trip to Deutsche Bank Park in the first week of May could also be the game where their wheels finally come off. On paper, Leverkusen will be favourites, as Frankfurt are still a team in transition after Oliver Glasner’s departure at the end of last season.

However, Dino Toppmöller’s side can have a say on whether Alonso's men finish the season unbeaten or not, especially as they are fighting for a top-six finish. Also, with Leverkusen leading the table by ten points, it is likely that they have already won the league by the time they take on Frankfurt. This could result in complacency and Frankfurt may be well-placed to take advantage.

Bayer Leverkusen vs Augsburg 

Before playing Augsburg, Leverkusen will face lowly Bochum away from home in the penultimate game of the season. They're expected to win that game, making their final league game of the season one to watch.

The final game will be played at Bay Arena, and it could hold several implications. Leverkusen may be celebrating a title win by the time Augsburg visit town, or they may enter this fixture needing maximum points to win the league. They could also be looking to maintain an invincible season by this time, and Augsburg would come into this tie looking to be party spoilers.

In any case, Bayer Leverkusen vs Augsburg on the 18th of May will be one to watch.

DFB Pokal games

Leverkusen are unlikely to lose any game in the DFB Pokal this season given the level of opponents left in the tie. Alonso’s men are the only Bundesliga team remaining in the competition, and they are already in the semi-final where they face Düsseldorf.

They are favourites to beat the Bundesliga 2 side, and should either Saarbrücken (who beat Bayern Munich) or FC Kaiserslautern make it to the final, Leverkusen should be able to comfortably win.