Matchday 11 TIM 2020-21 11 - 13 December 2020 11/12/2020 20:45 - MAPEI STADIUM SASSUOLO Vs BENEVENTO Sassuolo are unbeaten against Benevento in Serie A TIM, thanks to an away win and a home draw in the 2017/18 season. Sassuolo are unbeaten in their last 10 Serie A TIM matches against newly promoted teams (W6 D4), including three wins in the three most recent matches against Lecce, Spezia and Crotone. Sassuolo have kept four clean sheets in their last five league games, as many clean sheets as in their previous 28 Serie A TIM matches. Sassuolo haven’t netted in their last two league games; the last time they failed to score in three Serie A TIM games in a row was back in February 2018. Sassuolo haven’t won in their last three home league games (D2 L1) – the last time they reached four home matches consecutive without success was back in March 2019. For the first time in Serie A TIM, Benevento have remained unbeaten for three games in a row (W1 D2): has achieved five games unbeaten in his first 10 games under Benevento in the top-flight, while Roberto De Zerbi reached this in 21 matches with Benevento. Benevento have kept a clean sheet in their last two away Serie A TIM matches: in their previous 22 games on the road in the competition they kept only three shutouts. Roberto De Zerbi coached Benevento in Serie A TIM, winning six and drawing three in 29 games in 2017/18 season (L20). Benevento’s Marco Sau has scored four goals against Sassuolo in Serie A TIM (most recently in May 2017 with Cagliari): against no team has he scored more goals in the competition.

12/12/2020 15:00 - EZIO SCIDA CROTONE Vs SPEZIA Crotone and Spezia have met in 14 matches in and only on one occasion did they register a draw (0-0 in April 2016): four Calabrian wins and nine Ligurians victories. Crotone have failed to score in four of their seven home matches against Spezia in Serie B, while the Ligurians won in their last two away matches at the Scida stadium (3-0 in December 2018 and 2-1 in January 2020). In the three points for a win era, only four teams have picked up two or fewer points in the first 10 seasonal Serie A TIM games: Reggiana in 1994/95, Benevento in 2017/18, Chievo in 2018/19 and Crotone (twice, in 2016/17 and in the current season). Since 2011/12, only one of the 10 newly promoted teams in Serie A TIM that picked up at least 10 points in the first 10 seasonal matches has been relegated (Frosinone in 2015/16) – Spezia have gained 10 points this season. Spezia have caught their opponents offside on 39 occasions in the current Serie A TIM campaign, more than any other team. Crotone have posted the worst shot conversion rate in Serie A TIM this season: scoring with only six of their 96 total shots (6.3%). Spezia have conceded five goals in the first 15 minutes of action, at least two more than any other team in Serie A TIM this season in this period. M'Bala Nzola has scored in his only match against Crotone, which came in Serie B in January 2020 at Scida stadium: the French forward has netted four of his last five Spezia's goals in Serie A TIM this season, three of these in away matches. Junior Messias (900) and Simy (893) are the two strikers with the most minutes played in the current Serie A TIM season, but have only scored four goals combined so far (two from penalties). No player in Serie A TIM this season has completed more dribbles than Junior Messias (27): the Crotone forward has also attempted 27 shots so far, fewer only than Ibrahimovic, Mkhitaryan, Lautaro, Ronaldo and Gómez.

12/12/2020 18:00 - OLIMPICO GRANDE TORINO TORINO Vs UDINESE Udinese have only won one of their last nine Serie A TIM matches against Torino (D3 L5).

Torino have won each of their last three home games against Udinese in Serie A TIM without conceding a goal, as many wins in the previous nine matches with the Bianconeri at the Olimpico Grande Torino stadium (D2 L4). Torino have only won one of their last 15 league games (D6 L8): the last time the Granata have achieved so few wins in a series of 15 games in Serie A TIM was back in 2006. Torino are winless in their last seven home games in Serie A TIM (D3 L4); the last time the Granata registered a longer home streak without win was back in 2003 (eight): their joint-worst such record alongside a streak in 1959. Udinese have won their last two league games and could win three consecutive matches for the first time since January 2020 - this was the only time the Bianconeri achieved this feat under Gotti. Udinese have won five of their last nine away league matches (D1 L3): as many as in their previous 33 matches on the road in Serie A TIM. No team has conceded more goals than Torino in Serie A TIM this season (24): their previous worst total after 10 top-flight games was 21 goals conceded in 2002/03. Torino have lost 19 points from winning positions in the current league season: a negative record in the history of Serie A TIM after 10 games played - in the whole of the last Serie A TIM campaign, the Granata lost 27 points from winning positions. In his last nine Serie A TIM matches against Udinese, Torino’s Andrea Belotti has scored five goals and provided one assist. Udinese’s Stefano Okaka has scored three league goals against Torino: against no team has he netted more in Serie A TIM.

12/12/2020 20:45 - OLIMPICO LAZIO Vs HELLAS VERONA Lazio have won six of their last seven games against Verona in Serie A TIM (D1), as many as in the previous 16 matches against them (D6 L4). Lazio have won 23 points out of 27 at home against Verona in the three points per win era, having scored 30 goals against them in the process: their best goals-per-game average (3.3) against sides they’ve faced at least three times at home since 1994-95. Lazio have conceded 17 goals after the first 10 games in Serie A TIM this season, their worst tally at this stage in the competition since 1992-93 (18). Lazio have won only one of their five home games in Serie A TIM this term (D2 L2), their worst tally since 2009-10, when they lost the sixth home match. Verona have conceded eight goals after the first 10 games in Serie A TIM this season, as many as in the last campaign, only doing better at this stage back in 1984-85 (4), when they won the title at the end of the season. Verona won their last game on the road in Serie A TIM against Atalanta, after a streak of nine draws and five defeats, last winning consecutive away top-flight games in 2014. Verona are one of only two teams yet to win a single point from losing positions, while Lazio are yet to lose a single point after taking the lead in Serie A TIM this season. Lazio have scored the most goals in injury time in Serie A TIM this term (3), while Verona are yet to score a goal after the 90th minute. Lazio forward Ciro Immobile has scored a goal in each of his last five league games; he scored his last hat-trick in Serie A TIM in July against Verona, during a streak of scoring in six games in a row. Mattia Zaccagni has scored two goals in his last two games in Serie A TIM, as many as in his previous 51 appearances; the only Verona to find the net (penalties excluded) in three Serie A TIM matches in a row was Domenico Morfeo back in 2000 (considering only the three points per win era).

13/12/2020 12:30 - SARDEGNA ARENA CAGLIARI Vs INTER Inter have won six of their last nine Serie A TIM matches against Cagliari (D1 L2), scoring 21 goals (2.3 per match on average). Cagliari have conceded more goals against Inter in Serie A TIM (134) than against any other team; in addition, only against Sampdoria (30) have Cagliari drawn more matches in the Italian top-flight than against Inter (28). Since 2015, only against Napoli (5/5), have Cagliari lost more home matches in Serie A TIM than against Inter (4/5). Cagliari have scored 17 goals in the current league season: in their history in Serie A TIM, only once have they netted more after the first 10 seasonal matches (23 in 1968/69, when they finished the season in second place). The next goal will be the 5000th goal for Inter in their history in Serie A TIM (including awarded matches): 91 years and 68 days after their first in the competition, scored by Enrico Rivolta in October 1929 against Livorno. Inter have made the most crosses in open play in Serie A TIM this season (165) but they have scored only three of their 26 total goals in the current league season following a cross. Cagliari are Lautaro Martínez's favorite target in Serie A TIM: four goals in four matches (scoring in each game against them), all curiously scored with a header (in total he has netted seven headed goals in Serie A TIM). Leonardo Pavoletti has scored three goals in four home Serie A TIM matches against Inter – including in the last two games against the Nerazzurri (both with Cagliari in March 2019 and in November 2017). Among players with more than three away games played in Serie A TIM in the three points for a win era, Inter’s Romelu Lukaku scored the most on average per game: 18 goals in 23 games on the road (0.78). 13/12/2020 15:00 - GEWISS STADIUM ATALANTA Vs FIORENTINA Atalanta have lost only one of their last eight Serie A TIM matches against Fiorentina (W2 D5).

The last time Fiorentina won an away match against Atalanta in Serie A TIM was back in February 2016 (2-3 with goals by Mati Fernandez, Tello and Kalinic): since then, three draws and one win for Atalanta. Atalanta have picked up only five points in their last six league matches, losing three times in this period (W1 D2) and finding success only against Crotone. From the beginning of November, only Crotone (1) have picked up fewer points than Fiorentina in Serie A TIM: for the Viola only two draws in the last five league matches. Atalanta have conceded 16 goals in the current league season: the most goals they’ve let in since 2004/05, when they conceded 18 goals in their first nine games in Serie A TIM. Only Verona (two) have scored fewer goals with their strikers than Fiorentina (three) in Serie A TIM this season: all the last six Viola’s goals have been netted by defenders or . Atalanta haven’t scored headed goal in Serie A TIM this season; on the other hand, only Bologna (five) have conceded more headed goals than Atalanta and Fiorentina so far (both four). Since 2018/19, Nikola Milenkovic (born in 1997) is the youngest defender to have scored at least 10 goals in the Top-5 European leagues (10 goals for him) and the only one born after 1/1/1995 to reach this. Atalanta’s Josip Ilicic played 105 matches with Fiorentina in Serie A TIM between 2013 and 2017, a record for him with a single club in the competition; against the Viola, the Slovenian has scored four goals in the top-flight. Giacomo Bonaventura’s first 99 Serie A TIM appearances were with Atalanta (14 goals): the Fiorentina midfielder scored three goals against the Bergamo side in the top-flight, including his last brace on the road (Atalanta - AC Milan 1-3 in May 2015).

13/12/2020 15:00 - RENATO DALL'ARA BOLOGNA Vs ROMA There has only been one draw in the last eight Serie A TIM matches between Bologna and Roma: five Giallorossi victories and two Rossoblu wins. Only against Lazio (181) have Bologna scored more goals in Serie A TIM than against Roma (177): the Emilians have always found the net in their last five league matches against the Giallorossi. Since 2009/10, only against Juventus and Inter (seven) have Bologna lost more home Serie A TIM games than against Roma: 6/10, compared to one win and three draws. Bologna haven’t drawn any of their first 10 Serie A TIM games for the fourth time in their history (after 2015/16, 2008/09 and 1962/63). Roma haven’t scored in their last two league games: the last time they failed to find the net in three consecutive Serie A TIM matches was back in March 1994 under Carlo Mazzone. This fixture sees two of the five teams with the most shots attempted in Serie A TIM this season: Roma third (157, behind only AC Milan and Napoli), Bologna fifth (147). Roma (107) have completed the most dribbles in Serie A TIM this season and are the only team with at least four players with 12+ successful dribbles so far. Bologna’s Emanuel Vignato (born in 2000) is the youngest scorer in Serie A TIM this season. His debut in the competition arrived against Roma in May 2017. Bologna’s Roberto Soriano has faced Roma in the most matches (11) without scoring in his career in Serie A TIM. Edin Dzeko has scored exactly one goal in four of the five games played against Bologna at Dall’Ara stadium in Serie A TIM (with the exception of the match in September 2018). The Bosnian striker is close to equaling Vincenzo Montella in 4th place for Roma all-time scorers in the top-flight (81 vs 83).

13/12/2020 15:00 - DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA NAPOLI Vs SAMPDORIA Napoli have won eight of their last nine Serie A TIM games against Sampdoria (L1): since 2016 to today, Napoli have picked up more wins against the Blucerchiati than any other side in this period. Napoli are unbeaten in their last 12 Serie A TIM home games against Sampdoria (W10, D2), the Partenopei have kept a clean sheet eight times and have scored at least two goals in each of their last seven matches. Napoli haven’t drawn any of their first 10 matches in Serie A TIM this season, the only Serie A campaign in which the Partenopei have reached this stage of the season without drawing any games was in 1939/40, when they drew after 13 meetings. Napoli have won without conceding goals in their last two league games and have not collected three clean sheets in a row in Serie A TIM since February 2019, when they reached five, but with three 0-0 in this run. After a four game unbeaten run (W3, D1), Sampdoria have lost three of their last four Serie A TIM games (D1), conceding two goals in each of those. The last time the Blucerchiati went on a longest such streak was in February 2016 (five games in that case). Sampdoria have conceded goals in each of their last 15 Serie A TIM away games, they last went on a longer run in February 2016 (18). Napoli are the team with the most different scorers in this Serie A TIM campaign (10).

Napoli have faced only 80 shots in the current Serie A TIM campaign, fewer than any other team, an average of 8.9 per game - since Opta collected this kind of data (2004/05), only two teams have faced fewer shots at the end of the season: Juventus and Napoli in 2017/18 (8.3 and 8.6 respectively). Napoli striker Dries Mertens has scored seven goals against Sampdoria, only against Cagliari (10) and Bologna (11) has he found the net more times in the Italian top-flight - three of those goals came in both two games of last season. Sampdoria’s striker Fabio Quagliarella has played 34 games and scored 11 goals (10 of those at home) with Napoli in Serie A TIM; since he left the Partenopei in 2010/11, he has scored seven goals against this side; more than any other player in the period.

13/12/2020 18:00 - LUIGI FERRARIS GENOA Vs JUVENTUS Genoa have lost more Serie A TIM games (64 out of 106) and conceded more Serie A TIM goals (216) against Juventus than against any other opponent. Since 2011/12 (the start of the Juventus’ consecutive title-winning streak), the Luigi Ferraris is the stadium where Juventus have lost their most away games in Serie A TIM (three against Genoa and three against Sampdoria). Genoa have lost each of their last four home league games, they have never suffered a longer such streak in Serie A TIM history. Juventus are one of five sides still unbeaten in the Top-5 European leagues in 2020/21 season, along AC Milan, Atlético de Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg. Genoa have equalled their worst Serie A TIM start in the three points for a win era, only picking up six points in their opening 10 games this season, exactly as in the 2017/18 season at this stage, when they closed the campaign in 12th place. Juventus have made the most touches in the opponent box on average in Serie A TIM this term (an average of 31.7 per match), Genoa have the second-fewest (15). Paulo Dybala has scored his most away Serie A TIM goals against Genoa (five out of the six total goals scored against the Grifoni); the Juventus striker’s best Serie A TIM goal per match ratio against this opponent (0.67, six goals in nine appearances) – among the sides faced at least four times. Genoa’s Marko Pjaca has scored three goals in eight league appearances this season, the same amount he netted in his previous 40 appearances in the Top-5 European leagues between Juventus, Schalke 04 and Fiorentina among 2016 and 2019. Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo has scored the most goals in his first 70 Serie A TIM appearances in the three points for a win era (60); prior to him, the previous record was set by Shevchenko (52 goals in his first 70 games played; he netted 60 goals in the first 85 appearances).

13/12/2020 20:45 - GIUSEPPE MEAZZA MILAN Vs PARMA AC Milan have netted in each of their last 14 league games against Parma, among the teams currently in Serie A TIM, the Rossoneri have a longer streak with goals scored only against Lazio (16) and Cagliari (21). After failing to score in three of their first seven home Serie A TIM games against Parma, AC Milan have netted in each of their last 19 matches at Meazza stadium (W15 D3 L1). AC Milan have picked up 26 points in the current league season, setting a record after their first 10 Serie A TIM games played in the three points for a win era - after 11 matches they gained more only in 2003/04 (27 points) and in 2005/06 (28). AC Milan are unbeaten in Serie A TIM this season after 10 games played, in the last three seasons when they haven’t lost any of their first 11 league matches (1991/92, 1992/93 and 2003/04) they won the Scudetto. AC Milan have scored in each of their last 30 league games, only Juventus have netted with a longer streak in Serie A TIM, on six occasions, the most recent ended in July 2020 (33). AC Milan are unbeaten in their last 11 home Serie A TIM games (W8 D3), the last time the Rossoneri registered a longer streak without defeat at Meazza stadium was back in 2013 (13). Since June 2020, AC Milan have won the most matches in the Top-5 European leagues (17) – in addition, the Rossoneri and Atletico Madrid are the only two clubs unbeaten in the period. Parma have only won one of their last seven Serie A TIM games (D4 L2), while in their previous seven matches they had won four (L3). Parma are one of the three sides AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored the most goals against in Serie A TIM (alongside Roma and Palermo), 10 goals versus the Crociati, including a brace that gave Inter the Scudetto on 18th May 2008. Roberto Inglese hasn't scored in his last five Serie A TIM appearances and could register his longest barren spell streak since March 2019 (seven) - the Parma forward, however, netted two goals against AC Milan, both at Meazza stadium.