Matchday 34 TIM 2019-20 18 - 20 July 2020 HELLAS VERONA vs ATALANTA This will be the 40th Serie A TIM meeting between Verona and Atalanta: the Bergamaschi lead by 16 wins to 10, with 13 draws. Atalanta have won their three Serie A TIM games against Verona under Gasperini, scoring 11 goals - the Veneti had managed to win five of the previous seven (D2). The last meeting between these two sides at the Bentegodi ended 5-0 for Atalanta – that was only the second time that Hellas failed to score at home against Atalanta in Serie A TIM. Verona have won five of their seven home games in Serie A TIM this calendar year (D1 L1).

Atalanta are the only unbeaten side in away games in Serie A TIM in 2020.

Atalanta have scored in each of their last 21 games in Serie A TIM, their joint-best run alongside one from the 1955-56 campaign. Between goals and assists, only Inter have produced more goals from their full-backs in Serie A TIM this season than Atalanta (22) and Verona (16). Ivan Juric has lost both of his two previous games as a manager against Atalanta.

With his goal against Roma, Matteo Pessina reached six league goals this season - excluding penalties, no Verona has done better in a single Serie A TIM campaign in the three points for a win era. Since he joined Atalanta, Josip Ilicic has scored four goals in three games against Verona, including a hat-trick in March 2018.

CAGLIARI vs SASSUOLO Sassuolo have shared six draws so far in Serie A TIM against Cagliari, more than against any other opponent – two wins for the Sardinians and three for the Emiliani complete their H2H record. Cagliari’s last win against Sassuolo in Serie A TIM was in December 2016 (4-3 at the Sant’Elia) –since then there have been three draws and three losses for the Sardinians in this fixture. Sassuolo have kept a clean sheet in three of their last five Serie A TIM games against Cagliari –previously they had always conceded at least once in six games against them. Sassuolo have won only one of their five trips to Sardinia so far in Serie A TIM (two wins for the hosts and two draws). Cagliari have won only one of their last eight home games (D2 L5), previously they had won four from four in Sardinia. Sassuolo have won their last three away games and could make it four in a row for the first time in the top-flight. Cagliari have failed to score in their last two home games – the last time they didn’t score in three consecutive home games in Serie A TIM was in December 2012. Francesco Caputo is one of just two players across Europe’s top five leagues to score at least 15 goals with two different teams over the last two seasons, along with Wissam Ben Yedder (with Sevilla and Monaco). Cagliari striker Giovanni Simeone made his Serie A TIM debut in September 2016 against Sassuolo, when he was at Genoa. Sassuolo forward Gregoire Defrel played his first Serie A TIM game in May 2011, against Cagliari, on his only league appearance for Parma.

MILAN vs BOLOGNA AC have won seven of their last eight Serie A TIM games against Bologna (D1), keeping four clean sheets in the process. Bologna have conceded 224 goals in the top-flight against the Rossoneri – more than against any other opponent. AC Milan have lost only three of their last 39 Serie A TIM games against Bologna at the San Siro, the last one coming in January 2016 when their head coach was Sinisa Mihajlovic. AC Milan have scored at least two goals in all seven Serie A TIM games played since the restart -20 goals in total. Since the beginning of December Bologna have won six Serie A TIM games played away from home (D1 L2), no team has done better in this period. Sinisa Mihajlovic has never won against AC Milan in his managerial career (D5 L7) – he recorded 13 wins, 10 draws and nine losses when he was in charge of the Rossoneri in 2015/16. ’s longest spell as a Serie A TIM manager was at Bologna between 2011 and 2014 (W27 D28 L34). Giacomo Bonaventura has scored four goals in his four league games against Bologna for AC Milan – his joint-most in Serie A TIM with the Rossoneri. AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored four goals and made one assist in his last five Serie A TIM appearances against Bologna. Bologna midfielder played his first ever Serie A TIM game in August 2012, against AC Milan.

PARMA vs SAMPDORIA These two sides have met 41 times so far in Serie A TIM: Parma lead by 16 wins to 14, with 11 draws. After beating Sampdoria four times in a row between 2010 and 2012, Parma have won only two of the following eight games against the Blucerchiati (D3 L3). Parma have won four of their last six home games against Sampdoria in Serie A TIM, but in the two most recent games they have picked up a draw and a loss. Since 2010, only one of the 26 goals scored in this fixture was from outside the box: Silvestre Varela in 2015. Since the restart, Parma have had the worst home record in Serie A TIM (D1 L2).

No team have won more games than Sampdoria in the last five Serie A TIM matchdays: four out of five (equal with Atalanta and Sassuolo). The Blucerchiati could reach three consecutive wins in the competition for the first time since December 2018. Roberto D'Aversa has a record of a win, a defeat and a draw against Sampdoria in Serie A TIM.

Parma striker Roberto Inglese scored in his first two Serie A TIM appearances but failed to score in the following three against the Blucerchiati. Gervinho’s first Serie A goal was in September 2013, against Sampdoria, when he was at Roma; this is the only goal the Parma striker has scored in seven meetings against the Blucerchiati in the Italian top-flight. has scored 83 goals in Serie A TIM for Sampdoria, two short of (85), who is currently the Blucerchiati’s third-best goal scorer in the top-flight.

BRESCIA vs SPAL The Serie A TIM record between these two sides is perfectly even, with two wins apiece and three draws. Brescia have never beaten SPAL at home in Serie A TIM (D2 L1), though all those meetings were back in the 1960’s. Since their return to Serie A TIM, SPAL had lost only once in their first 10 meetings against newly promoted teams (W7 D2), while they’ve lost each of the four meetings against teams promoted from so far in this campaign. Brescia won 1-0 in the reverse fixture courtesy of a goal from ; SPAL could become the first opponents that Brescia beat home and away in the same Serie A TIM season since Reggina in 2004/05. Only Norwich (0.4) and Dijon (0.5) have scored fewer goals per game than SPAL (0.6) away from home this season in their respective leagues (top five only). Brescia have won only two home games so far this season – the worst such record of any side in Europe’s top five leagues this season. Before Brescia and SPAL, each of the previous 19 teams that had lost at least 22 of their first 33 matches in Serie A TIM went on to be relegated to Serie B. Only Lecce (232) have faced more shots on target than Brescia (198) and SPAL (194) so far in this Serie A TIM campaign. Brescia striker Ernesto Torregrossa scored in the last match against Atalanta, and could find the net in consecutive Serie A TIM games for the first time in his career. SPAL midfielder Simone Missiroli made his Serie A TIM debut in April 2005 against Brescia, when he was at Reggina.

FIORENTINA vs TORINO Torino have beaten Fiorentina 48 times in the top-flight – more than any other opponent; the Granata have won 45 times so far, with 48 draws. Fiorentina have scored in each of their last 12 Serie A TIM games against Torino, since a 0-0 draw in Piemonte back in January 2014. Torino’s last win away to in Serie A TIM was in October 1976 – since then the Viola have won 15 times, with 14 draws. Fiorentina have won only one of their last 13 home games in the league (D7 L5), back in January vs SPAL, and they’ve never scored more than a single goal in the process. Torino have lost their last seven away games – their worst run since 1933/34.

Moreno Longo has lost 11 of the first 13 away games as a Serie A TIM manager (84.6%) – the worst ratio for any manager with at least 12 away games in charge. Fiorentina’s head coach has beaten Torino only once in eight Serie A TIM games as a manager (D4 L3). Erick Pulgar is Fiorentina’s best scorer of the season with six goals – the Chilean midfielder has already equalled his personal best in a single Serie A TIM campaign (in 2018/19 for Bologna). Torino full-back Lorenzo De Silvestri made his Serie A TIM debut against Fiorentina in April 2007 when he was at Lazio. Torino captain scored six goals in his 38 Serie A TIM appearances under Giuseppe Iachini in 2014/15 when he was at Palermo.

GENOA vs LECCE Genoa have lost only one of their 13 Serie A TIM games against Lecce, winning seven and sharing five draws. Genoa and Lecce have shared three draws in their last three meetings, they had drawn only twice in their previous 10. Genoa are unbeaten in their last six home games against Lecce (W4 D2).

Genoa won their last home game against SPAL – the last time they won back-to-back games in Serie A TIM was in September 2018. Lecce kept a clean sheet in their last away game, after they had conceded four in their previous three games on the road. The last time they kept two clean sheets in a row away from home in a single Serie A TIM campaign was in May 2001. Genoa have lost only one of their last 11 games at home against a newly promoted side (W6 D4). Lecce have conceded 38 goals in the first 16 away games of this campaign – the last team to avoid relegation with such a poor record was Genoa in 2011/12. Genoa defender , who scored from the penalty spot in the reverse fixture, has converted seven penalties in this campaign, a record in Serie A TIM since in 2000/01 for Perugia. Diego Farias’ first goal in Serie A TIM was against Genoa in November 2014, when he was at Cagliari. Lecce forward Khouma Babacar has already scored three goals in Serie A TIM against Genoa, including his first in the competition when he was at Fiorentina in 2010. NAPOLI vs UDINESE Napoli and Udinese have met 75 times so far in Serie A TIM: the Partenopei lead by 29 wins to 17, with 29 draws. Napoli are unbeaten against Udinese in Serie A TIM since April 2016 (a 3-1 loss in Friuli) – since then Napoli have won six times, and drew in the reverse fixture. Udinese’s last win at the San Paolo was in April 2011 – since then Napoli have won seven times when they hosted Udinese, sharing a draw. Napoli have scored at least two goals in their last six home games in Serie A TIM, their best run in the league since December 2014. However, the Partenopei have conceded at least once themselves in each match. After failing to win five consecutive away games, Udinese have won their last two on the road against Roma and SPAL, and could win three in a row for the first time since May 2003 under . Napoli, after not drawing any of the first 16 league games under Gattuso, have drawn their last two games against AC Milan and Bologna: the last time the Azzurri drew three consecutive games in Serie A TIM was in December 2014, with Rafa Benítez at the helm. is unbeaten in three Serie A TIM games against Udinese as a manager (W1 D2).

Allan played 104 Serie A TIM games while scoring once for Udinese between 2012 and 2015. The Napoli midfielder has been involved in two goals in his eight league games against the Friulani, one of these coming in his most recent meeting against them (an assist to a Mertens goal in March 2019). Napoli striker Dries Mertens has been directly involved six goals in his last three games against Udinese (scoring two and making four assists). After failing to score in his first four Serie A TIM appearances against Napoli, Kevin Lasagna scored in both games played against the Partenopei in 2019. ROMA vs INTER Inter have won 72 games against Roma – more than against any other Serie A TIM opponent. Roma have scored 222 goals against Inter, their favourite target in the competition. There have been 499 goals in Serie A TIM meetings between Inter and Roma, and it could become the first fixture to reach 500 goals in the competition. Roma and Inter have shared four draws in their last four Serie A TIM meetings – they’ve never shared five in a row in their meetings in the top-flight. Roma have failed to beat Inter in their last two meetings at the Olimpico – the last time they failed to beat the Nerazzurri in three home games in a row was in 2008. After a series of three defeats in a row, Roma have won their last three Serie A TIM games: the Giallorossi could obtain four consecutive wins in the competition for the first time since May 2018, under . Inter have picked up 71 points this season after 33 matchdays; last season the Nerazzurri earned 69 points in the entire season. ’s managerial record against Roma in Serie A TIM is four wins, two draws and two losses – he hasn’t conceded a goal in his last three league games against the Giallorossi. Roma midfielder Jordan Veretout made his Serie A TIM debut in August 2017 against Inter, when he was at Fiorentina. Nikola Kalinic’s first of two Serie A TIM hat-tricks was against Inter – overall, he has scored four goals in four meetings against the Nerazzurri in the top-flight. After scoring 12 goals in his first 11 Serie A TIM games on the road, Inter’s Romelu Lukaku hasn’t netted in his most recent four away matches. The last time he failed to find the net in five away league games consecutively was back in December 2017 with Manchester United.

JUVENTUS vs LAZIO Lazio have lost 81 games against Juventus – more than against any other Serie A TIM opponent. The Old Lady have scored 269 goals against the Biancocelesti, their favourite target in the league. After winning the reverse fixture, Lazio could record a double win against Juve in the same Serie A TIM campaign for the first time since 2000-01. March 2001 was the last time that Lazio beat Juve in their second meeting of the season (courtesy of the goals from Pavel Nedved and Hernan Crespo). Juventus have kept five clean sheets in their last seven home games against Lazio in Serie A TIM (W5 D1 L1). Juventus are winless in three games (D2, L1), conceding at least twice in each match: the Bianconeri have not conceded at least two goals in four games in a row in Serie A TIM since March 1993 with at the helm. Since the resumption of Serie A TIM after the break, only SPAL, Cagliari and Lecce have scored fewer goals than Lazio (eight) in Serie A TIM; before the forced break, only Atalanta (70) had scored more goals than Lazio (60). Lazio have gained only one point from their last four league games (D1 L3).

Juventus forward made his Serie A TIM debut in September 2012 against Lazio, when he was at Palermo. Gonzalo Higuaín has scored 12 goals in 10 Serie A TIM appearances against Lazio, his favourite Serie A TIM target. Current Serie A TIM top scorer Ciro Immobile played his first three Serie A TIM games when he was at Juventus between 2009 and 2010.