Matchday 9 TIM 2020-21 28 - 30 November 2020 28/11/2020 15:00 - MAPEI STADIUM SASSUOLO Vs INTER Inter have lost seven Serie A TIM matches against Sassuolo, against no other team have they have suffered more defeats since 2015 (also seven against Juventus). After a streak of four consecutive defeats against Sassuolo in Serie A TIM, Inter haven’t lost any of their last three matches against the Neroverdi (W1 D2): they have never recorded a streak of four games in a row without losing against them. Sassuolo and Inter have never drawn in Serie A TIM at Mapei Stadium (four wins for the Neroverdi, three for the Nerazzurri): against no other side have Sassuolo played more games in this stadium without a draw (also against AC Milan). Sassuolo (W5 D3) are one of three teams unbeaten in Serie A TIM this season (alongside AC Milan and Juventus): only once in their history have the Neroverdi recorded a longer streak without defeat in the top-flight (11 between May and September 2015). Inter have won 15 of their 23 away Serie A TIM matches under (D6 L2), more than any other team since the start of last season. Although Sassuolo (140) and Inter (126) are the teams with the most sequences with 10+ passes in Serie A TIM this season, only 21% of these (for the Neroverdi) and 22% (for the Nerazzurri) have finished with a shot or a touch in the opponent box: four teams have a higher percentage. 26% of total goals in the last 30 minutes of play in Serie A TIM this season (25/96) have been scored by Sassuolo (14) and Inter (11) combined. Domenico Berardi has scored in six of his last nine league matches against Inter. Among players currently in Serie A TIM, only Zlatan Ibrahimovic (eight) has scored more goals than the Sassuolo striker (six) against the Nerazzurri in the top-flight. Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi is the only player to have scored 10+ goals and provided 10+ assists in Serie A TIM in 2020 calendar year. Only three other players in the top five European leagues have achieved this target so far: , and Thomas Müller. In the three points for a win era, (seven goals in 2020/21) is one of the three players that have scored at least seven goals in their first seven seasonal Serie A TIM matches for Inter, alongside (nine in 2001/02 and eight in 2002/03) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (seven in 2007/08). 28/11/2020 18:00 - CIRO VIGORITO BENEVENTO Vs JUVENTUS Benevento have scored in both Serie A TIM matches against Juventus, however they have lost both games. Juventus haven’t won in three of their last four away Serie A TIM games against newly promoted teams (D2 L1), failing to keep a clean sheet in each of their last six matches. Benevento have three wins in eight Serie A TIM games this season (L5), the same number of victories they had in their first 29 matches in their only previous Serie A TIM campaign in 2017-18. Juventus have won only one of their last eight away Serie A TIM games (D4 L3): 4-1 against Spezia - and they have conceded at least once in each of their last nine league matches on the road (17 in the period, 1.9 on average). Juventus have conceded the fewest goals in Serie A TIM for the first time since matchday 32 of last season (only six goals conceded so far). The Bianconeri could keep two clean sheets in a row in the competition for the first time since a run of three in June 2020. Only Sassuolo (5) have scored more goals from outside the box than Benevento in Serie A TIM this season (4). However, Juventus haven’t conceded a goal from outside the box so far. The current Benevento and Juventus managers, and , played 156 Serie A TIM matches as teammates with AC Milan. As opponents they faced each other four times in the competition, most recently Juventus-Brescia in April 2001. Gianluca Lapadula has been involved in five of Benevento’s last seven goals in Serie A TIM (three goals and two assists), however he hasn’t faced any team in the top-flight more than Juventus without ever scoring or providing assists (four matches, level with AC Milan). Paulo Dybala netted the last of his three Serie A TIM hat-tricks against Benevento at Ciro Vigorito in April 2018. The Juventus forward is the first – and so far, only – player to have scored three goals in a single match in this stadium in the top-flight. Juventus’ has scored 29 goals in Serie A TIM in 2020: he could reach 30 league goals in a single calendar league year for the ninth time in his career. In Serie A TIM only 11 players have reached this milestone, most recently in 2017.

28/11/2020 20:45 - GEWISS STADIUM ATALANTA Vs HELLAS VERONA Since joined Atalanta, the Nerazzurri have won three of their four Serie A TIM matches against Verona (D1) – they had lost five of the previous seven matches in the competition against the Gialloblu (D2). Verona have won only one of their last 16 away Serie A TIM games against Atalanta (D6 L9), 2-1 in April 2014 with goals from Massimo Donati and . After starting the Serie A TIM season with four wins and two defeats, Atalanta have drawn their last two matches: only once under Gasperini have the Nerazzurri drawn three league games in a row, in May 2017. Verona's last away win in Serie A TIM was back in January 2020 (2-0 v SPAL), drawing nine and losing five since. Their run of 14 away games without a win is the longest of all current Serie A TIM sides. After scoring 13 goals in their first three Serie A TIM games this season, Atalanta have netted only five goals in their last five league games. Only Genoa (three) and Crotone (four) have scored fewer in this period. Among teams in the top half of the table, Atalanta have conceded the most goals (14). However, the Dea are the side that have the highest difference between goals conceded and Expected Goals against (9.37): a difference of 4.63. Atalanta have scored the most goals in the first half of Serie A TIM games this season (12), while in the same period Verona have conceded just three goals, with only Napoli shipping fewer (2). Josip Ilicic has scored four goals in three Serie A TIM matches against Verona with Atalanta, including his first ever hat-trick in the competition (in a 5-0 win in March 2018) – against no other side has he netted more with Atalanta in the top-flight. Atalanta's Duván Zapata is the first non-European player to have scored in each of the last eight Serie A TIM campaigns. The Colombian striker netted his first home brace in the Italian top-flight against Verona, in May 2014 with Napoli at San Paolo. Atalanta are Verona’s favorite target in Serie A TIM (two goals), including his first goal in the competition: in September 2011 with Genoa, under .

29/11/2020 12:30 - OLIMPICO LAZIO Vs UDINESE Lazio are unbeaten in their last 11 Serie A TIM games against Udinese, winning nine and keeping nine clean sheets in this run. Under , Lazio have achieved seven wins in eight Serie A TIM matches against Udinese (D1). Since he joined the Biancocelesti in April 2016, only Gian Piero Gasperini has won more games against a single opponent (eight vs Sassuolo). Udinese haven’t scored in any of their last five away Serie A TIM games against Lazio (L5) – the last Friulian goal on the road against the Biancocelesti was back in September 2014, with Cyril Théréau scoring in a 1-0 win. Udinese haven’t conceded in either of their last two Serie A TIM games; they could keep three clean sheets in a row in the competition for the first time since March 2014. Lazio have picked up only five points in their first four home seasonal Serie A TIM games (W1 D2 L1) for the first time since 2011/12, winning their fifth match back then. Lazio have received the most cards in Serie A TIM this season (26 – 25 yellows and one red), while only Napoli (8) and Roma (10) have fewer cards than Udinese (13). The Biancocelesti have received a card every 3.8 fouls, the lowest ratio in the current league season. Udinese have scored the fewest goals in the first 30 minutes of play in Serie A TIM games this season (one). In addition, no other side have scored fewer than Udinese and Lazio in the first half of games(three). Lazio’s Ciro Immobile has been involved in 11 goals in 10 Serie A TIM games against Udinese (eight goals and three assists) – only against Sampdoria (13) has he had more goal involvements in the competition. Lazio are the team that Udinese’s Rodrigo de Paul has faced the most in Serie A TIM (seven matches) without scoring or providing an assist.

29/11/2020 15:00 - RENATO DALL'ARA BOLOGNA Vs CROTONE Crotone have won their last two Serie A TIM games against Bologna, after losing the previous two.

On 21st August 2016, Crotone made their Serie A TIM debut away against Bologna, losing 0-1 thanks to a goal. Bologna have drawn the most home matches in Serie A TIM in 2020 (six); however, none of these have been in the current league season (two wins and two defeats so far at Dall’Ara stadium). Bologna have conceded at least once in each of their last 41 Serie A TIM matches – only Bordeaux in 1960 (42) have had a longer streak without any clean sheets in the top five European Leagues. For the first time in Serie A TIM, Crotone have recorded a streak of 11 games without a win: three draws and eight defeats going back to the 2017/18 campaign. Crotone haven’t found the net in their last two league games: only once has a team under Giovanni Stroppa failed to score for more consecutive Serie A TIM matches: Pescara in October 2012 (four). Bologna have taken the most corners in Serie A TIM this season (59), while opponents Crotone have had the fewest so far this term (20). Since July 2020, Bologna’s Musa Barrow has scored six goals from open play in home matches, a joint- record in Serie A TIM alongside Francesco Caputo. Simy is the only Crotone player that has scored in each of the three seasons the club has played in Serie A TIM; he could already equal his record of away goals in a single season in the Italian top-flight (two).

29/11/2020 15:00 - MILAN Vs FIORENTINA AC Milan have won only five of their last 18 games against Fiorentina in Serie A TIM (D6 L7), after seven consecutive wins between 2008 and 2011. Only Juventus (78) have won more matches than AC Milan (72) against Fiorentina in Serie A TIM.

Fiorentina have won their last two away games against AC Milan in Serie A TIM; only between 2012 and 2013 have the Viola had three consecutive wins on the road against the Rossoneri in the top-flight. AC Milan have picked up at least 20 points in their eight matches to a Serie A TIM season for the second time (in the 3 points for a win era) - the first since 2003/04, where they went on to win the title. AC Milan have scored in each of their last 28 league matches, only between December 1972 and December 1973 have the Rossoneri been on a longer streak in Serie A TIM (29 consecutive games). AC Milan and Atletico Madrid are the only two teams still unbeaten in the Top-5 European leagues since football resumed post-lockdown - 20 games for the Rossoneri, 19 for the Colchoneros. Under Fiorentina have lost their most recent Serie A TIM match against Benevento: the last Viola manager to lose both their first two games in charge was in 2017. Fiorentina haven’t scored in their last two away Serie A TIM games: they last failed to score in three consecutive league games on the road back in 2012. In 2020, AC Milan are unbeaten in five Serie A TIM games without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, (four wins and one draw) - without him on the pitch, the Rossoneri's win rate rises from 62.5% to 80%. Fiorentina’s Gaetano Castrovilli scored his first goal in Serie A TIM at Meazza stadium against AC Milan, in September 2019 – he has already been involved in the same number of goals (five) in the current Serie A TIM campaign than the whole of last season, in 25 fewer games. 29/11/2020 18:00 - SARDEGNA ARENA CAGLIARI Vs SPEZIA This will be the first Serie A TIM meeting between Cagliari and Spezia: the Sardinians have won three of their last seven games against Ligurian sides in the top-flight (D1 L3). Cagliari have won their last four home meetings against Ligurian sides in Serie A TIM: only between 1974 and 1982 have they managed a longer such run (five). Cagliari have kept a clean sheet in just one of their last seven league games, conceding at least two goals in all the other six: 16 goals conceded, an average of 2.3 per match. Having not conceded in their last home league match, Cagliari could keep a clean sheet in consecutive home games in Serie A TIM for the first time since October 2018. Spezia have picked up nine points in Serie A TIM this season: the last team to earn more points in the first nine games of their debut season in the Italian top-flight was Siena in 2003/04 (10 points). Spezia have picked up seven points in their opening four away league games this season (W2 D1 L1): in the three points for a win era, only Chievo in 2001/02 (eight points) earned more in their first five Serie A TIM away games, among teams in their debut in the competition. Despite having conceded 17 goals, Cagliari are one of the only two sides (with Juventus) not to have conceded a headed league goal this term. João Pedro and Giovanni Simeone have scored 73% of Cagliari’s league goals in 2020 (24 out of 33): a record percentage among the top two scorers of a single team in Serie A TIM this year. Spezia’s M'Bala Nzola has been involved in the joint-most away goals in Serie A TIM this season among players of the newly promoted sides (two goals, one assist).

29/11/2020 20:45 - SAN PAOLO NAPOLI Vs ROMA o Napoli have won four of their last seven Serie A TIM matches against AS Roma (D1 L2), just one win fewer than in their previous 23 meetings (D6 L12) - since 2016/17 against no other side have the Giallorossi lost more league games (four). AS Roma have scored 74 away goals against Napoli in Serie A TIM: only Milan and Juventus (both at 87) have scored more on the road against the Partenopei in the Italian top-flight. Napoli are drawless in Serie A TIM this season - only three times have a team begun a Serie A TIM season without draws in their opening nine games played: 1939/40, 1962/63 and 2018/19. Napoli have lost their last two league home games: could become the first Napoli coach to suffer three consecutive Serie A TIM home defeats on two occasions. Roma have earned 17 points in Serie A TIM this season: in the previous eight seasons where the Giallorossi have picked up at least 18 points in their opening nine games (in the three points for a win era), they always ended the campaign in the top three positions. Napoli are one of the two teams, alongside Parma, that have not yet conceded a goal in the first 15 minutes of play in Serie A TIM this term – in addition, the Partenopei have conceded the fewest goals during the first halves of play, only two (they are followed by AS Roma, with three). Napoli have lost the fewest Serie A TIM points from leading positions in 2020 (four) among the teams with games played in both seasons; on the other hand, only Lazio (24) has gained more points than Roma (20) from trailing situations over the same period. Napoli striker; Dries Mertens has scored five goals in his last seven Serie A TIM games against AS Roma, having scored none in his previous six meetings against the Giallorossi. Henrikh Mkhitaryan has scored five goals in his last two league games, the last Roma player to score 2+ goals in consecutive Serie A TIM games was Edin Dzeko in 2017. Edin Dzeko has scored two braces against Napoli in Serie A TIM, both at San Paolo: against no other team in the top-5 European leagues has the AS Roma striker scored two or more goals in a single game on more occasions.

30/11/2020 18:30 - OLIMPICO GRANDE TORINO TORINO Vs SAMPDORIA Sampdoria have scored in each of their last nine league games against Torino, only against Fiorentina are they on a longer such streak (10 matches), among current Serie A TIM teams. Sampdoria won their last Serie A TIM away match against Torino; they have collected two consecutive wins on the road against the Granata just once in the top-flight: between 1959 and 1960. Torino have picked up five points in their first eight matchdays; their worse start to a Serie A TIM campaign since 2008/09 (5 points) - they have never collected as few as five points in their first nine top-flight matches. Torino are winless in their last six Serie A TIM home games picking up just two points (thanks to draws against Hellas Verona and Crotone), only five times have the Granata been on a longer winless run, with four of these before 1960, and the most recent in 2003. Torino have conceded 20 goals in Serie A TIM this season: the most they’ve conceded after nine matches since 1958/59 (19). No team have dropped more points from winning positions than Torino have this season in their first eight league matches in Serie A TIM history, (three points for a win) - 14 points, level with Atalanta in 2004/05. After three consecutive wins in October, Sampdoria have only picked up one point in their three league games played in November. Sampdoria have conceded at least one goal in each of their last 14 Serie A TIM away matches (26 goals in total): in the era of three points for a win, the last time the Blucerchiati went on a worse such streak was in 2016 (18) and 1997 (16). Torino forward has scored seven Serie A TIM goals against Sampdoria; only against Sassuolo (nine) has he found the net more times. Sampdoria are the only team against which he has scored three braces in the competition. made his debut in Serie A TIM with Torino in 2000, playing 55 games and scoring 18 goals with the Granata; the Sampdoria striker has netted five goals against the Piemontesi, including one in his most recent match, but he has never scored for two consecutive such games.

30/11/2020 20:45 - LUIGI FERRARIS GENOA Vs PARMA Parma have won their last four Serie A TIM games against Genoa, scoring 13 goals: currently their longest winning run against an opponent (also four in a row also against Padova and Venezia). Two of Parma's three Serie A TIM away wins against Genoa have come in the last two games, with just one in their previous 12 such games (D5 L6). In three of the last four seasons (including the current one) Genoa have gained exactly five points after their first eight Serie A TIM games: both in 2017/18 and in 2019/20 they gained points on the ninth matchday. Genoa have not drawn in 20 Serie A TIM home games since September 2019: seven wins and 13 defeats in this run for the Rossoblù - their previous record for home games without draws was 13 and the last team to reach 21 was Juventus in 2017 (33 home wins in a row). Parma have not scored in their last two league games, they last failed to score in three consecutive games in the competition in November 2018. Parma have only gained one point in their first four Serie A TIM away games of the season: before , the last Gialloblù manager to start as poorly in his first four away games was in 2007. Goran Pandev has scored three goals and provided two assists against Parma in Serie A TIM, but none of those have been in the six most recent meetings (the last three with Genoa). Between 2011 and 2015 Parma’s Juraj Kucka played with Genoa, playing 122 Serie A TIM games (nine goals scored): in the three points era, the only Rossoblù with more appearances have been Marco Rossi (167) and Giandomenico Mesto (132). Parma’s Andreas Cornelius scored two hat-tricks against Genoa last season: only Kurt Roland Hamrin v Genoa in 1957/58 and v Udinese in 2007/08 had managed to score at least three goals in both matches of the season against a team - only three players have scored three hat-tricks against a single opponent in the competition (Vecchina, Nordahl and Hamrin).