Matchday 20 Serie A TIM 2020-21 29 - 31 January 2021 29/01/2021 20:45 - OLIMPICO GRANDE TORINO TORINO Vs FIORENTINA Fiorentina have won their last two Serie A TIM meetings against Torino, keeping two clean sheets: they last won three successive such matches in May 2009, whilst only once have they won three in a row without conceding (four between 1961 and 1963). Since their return in the Serie A TIM in 2012/13, Torino have only lost one of their eight Serie A TIM home matches against Fiorentina (W3 D4). Torino will be the second side in the history of the Serie A TIM (since 1929/30) to play successive games on Friday, after Cagliari in March 2019 (two wins for the Rossoblu against Fiorentina and Chievo). Torino have lost only one of their last seven league games (W1 D5), after having lost their previous three. Since MD13, only Atalanta (zero) have lost fewer matches than the Granata (one, alongside Inter and Lazio). After having won 3-0 at Juventus in December, Fiorentina could win both Serie A TIM away matches in a season in Torino for the third time in their history, after 1955/56 and 2007/08. Torino have conceded the most goals (12) in the last 15 minutes of play in Serie A TIM this season. No side has scored fewer headed goals than Fiorentina (two) in the current Serie A TIM campaign. Davide Nicola could become the first manager to remain unbeaten in each of his first two Serie A TIM matches with Torino since Walter Mazzarri: only four coaches have achieved this feat for Torino in the three points for a win era (Mazzarri, Ventura, Novellino and Scoglio). After having scored nine goals in his first 11 Serie A TIM appearances this season, Torino’s Andrea Belotti has failed to find the net in each of his last seven: this is his longest run without a goal in the competition since June 2020 (eight). Fiorentina’s striker Dusan Vlahovic has scored seven Serie A TIM goals this season, only two players born after 1/1/2000 have scored more in the Top-5 European Leagues in 2020/21: Erling Haaland (14) and Moise Kean (nine). 30/01/2021 15:00 - RENATO DALL'ARA BOLOGNA Vs MILAN Bologna have only won one of their last 22 Serie A TIM meetings against AC Milan (D5 L16), 1-0 win at the Meazza in January 2016 thanks to Giaccherini’s goal – they have failed to score 10 times in the process. AC Milan are unbeaten in their last 14 Serie A TIM away games against Bologna (W10 D4): only Juventus have avoided defeat in more successive Serie A TIM games on the road against the Rossoblu in the competition (17 and counting). Bologna have lost each of their last eight Serie A TIM games against teams in first place before the beginning of the match-day: they last avoided defeat in February 2016 (0-0 v Juventus). Bologna kept a clean sheet in their last Serie A TIM home match against Verona and could record two in a row for the first time since April 2019 (v Chievo and Sampdoria). AC Milan could score in 20 successive Serie A TIM away matches for the first time in their history, overtaking the run of 19 between March 1992 and April 1993. AC Milan have scored 2+ goals in their last 15 Serie A TIM away games: only Barcelona have had a longer such run in the Top-5 European Leagues (20 between 2012 and 2013). AC Milan have scored 23% of their league goals from the penalty spot this season (9/39), the highest percentage; on the other hand, Bologna have scored only 4% (1/24) from penalties, the lowest ratio. Sinisa Mihajlovic has won 41% of his Serie A TIM matches as a manager for AC Milan (58% for Stefano Pioli), whilst Pioli has won 30% of his games with Bologna (32% for Mihajlovic). Roberto Soriano could play his 200th Serie A TIM game: he has scored the joint-most Serie A TIM home goals this season amongst midfielders (five, alongside Jordan Veretout). Alexis Saelemaekers scored his first goal for AC Milan in July 2020 against Bologna: in the three points for a win era, he has played the most Serie A TIM games without a single defeat (27). 30/01/2021 18:00 - LUIGI FERRARIS SAMPDORIA Vs JUVENTUS Juventus have won their last two Serie A TIM matches against Sampdoria without conceding: the last time the Bianconeri registered three wins in a row without conceding against the Blucerchiati in the competition was back in 1977 (four in that case). Juventus and Sampdoria haven’t drawn any of their last eight Serie A TIM matches played in Liguria (three home wins and five away): the last draw was back in January 2011. Sampdoria have won their last two league matches, including the most recent one against Parma without conceding a goal: the last time the Blucerchiati have won two consecutive Serie A TIM games, while keeping a clean sheet was back in September 2018. Juventus lost their most recent away league match, 0-2 against Inter: the Bianconeri could lose two consecutive matches on the road in Serie A TIM without scoring for the first time since May 2019 (in that case the second game arrived against Sampdoria). Sampdoria’s opponents have hit the woodwork on 14 occasions this season, the most in Serie A TIM this term. Only Atalanta (32.7) have averaged more touches in the opposition box per match in Serie A TIM this season than Juventus (31.2). Last season under Maurizio Sarri, the Bianconeri ended the league campaign with an average of 24.3 touches in the opposition box. Sampdoria’s Fabio Quagliarella (484 matches and 171 goals) is one of only five players in the all-time top-20 for both appearances and goals in Serie A TIM’s history, with Silvio Piola, Francesco Totti, Alberto Gilardino and Roberto Mancini. Keita Baldé has scored 14 goals in his last 16 Serie A TIM starts; Sampdoria’s striker could score in two consecutive starts for the first time since December 2018 against Frosinone and Roma (with Inter). Cristiano Ronaldo, without goals in his last two Serie A TIM games, could fail to find the net in three consecutive games in a single league season for the first time since April 2019. Aaron Ramsey (299) is close to reaching 300 appearances in the top-5 European leagues: the Welshman, who was born in 1990, is the second youngest midfielder to have both scored and provided assists in each of the last 10 seasons in the top-5 European Leagues, older only than Philippe Coutinho. 30/01/2021 20:45 - GIUSEPPE MEAZZA INTER Vs BENEVENTO Benevento have lost all three of their Serie A TIM games against Inter – their joint-highest tally alongside Atalanta, Napoli, and Roma. Inter have won both home matches against Benevento in all competitions, both under Luciano Spalletti: 2-0 in Serie A TIM in February 2018 and 6-2 in the Coppa Italia Last 16 in January 2019. Inter have won their last six home Serie A TIM games and could register seven for the first time since December 2018; while Antonio Conte could win seven home matches in a row in the top-5 European Leagues for the first time since December 2017 under Chelsea. Benevento have picked up 18 points more (22 v 4) than in 2017/18 after 19 games: this is the joint-highest improvement compared to a previous season played in Serie A TIM after 19 games in the three points for win era - alongside AC Milan in the current season (43 points v 25 in 2019/20). Since the restart of the top-5 European Leagues post lockdown, only Bayern Munich (80) have scored more goals than Inter (77). No team has had fewer open play sequences with 10+ passes than Benevento in Serie A TIM this season (85) – on the other hand Inter are fourth in this ranking with 265. As a player Filippo Inzaghi won 10 Serie A TIM games against Inter (only against Cagliari did he enjoy more, 11), scoring seven goals. Gianluca Lapadula could score in two consecutive Serie A TIM games for the first time since October 2020; however , Benevento’s striker has never found the net against Inter in six league matches. Lautaro Martínez hasn't scored in his last four Serie A TIM games; however, the Inter forward has scored seven goals in 13 appearances against newly promoted teams in the competition, including his only hat-trick, against Crotone on January 3rd. 31/01/2021 12:30 - ALBERTO PICCO SPEZIA Vs UDINESE Spezia are unbeaten in their last seven meetings against Udinese across Serie A TIM, Serie B and Coppa Italia (W6 D1), after having lost the previous three (in the 1940s in the Serie B). Spezia have lost nine of the first 19 Serie A TIM matches (W4 D6): amongst teams in their first Serie A TIM campaign, they have lost the fewest games at this stage of the competition since Siena in 2003/04 (eight). Udinese and Spezia both have 18 points so far (W4 D6 L9): the last side to have been relegated with 18 points or fewer at this stage of the competition were Pescara in 2012/13. Udinese are winless in their last nine Serie A TIM games (D5 L4): they last failed to win 10 in a row in May 2018 (14).