A top of the table clash kicks off another potentially enthralling weekend of action where champions Juventus have won 81 times against Inter in Serie A – more than they have against any other opponent.
With a win in this match, the Turin giants would equal the best ever start by a team after the first 15 games in a season in Europe’s top five leagues (PSG, 43 points from 15 games).
Inter’s away record has faltered at the wrong time for this encounter as they have conceded six goals in their last two games away from the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, as many as they had shipped in their previous 12 matches on the road.
Hoping to take advantage of some dropped points around them are Napoli, who have won both of their previous games against Frosinone in Serie A, scoring nine goals and conceding one. Frosinone’s Francesco Cassata is the youngest midfielder to score a goal in this campaign. Influential Cassata has been involved in two of Frosinone’s last three Serie A goals (one goal, one assist).
In a potentially one-sided match-up, Cagliari have taken only two points from their last eight top-flight games against Roma, with their last win dating back to February 2013. The visitors from the capital may not have an easy ride this time and have conceded in each of their last six league fixtures (eight in total), their worst run since May 2017.
The other side of the capital – Lazio have won their last four league games against Sampdoria, scoring an average of 3.8 goals per game in the process. Visiting striker Fabio Quagliarella has scored in each of the last four appearances – he has never scored in five consecutive appearances in a single Serie A season.
A tale of two out of form sides now starting with Sassuolo have kept just one clean sheet against Fiorentina in the top-flight. After winning four of their first six games of this season, Sassuolo have won only one of their last eight (D4 L3). Fiorentina themselves are winless in their last seven league games (D5 L2), their longest run in a single Serie A season since 2002.
Next, we go towards the wrong end of the table, Empoli are unbeaten in their last five league games against Bologna (W3 D2), having failed to win any of their previous seven prior to this run. Bologna have won just 11 points from their opening 14 games in Serie A this season – this is their worst start to a campaign since 2008/09 (10 points).
Parma lost their last meeting against Chievo in Serie A, after remaining unbeaten in the previous 11 (W6 D5). Chievo (133) and Parma (137) are the two teams that have attempted the fewest shots so far in this competition. Hopefully, this will be a more exciting match-up than this stat suggests.
Curiously, Udinese have scored goals with only four players this season – a league-low, while their opponents Atalanta share the record of the most different goalscorers in the competition with Roma (13). The Bergamo side have won only one of their five matches without Josip Ilicic this season. With Ilicic, Atalanta have taken on average 1.6 points per game, without him only 0.8.
Under pressure, Ivan Juric is winless in his last 11 league games for Genoa between this season and last season’s spell (D4 L7). Genoa and SPAL have conceded the joint-most goals coming from crosses in Serie A this season (seven apiece). Clearly similar weaknesses to exploit for both sides.
Hoping to get on the end of one those crosses for SPAL Alberto Paloschi, his favourite opponent is Genoa: eight goals in 11 league appearances against the Grifone.
The form is very much one-sided in our final encounter as AC Milan are unbeaten in their last 21 Serie A meetings against Torino (W11 D10). In total this could be the 150th league win for the Rossoneri versus a side from Piemonte. Torino are one of the two sides (alongside local rivals Juventus) to have lost none of their away games in the top-flight this season: the Granata have drawn the most matches away from home in the current league (five).
