The weekend kicks off with a traditionally even encounter. In the last nine Serie A meetings between Sassuolo and Cagliari, there have been five draws and two wins apiece. Six of Cagliari’s last eight league goals have been scored in the last 15 minutes of play: this is the period in which the Rossoblù have scored the most (32 per cent). It’s not how you start…
Over to Liguria where Sampdoria have lost only one of their last 13 league home games against Udinese (W6 D6); they have kept a clean sheet six times in this period.
Strangely, among current top-flight sides, Udinese are the only one against which Fabio Quagliarella has not yet scored with Sampdoria (seven meetings). The striker has made 73 appearances for the Bianconeri in Serie A, scoring 25 goals.
One of the big games of the weekend takes us to the Stadio San Siro where Milan have won only one of their last 15 league games against Napoli (D5 L9), 2-0 at home in December 2014.
Napoli’s Lorenzo Insigne has scored more Serie A goals versus Milan than any other team (six goals). Among teams he has faced at least 12 times in the competition the Rossoneri are one of the three against whom the Italian striker has never lost (also Genoa and Torino).
Chievo might make a fight of staying up this season, have gone unbeaten in their last four home league games (W1 D3), they last went five without defeat at the Bentegodi in September 2016. Their opposition come from Tuscany where Fiorentina’s Federico Chiesa scored his first Serie A goal at the Bentegodi against Chievo (January 2017): he has scored 12 goals from 244 shots, a goal every 20 shots on average.
Parma (one) and SPAL (zero) have scored the fewest goals during the last 15 minutes of play in the current Serie A season. This might be a game to leave early. A striker with ties to both sides is Alberto Paloschi who played 57 matches with Parma in Serie A and Serie B scoring 16 goals. Currently, the striker has scored four goals vs Parma in the top-flight, only against Genoa (eight) has he scored more in the competition.
In Bergamo, Atalanta have scored 125 goals in 113 matches in the top-flight against Roma: their highest tally against an opponent in the top-flight. Curiously, both sides have both had more league goals scored by defenders (12 each) than any other side in Europe’s big five leagues this season.
At least one side has failed to score in each of the three previous Serie A meetings between Bologna and Frosinone, with just two goals being scored in total. Bologna won none of their last 13 Serie A games (D7 L6), their longest such run in a single season since February 1979.
Frosinone have won just one of their 20 league games this season (D7 L12), gaining 10 points, five fewer than their only other season in Serie A, when the Gialloblù had won four games at this stage. Which ailing side will come out on top?
In Turin, Torino’s last six league goals have been scored by six different players (Nkoulou, De Silvestri, Falque, Belotti, Rincon and Ansaldi). Inter have a poor record in this encounter and have won only one of their last six league games against Torino (D3 L3), conceding at least one goal in all of these – the Nerazzurri have never conceded a goal in seven consecutive meetings against the Granata.
Another massive encounter takes us to the capital where Lazio have scored just one goal in their last nine games against Juventus at the Olimpico in Serie A (D1 L8), at least six goals fewer than they have netted against any other team they have faced at least five times in the same period in the competition.
Juventus are unbeaten in their last 22 matches away from home in the league (W18 D4); only between September 2011 and November 2012 (25) have they had a better run away from home.
Finally, we go to newly-promoted Empoli who have conceded at least one goal in each of their last 17 matches in the top-flight, the longest ongoing run amongst teams currently in Serie A; they have only gone on a longer such run without a clean sheet once before in their history (18 between November 2005 and March 2006).
Genoa have earned just four points away from home in Serie A this season, the joint lowest tally (alongside Empoli and Chievo).
