Serie A Round 36 Preview: Three could be the magic number for some

Date: 10th May 2019 at 10:30am
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With only three matches to go of the season many issues are resolved but with a relegation place and Champions League qualification yet to be organised.

We begin with a side vying for a European qualification place. Atalanta have won both of their last two home Serie A games against Genoa: the last time they had won three in a row against the Grifone was back in 1954.

Their opponents may look to set pieces as they have scored 8 of their 37 Serie A goals this season from corner situations (22%), a league-high percentage in the top division.

Over in Sardinia, the last time Cagliari won against Lazio at home in the league was back in May 2013: in the last four matches in the region, Lazio have won two, followed by two draws.

This has been a lacklustre season for the capital side, they have won 15 points fewer after 35 matches this season compared to this stage last season, also scoring 34 fewer goals – the biggest negative difference of all sides to have competed in Serie A in both campaigns (excludes Chievo’s three-point deduction).

The last time Fiorentina went 11 consecutive games without a win in a single campaign was back in 1989/90 (12 games) – they have played out five draws and six defeats in the current streak.

Opponents AC Milan have picked up only one point in their last four away Serie A games and have conceded at least once in each of their last seven matches on the road.

Surprisingly, only Manchester City (six) and RB Leipzig (10) have conceded fewer goals than Torino (11) in the 2019 calendar year in the big-5 European Leagues.

Only Atalanta and Roma have scored more goals via defenders (excluding own goals) than visiting side Sassuolo and Torino (both 11) in the current campaign.

In their three previous Serie A meetings, recently relegated Frosinone and Udinese have won once each, with the other finishing as a draw.

Only the away side (9) have seen fewer players score for them than hosts Frosinone (10) this season (excluding own goals).

Sampdoria are unbeaten in their last nine games against Empoli (W5 D4), after the Blucerchiati lost their previous three consecutive meetings against the Tuscans.

Visiting side Empoli won their last game against Fiorentina, only once this season have they won two consecutive games, on November 2018.

Since 15 March, in-form SPAL have earned the most points in the top-flight (19 in eight games); and only opponents Napoli (18) have scored more goals than Spal (16) in this time period.

The visitors (11) and SPAL (8) are two of three sides that have scored in more consecutive league games this season (Also Roma – 9 goals).

Champions League hopefuls Roma haven’t scored in five of their last six league matches against Juventus, including the most recent three: only between 1948 and 1949 did the Giallorossi fail to score in four consecutive Serie A matches against the Bianconeri.

Champions Juventus have taken the foot off the gas and have won only one of their last six games in all competitions (D3, L2): the last time they won just once in in seven matches was back in February 2010 under Alberto Zaccheroni.

Hosts Bologna are unbeaten in 11 of their last 12 home games against Parma in Serie A (W6 D5), after the Rossoblu had lost their three previous home meetings against the Ducali (between 1991 and 1998).

In a curious statistic, visiting Parma have lost their last three league games played on a Monday, conceding a whopping 11 goals (3.7 on average per match).

After losing their first Serie A home meeting against Chievo (December 2001), Inter have gone unbeaten in each of their following 15 such games at the Meazza (W11 D4).

Basement side Chievo have unsurprisingly scored the fewest away goals in Serie A this season (11) – moreover, only Empoli (37) have shipped more than the Gialloblu away from home (36).

 

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