MILAN - Inter take on Siena tonight in the second-last midweek round of the 2011/12 season. Of the 15 matches played between these two sides since their first meeting in 2003/04 - a 4-0 victory for the Nerazzurri in Milan - Inter have won 11 and drawn 4, scoring 30 times and conceding 12.
The referee this evening will be 41-year-old Andrea Romeo from Verona, making his 74th appearance in Serie A. So far he has overseen 42 wins for the home team, 19 draws and 13 wins for the away side, awarding 26 penalties and distributing 16 red cards. Inter v Siena will be his 16th top-flight fixture this term. In his career he has officiated in matches involving Inter on 4 occasions (3 Nerazzurri wins and 1 draw) and Siena 10 times (2 wins, 3 draws and 5 defeats). Romeo's path first crossed Inter's on 8 February 2005 in Como for a friendly against Steaua Bucharest - coached by former Nerazzurri keeper Walter Zenga at the time.
With the 3 penalties awarded to Genoa on 1 April, Inter's opponents have now been granted 9 penalties in 31 matches this season. This not only means the Nerazzurri are the side with the most penalties against them in the 2011/12 Serie A campaign - tied with Cesena and Genoa - it also equals the club's record since the start of a unified top flight in Italy: in 1985/86 the Nerazzurri also had 9 penalties awarded against them. Meanwhile, Siena have benefited from 8 penalties this term (the same number as Napoli), only one less than Catania and AC Milan, who hold the joint record with 9.
Siena are one of 4 Serie A teams to have made the most use of substitutes in 2011/12: 93, the same number as Catania, Chievo Verona and Juventus.
Siena are also one of only two sides (together with Chievo Verona) that have had a single player sent off in the current campaign. Brienza is the only player to have been shown a red card - against the Nerazzurri in the reverse fixture (Siena 0-1 Inter, 27 November).
