MILAN – As we build up to tonight's Coppa Italia encounter against Cittadella, here's a selection of pre-match stats provided courtesy of Football Data.
Cup campaign number 65 for Inter
Inter will be competing in the Coppa Italia for the 65th time when today's game kicks off. The Nerazzurri have played 361 times in this competition so far, with overall results reading W197, D82, L82, 599 goals for and 361 against. Inter have lifted the trophy seven times, in 1938/39, 1977/78, 1981/82, 2004/05, 2005/06, 2009/10 and 2010/11, and finished as runners-up on seven occasions too, in 1958/59, 1964/65, 1967/68 (a four-team final group), 1976/77, 1999/00, 2006/07 and 2007/08.
17 years since last cup tie in August
Inter have not played a Coppa Italia match in the month of August since the 1996/97 season, with the competition organised in a different format to now. The Nerazzurri clinched a single-goal victory when they travelled to Ravenna on 28 August 1996 thanks to Aron Winter's 28th-minute strike.
18 August: Inter's earliest cup opener
Today, 18 August, is the earliest date in the football calendar that Inter have played in a Coppa Italia game, equalling the record set in 1982/83. On that occasion, when the first round was a group stage, Hansi Muller netted an 89th-minute winner for the Nerazzurri in a 1-0 success away to Rimini.
Gunning for goal number 600
Inter are just one goal away from reaching the six-ton mark in Coppa Italia fixtures, having racked up 599 since making their debut in the competition back in 1935. Attilio Demaria recorded the Nerazzurri's first cup goal on 25 December that year, hitting the target in the 23rd minute of Inter v Brescia, a game the hosts ended up winning 4-0.
Nerazzurri's 13-game scoring streak at home in the cup
Inter have scored in each of their last 13 matches played at home in this competition, hitting 26 goals in the process. Lazio were the last side to successfully put up the barricades in San Siro, when they defended their way to a 0-0 draw on 16 April 2008.
No goals conceded by Cittadella in 212 minutes
Cittadella haven't conceded a goal in their last 212 minutes of competitive action, since Croce scored in the 58th minute of Empoli 1-0 Cittadella, a Serie B match played on 11 May. Foscarini's defence was not breached in the 32 remaining minutes of that game or in the following two games, both 1-0 home victories for Cittadella, against Ascoli (2012/13 Serie B) and Savona (2013/14 Coppa Italia).
Cittadella, 296 minutes without an away goal
Cittadella have failed to hit the back of the net in 296 minutes on their travels, since Di Nardo scored in the 64th minute of Vicenza 1-2 Cittadella (Serie B). Since then, the Padova-based side have drawn nothing but blanks while on the road: the remaining 26 minutes of that encounter, plus the full 90 minutes at Hellas Verona (0-0), Varese (0-2) and Empoli (0-1).
Di Roberto looking to make Coppa history
Cittadella beat Savona 1-0 in the second round at the Stadio Tombolato last weekend to set up this fixture with Inter. Nunzio Di Roberto netted the game's only goal, thereby establishing himself as Cittadella's second all-time top scorer in the Coppa Italia, with three strikes to his name. The midfielder is now just one behind the club's leading cup goalscorer Stefano Ghirardello (on four), whose record he will be hoping to equal at the San Siro today.
Mazzarri 1-0 Foscarini
Walter Mazzarri and Claudio Foscarini are crossing paths for the second time as coaches in a competitive fixture. Their only previous encounter saw Mazzarri's Napoli edge a 1-0 victory over Foscarini's Cittadella at the Stadio San Paolo on 26 November 2009.
Mazzarri and Cittadella: three meetings, all 1-0 to the home side
Walter Mazzarri has met Cittadella three times during his coaching career and on each occasion the team playing at home has won 1-0, the Nerazzurri coach coming out on top twice and losing once.
Foscarini makes debut against Inter
This afternoon will see Claudio Foscarini face Inter for the first time as a coach in a competitive match.
