CATANIA – We've put together this collection of pre-match stats to help you get into the mood for tonight's Serie A clash with Catania at the Stadio Massimino. As always, our thanks go to Football Data for the number-crunching.
Bergessio three goals behind Prenna, five off Mascara
Gonzalo Bergessio's strike against Torino on 19 May was his 26th in Serie A in a Catania shirt, taking him up to third place in the Sicilians' all-time top scorers list. Adelmo Prenna sits just ahead of him with 29 goals while Giuseppe Mascara leads the way with 31 to his name.
Samp the only side to nick three points in season debut at Massimino since Catania's return to the top flight
Catania are now in their eighth consecutive Serie A campaign, their longest run in the top flight. In that time, the Rossoazzurri have lost just once in their opening fixture at the Stadio Massimino (first or second game), beaten 2-1 by Sampdoria at the start of the 2009/10 season. In their other six season debuts at home, the Sicilian outfit have clocked up three wins (1-0 against Genoa in 2008/09, 2-1 versus Parma in 2010/11, 3-2 over Genoa in 2012/13) and three draws (all 0-0, against Atalanta in 2006/07, Genoa in 2007/08 and Siena in 2011/12).
Inter on record eight-game scoring streak in Sicily
The Nerazzurri have found the net in each of their last eight games away at Catania (20 times in total), their longest run of goals at the Sicilian's home ground. Inter haven't drawn a blank there since the 0-0 stalemate played out on 8 January 1984.
Inter's 204-minute shutout
Muriel's 66th-minute finish in Inter 2-5 Udinese on 19 May was the last goal conceded by the Nerazzurri in competitive outings. Mazzarri has begun his regime with consecutive shutouts at the Meazza against Cittadella (4-0 in the Coppa Italia) and Genoa (2-0 in the league). Inter hadn't gone at least two games without conceding since October 2012 (AC Milan 0-1 Inter and Inter 2-0 Catania in Serie A, Inter 1-0 Partizan in the Europa League). The last season in which they managed to keep the door closed for their first two competitive fixtures was 2005/06, overcoming Shakhtar 0-2 in a Champions League qualifier in Donetsk and Juventus 0-1 Inter in the Italian Super Cup in Turin, after extra time.
Nagatomo hits the 100-game mark
Yuto Nagatomo will turn out in black and blue for the 100th time in competitive matches if he features tonight. His 99 appearances to date have been spread between Serie A (74), the Coppa Italia (seven), and European competition (18). He made his debut on 8 February 2011 in an eight-goal bonanza at the Meazza: Inter 5-3 Roma.
Maran unbeaten (with no goals conceded) at home to Mazzarri
There have been four previous meetings between these two coaches: one win for Maran, one draw and two victories for Mazzarri. In the two games played at home by Maran's teams, Mazzarri's sides have neither won nor scored: the current Catania coach has registered one win and one draw.
Maran's 2/2 defeats versus Nerazzurri
Rolando Maran is pitting his wits against Inter for the third time in a competitive encounter, having lost both previous match-ups in 2012/13: his Catania team went down 0-2 at the Meazza before losing 3-2 at home in the reverse fixture.
Mazzarri's sole victory in Catania back in 2004
Walter Mazzarri's previous with Catania sees the coach ahead on points, with seven wins, five draws and four defeats from 16 matches. The coach has triumphed just once at the Massimino though: 0-3 when he took his Livorno outfit there for a Serie B fixture on 8 May 2004. His other six away trips at Catania have produced three draws and three defeats, considering that Catania 1-4 Reggina on 18 March 2007 (Serie A 2006/07) was played on neutral ground in Rimini.
