MILAN – The new season is finally here and the Nerazzurri begin the 2015/16 Serie A campaign against Atalanta at the Stadio Giuseppe Meaza at 20:45 tonight.
With Opta's help, we've put together this Inter v Atalanta stat pack for you to peruse while waiting for kick-off.
HEAD TO HEADS
These sides have met 108 times in Serie A: 59 Inter wins, 22 for Atalanta and 27 draws.
The Nerazzurri have emerged victorious 37 times from the 54 matches played against the Bergamo outfit in Milan, with the visitors tasting success on nine occasions and eight draws. Inter are the team that Atalanta have lost most away games to in Serie A (37).
The Nerazzurri won both league encounters in 2014/15: 2-0 in San Siro and 4-1 in Bergamo, ending a six-match winless run against their fellow black and blues.
The most common result in this fixture is 1-1 – that's how it's ended on 19 occasions.
LET THE SEASON COMMENCE
Inter are unbeaten against Atalanta in opening-day fixtures (W3, D1).
The Nerazzurri have failed to score in Week 1 in just two of their last 27 attempts, against Bologna and Torino.
Atalanta haven't kicked off the Serie A campaign with an away win since 1949, when they crushed Bologna 6-2. Since then they have managed just six draws and 17 defeats.
La Dea hold the unenviable record of the most opening-day defeats in Serie A (24).
Inter last lost in Week 1 at home to Pescara in 1987. They have racked up 10 victories and three draws since then.
CURRENT FORM
Atalanta haven't lost on the road in their last six league outings – currently the longest unbeaten away run of all the teams in Serie A 2015/16.
However, the Bergamo Nerazzurri haven't kept a clean sheet for 11 games: no top- flight side has done worse.
Inter's last four matches in the 2014/15 season yielded a total of 18 goals (4.5 per game).
2014/15 STATS
Atalanta scored six goals from indirect free kicks last season – a record equalled only by Lazio.
No team conceded more often in the last 15 minutes of the first half than Atalanta in Serie A 2014/15: Stefano Colantuono's men let in 17 goals between the 31st and 45th minutes.
Atalanta lost more games (six) and dropped more points (32) from winning positions than any other team in 2014/15.
Inter were the woodwork kings of Serie A 2014/15, striking posts and crossbars 20 times in all, the same number as Palermo.
Only Napoli with their 623 shots (including blocked efforts) had more attempts on goal than Inter (616) in the last Serie A campaign. The Nerazzurri also took aim a record 207 times from outside the box – more than anyone else.
Inter are the team that completed the most passes (20,550) and sent in the most crosses from open play (787) last season.
The Nerazzurri also had the highest average possession in league matches in 2014/15 (60.4%).
It was against today's opponents Atalanta that Inter recorded their highest possession percentage (71%) last season: at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia on 15 February. That was also the game in which they strung together the most passes (686).
Only Torino (three) conceded fewer headed goals than Inter (five) last year.
Only Fiorentina (10) conceded fewer goals from set pieces than Inter (11) in Serie A 2014/15.
55% of dribbles attempted by Nerazzurri players last season were successful – a league high.
PLAYERS
Inter are Mauricio Pinilla's 'favourite' target of the 20 current Serie A 2015/16 clubs. The Chilean has bagged five goals in eight appearances against them.
Mauro Icardi has hit the net 41 times in the last three league seasons. Romelu Lukaku (42 before the start of this year's Premier League) is the only player in the top five European leagues born in 1993 to have plundered more than last season's joint top Serie A scorer.
Mauro Icardi has played an active part in Inter's last seven goals, scoring four himself and setting up three.
Toni (126) and Quagliarella (124) were the only players who took more shots than Mauro Icardi (120) in Serie A 2014/15, including blocked shots.
Geoffrey Kondogbia completed 78.4% of dribbles he attempted last season (40 of 51), the highest average of all Ligue 1 midfielders who attempted at least 15 dribbles. The French midfielder won the ball 9.6 times per game on average in last year's Champions League, more than any other midfielder playing for a side that reached at least the quarter-finals.
Alejandro Gomez has played an active part in three of Atalanta's last seven league goals – two himself and an assist.
Marco Sportiello made more saves (138) than any other keeper last season.
Gary Medel boasts the highest pass completion rate (91.8%) among those with at least 300 passes last term.
Gary Medel delivered a league high of 2695 total passes in 2014/15.
Marten De Roon was involved in the third highest number of duels in Eredivisie 2014/15 (112) and also won the third most (87).
Stevan Jovetic scored on his last Serie A appearance, against Pescara on 19 May 2013.
Maxi Moralez hasn't scored in 11 league outings: his last strike came in the 4-1 defeat against Inter last February.
Juan Jesus picked up more bookings than any other player in 2014/15 Serie A (14).
Atalanta, together with Parma, are the Serie A side that Fredy Guarin has scored most goals against (three).
Meanwhile, Inter, are the team that German Denis has put the most goals past in Serie A.
COACHES
Roberto Mancini has never lost against Atalanta in Serie A (eight wins, three draws). The coach from Jesi has only won more top-flight matches against Empoli (nine).
Roberto Mancini and Edoardo Reja cannot be separated. They have met three times, with one win apiece and a draw in the other match.
Reja hasn’t drawn against Inter in 10 matches (since Inter 1-1 Vicenza in 2001) in Serie A (four wins, six defeats).
Only Rudi Garcia (2.03) has a better points-per-game ratio than Roberto Mancini (1.86) in the Italian top division.
REFEREE AND DISCIPLINE
Gianpaolo Calvarese takes charge of his 58th Serie A match in his eighth season in the top flight.
Inter have recorded two wins, a draw and two defeats – coming in their first two meetings with the man from Teramo – in games officiated by Mr Calvarese.
Atalanta haven’t lost in Serie A in matches refereed by Mr Calvarese, registering a draw and two victories, the most recent of which came at Palermo in May.
Twelve of the 18 red cards shown by Mr Calvarese in Serie A have been awarded to players from the away team.
Gianpaolo Calvarese officiates a Mancini-managed team for the first time, while he has met Edoardo Reja on three occasions: one win and a draw last season, while in charge of Atalanta, and a victory when he coached Lazio in 2014.
