MILAN – A huge match is on the cards as Serie A returns after the international break: the Nerazzurri will line up to face cross-city rivals AC Milan at 20:45 CEST today.
In collaboration with Opta, here are some facts and figures to whet your appetite in anticipation for the game.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
This will be the 163rd time the Milan Derby has been contested in Serie A since it became a single-league format. The record so far puts Inter ahead on 60 victories to 50, with 52 draws.
The Nerazzurri have drawn more games with AC Milan than other side in Serie A apart from Lazio. On the other hand, AC Milan have tasted defeat against Inter the most out of all teams in the top division.
The form-book over the last five derbies in Serie A reads one victory each and three draws. In the last six cross-town league fixtures, no team has scored more than one goal.
There have been seven goals scored in the Milan Derby across the last three seasons: the same number that was registered over a single campaign in 2011/12.
A 1-1 draw is the most common scoreline between Inter and AC Milan in Serie A, cropping up 26 times.
PREVIOUS FIXTURES WITH INTER AT HOME
On the 81 occasions Inter have hosted the derby, they have emerged victorious 29 times and have lost 23 times. The Nerazzurri have been defeated at home in this fixture only once in the last ten games when Milan recorded a 1-0 victory in November 2010 (seven victories and two draws make up the rest).
FORM GUIDE
Inter have kicked the season off with two wins on the bounce. This has happened only once in the previous 11 seasons: in 2013/14 when the Nerazzurri ended the campaign in fifth place.
Taking the final game of 2014/15 into consideration, Roberto Mancini's men have picked up three victories in a row. The last time they stretched this run to four in the league was in November 2012.
Inter have also won their last two matches at home, stretching into the previous campaign. The last time three consecutive wins were seen at the San Siro was between the end of 2013/14 and the start of 2014/15.
Milan have kept a clean sheet only once in their last nine Serie A contests (against Torino in May). The Rossoneri haven't recorded a draw in nine matches as well, winning four and losing five. Their most recent draw actually came in the Milan Derby on 19 April 2015 when the game finished 0-0.
Milan have lost four out of their five most-recent away league matches: the only game that bucks this trend is the 3-1 victory against Atalanta at the end of 2014/15.
GENERAL STATISTICS
AC Milan have recorded the least shots on goal in the opening two games of this campaign with only four. Our cross-city rivals actually scored with their first shot on target in 2015/16 against Empoli in Week 2.
On the other hand, no team has conceded fewer goal-bound attempts than Inter with five.
The Nerazzurri have registered six shots on goal from outside the area, only Carpi and Roma have matched this.
Inter's possession stats are better than any other side in the league this season with 1220 completed passes, 447 more than Milan. Roberto Mancini's charges have misplaced the ball only 28 times in their own half, less than any other side in Serie A.
Nerazzurri players have tried to run with the ball on 53 occasions, leading the rankings in the top division this year. Two of Inter's three goals so far have come in the last 15 minutes of play, more than any other side.
The Rossoneri have had the least amount of successful tackles or interceptions in 2015/16, level on 90 with Torino. This continues a trend from last season, in fact only Cesena (1999) and Torino (2062) regained possession fewer times than Milan (2091) in the 2014/15 league season.
PLAYER FOCUS
Stevan Jovetic has scored in his last three Serie A appearances, including his final run-out with Fiorentina in May 2013. During his first stint in Italy, Jovetic hit the back of the net only once in six matches against Milan for the Viola, bagging a goal in April 2012 at the San Siro. In the opening two fixtures of this year, only Lorenzo Insigne has had more attempts on goal (14) than Jovetic (12).
Giacomo Bonaventura has ended up on the scoresheet four times in the previous six occasions he has played Inter in Serie A. His record against the Nerazzurri is better than any other team in the top division.
Luiz Adriano has touched the ball only 46 times so far this year, less than any other player with at least 160 minutes under their belt, including goalkeepers. The Brazilian did, however, score with his second shot on target for the Rossoneri, while his fellow South American Carlos Bacca tasted success with his first attempt on goal in Serie A.
In the opening two days of this season, only Gonzalo Rodriguez (116) has passed the ball more times in his own half than Jeison Murillo (86).
The last time Juraj Kucka scored in Serie A was actually against Inter last May when he was playing for Genoa.
Christian Zapata's first red card in Italy's top league came against Inter in February 2006 in an Udinese shirt. He's also been among the goals against the Nerazzurri, popping up on the scoresheet in January 2011 for the side from Friuli.
Andrea Poli spent one season at Inter in 2011/12, making 18 appearances and scoring no goals.
Mario Balotelli had a hand in 32 Serie A goals during his first stint at AC Milan (26 goals, six assists), which was more than any other player between February 2013 and May 2014. Balotelli made his Serie A debut for Inter in 2007, going on to play 59 times for the Nerazzurri and score 20 goals. Balo has never scored against Inter or AC Milan in Serie A.
On 6 December 2014, Ivan Perisic provided three assists in a single game (Hannover v Wolfsburg). In the five biggest European leagues you have to go back to 15 May 2013 to find a better return (four assists from Santi Cazorla in Arsenal v Wigan).
Felipe Melo has not played in Serie A since 2010/11. To date, he has made 87 appearances in the Italian league, scoring six goals. Galatasaray won 18 of the last 21 league matches (86%) Melo started in, but only seven of the 16 he didn’t start (44%). Alex Telles arrives in Italy having made 39 appearances and scored two goals for Galatasaray in the league.
COACHES
Roberto Mancini and Sinisa Mihajlovic have only ever locked horns as managers once in Serie A (Sampdoria v Inter last year, with the Serb coming out on top after the Blucerchiati’s 1-0 win). Mancini has taken charge of 16 Serie A games against AC Milan, for a record of five wins, five draws and six defeats.
On the other side of the coin, Mihajlovic has lost five of his eight previous Serie A matches against Inter, drawing one and winning two. Between 2006 and 2008, of course, Mihajlovic was Mancini’s assistant at Inter. The Nerazzurri won the league in both seasons during that period, amassing a whopping 182 points in two seasons via 55 wins, 17 draws and just four losses. Inter won three of the four league derbies during that period, losing the last one.
As players, Mancini and Mihajlovic were team-mates at both Sampdoria and Lazio. They played together with the Blucerchiati between 1994 and 1997 (managing two eighth-place finishes and one sixth-place finish) and the Biancocelesti between 1998 and 2000 (second place in 1998/99 and the historic Scudetto triumph in 1999/00.
As team-mates, the two managers contested two league derbies, drawing one and losing one against Roma in the 1998/99 season.
Of the 20 coaches in Serie A, only Rudi Garcia (2.04) has a better points-per-game ratio than Mancini (1.87).
REFEREE AND DISCIPLINE
The derby will be officiated by experienced referee Gianluca Rocchi, who has taken charge of 181 Serie A matches so far. Tonight will be Rocchi’s 10th city derby and second Milan derby (he has also refereed four Rome derbies, three Turin derbies and one Genoa derby).
Inter have won ten of their 22 league matches refereed by Rocchi (eight draws, four defeats). Only Lazio, with nine, have had more players sent off by Rocchi than Inter (eight). AC Milan have crossed paths with Rocchi in Serie A on 26 occasions, managing six wins, ten draws and ten defeats.
The only previous Derby della Madonnina officiated by Rocchi in Serie A was won 2-0 by Jose Mourinho’s Inter side in January 2010. It was an eventful game, with the Nerazzurri conceding a penalty (taken by Ronaldinho, saved by Julio Cesar) and having two players sent off (Sneijder, Lucio).
So far this season, no side has received more yellow cards than Inter (four against Carpi and two against Atalanta for a total of six). Carpi v Inter saw the most bookings of any match this season, with seven. Only Udinese (38) have committed more fouls than AC Milan (36) in 2015/16.
