Bologna v Inter: do you know everything about our first match of 2022?

Team

— Jan 5th 2022

4 MIN READING

Facts and figures ahead of the game at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on 6 January

MILAN - After ending 2021 with a win against Torino at the San Siro, Inter will start 2022 - the first game of the second half of the season - at the Stadio Dall'Ara. Simone Inzaghi's Nerazzurri reached the midway point top of the table with 46 points, having the best attack and the second-best defence in the league (49 goals scored and 15 conceded).

Sinisa Mihajlovic's Bologna ended 2021 with a 3-0 win at home against Sassuolo, and after 19 games they have 27 points, resulting from eight wins, three draws and eight defeats.

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

Inter will be the first team against which Bologna will reach the 150-match mark in Serie A: the Rossoblu lost 73 times to the Nerazzurri in the league (W41, D35); only against Juventus have they lost on more occasions (78).

Inter have won six of their last eight games against Bologna in Serie A, with the Rossoblu winning the other two. The last draw between the two teams dates back to September 2017. The Nerazzurri have won all of their last three league matches against Bologna and have not had more consecutive wins against them in Serie A since 2010 (five).

Bologna have not won any of their last 15 home league games against Inter (D3, L12) and during this period they’ve only managed to keep one clean sheet, in a 0-0 draw in August 2010.

FORM BOOK

For the first time, Inter have won six league games in a row without conceding a single goal. The Nerazzurri have only recorded a longer run of consecutive clean sheets in a Serie A season on one occasion: between January and March 1971 (seven).

For the second time since 2008/09, the Nerazzurri have got more than 45 points in the first half of the season, following 2019/20 (46, a season in which they drew their 20th match).

Bologna have five wins and six defeats in their last 11 league games and are the Serie A side currently on the longest run without a league draw.. Mihajlovic's men have lost four of their last six home league games (W2).

Bologna haven’t got to at least 27 points after 19 games in a Serie A season since 2002/03 (28), when they lost their 20th game.

GENERAL STATS

Bologna and Inter have both scored the most amount of goals through defenders in this season's Serie A (nine each). 21% of the total goals scored by defenders this season have come from these two sides (18 out of 85).

Inter have taken the most shots so far this season (330) and are also in third place in regards to shot conversion: 14.9% of the Nerazzurri's shots have been converted into goals (behind Lazio with 19.5%, and Verona with 15.3%).

Bologna and Inter have scored the most goals from corners in the league: eight and seven respectively. Additionally, no other side has conceded fewer goals from corner situations than the Rossoblu (one, the same as Fiorentina).

Only Genoa (with 12 goals) have scored more than Mihajlovic's team (11 goals) in the last 15 minutes of a game in the league.

PLAYER FOCUS

Denzel Dumfries has been involved in either a goal or an assist every 164 minutes in Serie A this season (three goals and two assists in 822 minutes), the best stat amongst defenders who have been on the pitch for at least 400 minutes.

Samir Handanovic has now reached 149 games without conceding a single goal in an Inter shirt. The Nerazzurri captain has the highest percentage of saves out of the goalkeepers in the league (78%, minimum three appearances): he has never held such a high figure in a single Serie A season.

After failing to score in any of his first five Serie A matches against Bologna, Lautaro Martínez scored a goal in his most recent appearance against them last September.

Edin Dzeko has scored seven Serie A goals against Bologna (including a brace coming on as a substitute in the most recent encounter) - only against Stuttgart (eight) has he scored more goals in Europe's five major leagues.

Inter will be without Hakan Calhanoglu due to suspension. The Turk has actively been involved in the most goals in Serie A since the beginning of November: ten (five goals and five assists) of the 21 goals scored by the Nerazzurri during that same period.

If they play, Roberto Gagliardini will make his 150th appearance in all competitions for Inter and Matteo Darmian his 250th appearance in Europe's top five leagues.

Marcelo Brozovic has been involved in the most moves which led to a shot in the league this season (112).

Bologna are one of the two teams who Danilo D'Ambrosio has scored the most goals against in Serie A: three, level with Sampdoria.

Joaquin Correa has only scored more goals against AC Milan (four) than Bologna (three) in Serie A.