Looking at the numbers ahead of Hellas Verona vs Inter

MILAN – After an opening day 4-0 win against Genoa, the Nerazzurri are preparing to face their second opponents of the season, Hellas Verona, on Friday 27 August at 20:45 CEST. Here's everything you need to know about Eusebio Di Francesco's team and the upcoming match at the Bentegodi.

PAST ENCOUNTERS

There have been 60 previous meetings in Serie A between these two teams. Inter have won 35 of those encounters,  with 21 draws and just four victories for Hellas. Verona's last success against Inter in Serie A came over 29 years ago in February 1992 with a 1-0 home win thanks to Ezio Rossi's goal.

Of the teams against which Inter are unbeaten in the three-point era of Serie A (since 1994/95), Verona are the one the Nerazzurri have faced most often - twenty times in total, winning 16 and drawing four.

The only match played in August between the two teams dates back to 1999, when the Nerazzurri won 3-0 against Cesare Prandelli's Hellas team.

VERONA'S HOME RECORD

Verona's four Serie A victories over Inter have all come at the Bentegodi, with the latest in February 1992. Since then there have been seven away wins for the Nerazzurri and three draws.

However, Inter have failed to win four of the last seven Serie A away games at the Bentegodi, against either Chievo or Hellas Verona who share the stadium.

Simone Inzaghi's Inter side are defending the Scudetto badge at the centre of their shirts, but they'll be playing against a team that has always done well against the reigning champions of Italy. Verona have gone unbeaten in 15 of the last 18 Serie A matches in which they have hosted the title-holding team, managing seven wins and eight draws.

CURRENT FORM

Since the start of 2021, Inter have won 19 out of 25 Serie A matches. From the five major European leagues, only Manchester City have a better record (21 wins from 26). 

The Nerazzurri have scored at least two goals in every one of their last six league games, their best record since December 2019, where they managed seven in a row.

In four of their last five Serie A season openers, Inter have not only won but also scored at least three goals, with the 2018/19 season being the exception. In three of the last four seasons they have also won the second game by scoring two or more goals. 

Furthermore, the Nerazzurri completed the most passes on the first day of the season (539), while only Salernitana completed fewer than Verona (257).

Verona opened their Serie A campaign with a 3-0 defeat to Sassuolo. Since 2000, they have never their lost their first two matches in the top division - the last time it happened was in 1996/97.

But the Bentegodi has not been a happy place of late for the Gialloblu. They haven't won any of their last nine home matches in Serie A (4 draws, 5 losses), which is their worst home form in the competition since January 2016.

Verona have also conceded at least one goal in each of their last 17 Serie A home games, an unwanted record which they only managed to beat in September 2017, when they reached 27 games.

PLAYERS AND OTHER FACTS

Inter scored two of their four goals on the first day of the season in the opening 15 minutes. Last season, it took nine games before managing to score their first two goals in a game in that time.

Hakan Calhanoglu has scored in two of his four games against Hellas in Serie A, with the Turkish midfielder actually scoring his first goal in Italian football at the Bentegodi in October 2017 against Chievo.

Nicolo Barella also scored his first Serie A goal for the Nerazzurri against Verona with a strike from outside the box at the San Siro in November 2019.

Verona are one of Ivan Perisic's favourite teams to face: the Croatian has been involved in six goals against the Gialloblu in Serie A (three goals, three assists), only against Chievo (seven) has he been involved in more goals against a team from Europe's top five leagues.

Edin Dzeko has both scored and provided an assist in each of the last seven Serie A seasons. In terms of foreign strikers, he can only be matched in this feat by Paulo Dybala, Duván Zapata and Dries Mertens.

The next match will also be Marcelo Brozovic's 200th appearance in Serie A, and he would become the first Croatian player to reach that milestone in the competition in the era of three points per win.

Lautaro Martinez's next goal will be his 50th in all competitions for Inter. 37 of those have come in Serie A, with one at the Bentegodi against Verona in December 2020.

Among ex-Verona players in this fixture, Federico Dimarco played 48 Serie A appearances on loan with the Gialloblu, scoring a total of 11 goals (5 goals, 6 assists). Eddie Salcedo also played 38 times and scored three goals in Serie A for Verona on loan.

MANAGERS

Simone Inzaghi has won four of his previous six meetings as coach in the top flight against Verona, with one draw and one loss as well. The Nerazzurri coach has won all of his last four matches as coach against Di Francesco in Serie A without conceding a goal.

Eusebio Di Francesco has not found success in any of the last five Serie A meetings against Inter (drawing two and losing three), having won four of his previous five encounters.

SUSPENDED PLAYERS

Verona: Miguel Veloso (1)

Inter: -