Bologna v Inter stat pack

Inter are back in action this midweek. At 20:15 this Wednesday the Nerazzurri are facing Bologna at the Dall'Ara in a rearranged Matchday 20 fixture. Their first encounter of the season, back on 18 September at San Siro, ended 6-1 to Simone Inzaghi's team.

The Nerazzurri are on a run of four consecutive victories in the league, with their last coming on Saturday when they beat Roma 3-1 at San Siro which took their points tally for 2021/22 to 72. As for Bologna, they sealed their place in Serie A for next season by picking up a point in a 2-2 draw against Udinese, which sees the Rossoblu now sit on 39 points.

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

Wednesday’s game will be the 150th occasion on which Inter and Bologna have faced each other in Serie A. The overall record stands at 73 Nerazzurri wins, 35 draws, and 41 Rossoblu victories.

Inter have won six out of their last eight matches in Serie A against Bologna, and the last time they drew against them was back on 19 September 2017. Inzaghi’s side have won their last three games against Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men.

In Bologna’s last 15 home league games against Inter they haven’t won once, drawing three times and losing on 12 occasions. Only in one of these fixtures have they kept a clean sheet, in a 0-0 draw back in August 2010. The last time Bologna overcame Inter at Dall’Ara in Serie A was over 20 years ago on 10 February 2002, thanks to goals by Fabio Pecchia and Lamberto Zauli.

FORM BOOK

The Nerazzurri are on an 11-game unbeaten run on the road, drawing five and winning six. The last time Inter racked up such a great streak over the course of a single season was back in 2007/08.

Not since Inter conceded at Lazio on 16 October have they let in more than one goal in any given away game; over this period they’ve conceded four times but kept seven clean sheets. Out of the five major European leagues no team can boast as good of a clean sheet record as the Nerazzurri aside from Manchester City.

MATCH STATS

As for Wednesday’s hosts, no team has failed to score fewer goals in the first half an hour of a match this season than Bologna, who are tied with Genoa on a record of five. Meanwhile the visitors have struck 20 times in the first 30 minutes of Serie A matches this season; only city rivals Milan have a better record, having scored 22 times in this timeframe.

Inter (11) and Bologna (eight) are among the top three teams (along with Roma, 11) who have scored the most goals from corner kicks in the 2021/22 Serie A season.

What’s more, the Rossoblu boast the best defensive record when it comes to withstanding attacks from corner kicks. They’ve only conceded twice this season from these set plays, ahead of Inter who have let in three goals this way.

No team has had as many of their substitutes score goals as this Inter side during Serie A 2021/22. 12 of the Nerazzurri’s goals have resulted from players coming off the bench, which includes two of Edin Dzeko’s strikes against Wednesday night’s opponents in these sides first encounter this season.

Inter have scored more direct goals than any other Serie A team so far this campaign (10) while only Salernitana (nine) have conceded more in this regard than Bologna (eight).

PLAYER FOCUS

Among Bologna’s ranks there are two former Inter players: Gary Medel featured 91 times and scored once for Inter, while Marko Arnautovic represented Inter on three occasions back in the 2009/10 season.

Edin Dzeko has notched seven goals against Bologna, including a brace after coming off the bench earlier in the season. This makes the Rossoblu his second favourite opponent for goalscoring out of the five major European leagues, after Stuttgart against whom he’s struck eight times. 

Lautaro Martinez, who has found the net 16 times in Serie A so far this campaign, is one goal away from equalling his season-best record of 17, which he achieved in 2020/21. His overall record in the Italian top flight stands at 53 goals, meaning he’s now among the Nerazzurri’s top 20 scorers of all time in Serie A, tied with Pietro Serantoni, Jair, and Alvaro Recoba.

As for fellow Argentine Joaquin Correa, the only team who he’s scored more goals against than Bologna (three) is Milan (four). If he finds the net on Wednesday it will make the Rossoblu the only opponent against whom he’s scored for three different clubs, having already done so with Lazio and Sampdoria.

If Nicolo Barella scores in this midweek fixture it will make Bologna the first club he’s scored both home and away against in a single season.

DISCIPLINARY DETAILS

Four Inter players are one card away from missing the Udinese game at Dacia Arena this Sunday. Bologna won’t have Gary Medel available due to suspension.

Suspended

Bologna: Medel (1). Inter: -

Close to suspension

Bologna: Soriano. Inter: Bastoni, Perisic, Vidal, Calhanoglu.