Serie A statistics: Inter ready to steamroll Udinese, and a historic achievement awaits Amorim with Milan
The fourth round of the Italian league, broadcast on stc tv, gets under way on Friday evening as Venezia host Fiorentina.
Calcio fans then have a top-of-the-table clash to savour on Saturday, when Lazio welcome Milan. Juventus travel to Sassuolo on Sunday. Napoli host Bologna the same day.
Defending champions Inter Milan round off the round against visitors Udinese next Monday.
According to the "Opta" statistics network, Inter Milan have won 18 of their last 23 matches against Udinese in the Italian league, with two draws and three defeats.
Only one side has beaten Udinese more often in the competition since the start of 2015: Roma, with 19 victories.
Udinese, though, won their last away match against Inter in the Italian league, ending a run of seven straight away defeats to them.
Inter Milan have won their opening three league matches this season. Victory would hand them four wins from their first four Calcio games for the ninth time in their history, and the sixth time this century, after the 2002-2003, 2015-2016, 2017-2018, 2019-2020 and 2023-2024 seasons.
Sassuolo: the favourite victim of the Old Lady
Ahead of Napoli versus Bologna, Opta noted that Bologna have won their last two Serie A meetings with Napoli. Before that, they had managed just one victory in 11 games against the Partenopei, alongside four draws and six defeats.
Napoli, for their part, have won nine of their last 12 home matches against Bologna in Serie A, losing only three.
Three times in their last six meetings with Bologna, Napoli have failed to find the net. That followed a remarkable run of 20 consecutive games in which they scored against them, racking up 55 goals at an average of 2.75 per match.
Bologna sit among six clubs yet to win in Serie A this season. One draw and two defeats tell the story, and they have scored just two goals so far.
Rasmus Hojlund is in fine form. The Napoli striker has scored in four of his last five Serie A appearances, including his last two outings against Como and Inter. He could now net in at least three straight league matches for the third time in his career across Europe's top five leagues, a feat he first managed with Atalanta in January 2023, when he scored in three consecutive games, and then with Manchester United between December 2023 and February 2024, when he found the net in six in a row.
Turning to Sassuolo versus Juventus, the two sides drew 1-1 when they last met in Serie A back in March. Their previous nine encounters had all produced a winner, with Juventus taking six and Sassuolo three.
Sassuolo have won two of their last three home games against Juventus in Serie A, losing just one. It was a very different story early on: they claimed only one victory in their first nine matches hosting the Bianconeri, drawing two and losing six.
Opta noted: "Juventus have won more matches against Sassuolo than any other team in Serie A, with 16 victories, and have also scored more goals against them than any other opponent, with 56 goals."
Numbers ahead of the anticipated top clash between Milan and Lazio
Lazio go into their clash with Milan having won two of their last three Serie A meetings against them, losing the other. That matches their entire haul from the previous ten encounters, which brought a single draw and seven defeats.
Not since 2012 have Lazio managed back-to-back Serie A wins over Milan.
Across 166 Serie A meetings with Milan, Lazio have lost 73, winning 33 and drawing 60.
Home form since 2012 makes for better reading. Lazio have won seven of the 15 Serie A matches they have hosted against Milan, with four draws and four defeats.
Milan have slipped up at least once in their opening four Serie A fixtures in each of the last three seasons, from 2023-2024 to 2025-2026. That followed three campaigns unbeaten through four games, between 2020-2021 and 2022-2023.
Win here and Ruben Amorim becomes the first Milan coach to take three of his first four Serie A matches since Fatih Terim in 2001.
He would also join an exclusive group, the twelfth coach in the club's history to claim at least three wins from his opening four Serie A games.
Turning to Venezia against Fiorentina, "Opta" report that Venezia have beaten Fiorentina 11 times in 28 Serie A matches, with three draws and 14 defeats. That is at least four more wins than they have managed against any other side in the competition.
Recent form backs it up. Venezia have won five of their last nine Serie A games against Fiorentina, drawing one and losing three.
Five straight home wins over Fiorentina now stand as the longest run Venezia have ever put together against a single Serie A opponent on their own turf.
Fiorentina, meanwhile, have lost their first three Serie A matches this season. It has happened only once before in the club's history, back in 1935-1936, when they at least drew their fourth match.
Franco Mastantuono, on loan at Fiorentina from Real Madrid, has fired off 10 shots without a single goal across the opening three rounds of the 2026-2027 Serie A season.
Among the players still waiting to score, that leaves him third for attempts, level with Mattia Zaccagni and Douglas Luiz. Only Paulo Dybala on 13 shots and Arman Laurienté on 16 sit above him.
