Serie A statistics: Napoli's solidity challenges Inter, and a negative record haunts the Juventus and Milan summit
Serie A's big guns head into the third round of fixtures chasing a set of striking numbers that could put some clubs on course to make history.
Three heavyweight clashes stand out: Inter against Napoli, Roma against Atalanta, and Juventus against Milan. The trio carry a set of numbers that mark this round out as statistically different.
A precious opportunity: Inter chase an unprecedented record
Inter can write a new page in the history of their meetings with Napoli, having scored in each of the last 16 consecutive Serie A matches between the two sides.
Opta's data makes the prize clear: "no team has ever scored in 17 consecutive meetings against Napoli". A single Inter goal would hand them the record outright.
Simone Inzaghi's side also want to open a campaign with three straight wins for the first time since 2023-2024, having banked maximum points in the first two rounds.
Hakan Calhanoglu is the man to watch. He has scored in both opening matches and could become the first midfielder in Inter's history to find the net in each of a season's first three games.
Napoli, meanwhile, arrive at the top-of-the-table clash unbeaten in five straight against Inter, with one win and four draws. They have not stretched a run to six games without defeat against them since 2013 to 2015.
Overall history favours Inter, who boast 70 wins to 48 defeats and 42 draws, along with 229 goals in these meetings. Only Juventus sit ahead of them.
A historic opportunity for Roma, and Atalanta has its own hurdle
Roma have made a statement. Two games, two 4-0 wins, and a place among just three teams in Serie A history to score at least eight goals without conceding across their opening two rounds.
The scale of the feat runs deeper still. Juventus, back in 1983-84, were the last side to reach nine goals or more without conceding in their first three matches. Keep the perfect start going and Roma stand on the edge of history.
Atalanta, though, are a different proposition. This is a fixture that haunts Roma, who have failed to beat them in their last eight league meetings, six wins and two draws for Atalanta, the longest such run this fixture has ever seen.
Home advantage offers little comfort either. Roma have won just once in their last 12 home games against Atalanta, losing five and drawing six.
Atalanta arrive with history of their own in reach. Win, and they take their first three matches of a season for the first time since 2020-21. Donyell Malen carries a remarkable record too, 19 goals in his first 20 Serie A matches, bettered at this stage only by Gunnar Nordahl and Jose Altafini, who both hit 20 in their opening 20.
Lazar Samardzic brings his own streak. He has scored in each of his last six Serie A seasons, and an assist against Roma would make him the youngest player since 2004-05 to combine a goal and an assist across six different campaigns.
The spectre of a third goalless draw
Juventus against Milan stands apart from the round's other big fixtures. Four of the last five meetings between the sides have finished 0-0, including their last two. Never before has this fixture produced three goalless draws in a row, and not since a run of four between 1973 and 1974 have the two clubs drawn so many consecutive matches.
Defensively, Juventus have been immovable against Milan. Six straight clean sheets stretch behind them, the longest spell Milan have gone without scoring against any single opponent in the competition's historical records.
Winners of their first two matches 1-0 and 2-0, Juventus can now keep a clean sheet in their opening three fixtures of a season for only the second time in the last 10 campaigns.
Milan, meanwhile, chase a different milestone. Victory would hand them a third straight win to open a season for the fourth time in the last seven.
One man relishes this fixture. Nico Gonzalez has had a hand in three goals across his last four home matches against the Rossoneri, scoring once and setting up two more.
Historic start for Lazio: Dovbyk chases Osimhen
Two games, two clean sheets, two-goal margins in each. Lazio have never begun a season like this before.
Now they chase a third straight win to open the campaign, something they have managed only twice before, in 1974-1975 and 2012-2013.
Udinese stand in their way, unbeaten against Lazio in 8 of the last 10 meetings. Yet Lazio thrive on this ground, losing just once in their last 13 visits with 8 wins and 4 draws.
Elsewhere, Genoa host Como, where Tsous Douvikas can match a mark set by Victor Osimhen. The former Napoli star, now at Galatasaray, scored in 5 consecutive away matches in Serie A back in 2023. Douvikas needs one more, in a sixth, to draw level.
