SAMPDORIA v AC MILAN: FUN FACTS

After the Champions League opener against FC Salzburg on Tuesday night, the Rossoneri are back in league action to continue their title defence with a trip to Genova to face Sampdoria on matchday 6 of the 2022/23 Serie A season. AC Milan won both contests 1-0 last season, with Diaz grabbing the winning goal at Marassi. Ahead of the game, scheduled for Saturday 10 September, kicking off at 20:45 CEST, let's take a look at some interesting stats and figures concerning the two teams:

HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST SAMPDORIA
Saturday's game between the two sides will be meeting number 129 in Serie A. The Rossoneri lead with 67 wins against the Blucerchiati's 30, with 31 draws completing the picture. This will be the 15th time Sampdoria and AC Milan have met in Serie A in the month of September, with no draws ever being played out: six wins for the Blucerchiati and eight for the Rossoneri.

RECENT MEETINGS
After last season's league double, AC Milan could win three games in succession against Sampdoria in Serie A for the first time since September 2016, while they also haven't kept a clean sheet for three consecutive games against the Ligurian side since February 2014. The most frequent result between the two sides in Serie A is 1-0 - the result in the previous two games - which has happened 17 times. 

THE OPENING MINUTES AND THE PENALTY BOX
All of AC Milan's ten goals scored in this season's league campaign have come from inside the penalty area, as have all of Sampdoria's conceded goals (nine). No other team has scored more goals in the first 30 minutes in Serie A than AC Milan this season (four). On the opposite side, Sampdoria have let in the most (four) during this time. Both of last season's 1-0 wins for the Rossoneri were decided by goals in the opening ten minutes (Díaz after 9' and Rafael Leão after 8'), after eight out of the last nine goals between the two sides in Serie A came in the second half. 

FIGHTBACK SPECIALISTS
AC Milan have earned the most points from a losing position in this season's Serie A, thanks to two wins and a draw in the three games they have fallen behind in.

WHAT A START FOR RAFA
No other player in the league has won their team more points, due to goals and assists, than Rafael Leão (level with Teun Koopmeiners). Thanks to his three goals and two successful assists, the Portuguese star has earned five points for his side. Only Victor Osimhen (25) has made more attempts at goal than the number 17 (23) this season so far. Out of these, nobody has done better than the Portuguese with eight having hit the target. Leão is the player to have actively been involved in the most number of goals in Serie A in 2022: 19 (ten goals, nine assist). Against Sampdoria in Serie A, he has scored twice, all coming in the last previous three meetings.

COLLECTIVE SOLIDITY
No team in the five biggest European leagues has lost fewer games than AC Milan since the start of 2022 (only one defeat to Spezia in January). The Rossoneri have an average points ratio in Serie A of 2.29 this calendar year, with only Liverpool and Manchester City having a better average in the Top-5 European leagues. They are unbeaten in 21 league games, which is only the second time the Club is without defeat for more than 20 straight games since three points for a win came into effect (27 games under Stefano Pioli between June 2020 and January 2021).

THE HEAD COACH AND THE BLUCERCHIATI
Stefano Pioli has drawn more games as a Head Coach against Sampdoria than against any other club in Serie A: nine out of 20 meetings, with six wins and five defeats to his name. If he can get a win or a draw in the next game, Stefano Pioli (649) will become the eighth Head Coach, in the era of three points for a win, to have reached 650 points won in Serie A.

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