AC MILAN v INTER, SUPERCOPPA ITALIANA: FUN FACTS

AC Milan and Inter are in Riyadh for the Supercoppa Italiana final. It's an important showdown where a trophy is at stake, and both teams are no doubt hoping to build on their previous successes in the competition. Ahead of Wednesday’s 20:00 CET kick-off, here are the facts you need to know:

THE SUPERCOPPA ITALIANA
The 35th edition of the Supercoppa Italiana will be played in Riyadh. So far, the reigning Scudetto winners have tended to get their hands on the trophy, winning 71% of the time (24 out of 34 matches). It's the Rossoneri's twelfth involvement; AC Milan are only behind Juventus (17) and one ahead of Inter in this regard. Juventus are the most decorated team in Supercoppa history: nine titles, ahead of AC Milan with seven and Inter with six. The Rossoneri last participated in a Supercoppa final in January 2019, losing 1-0 to Juventus following Cristiano Ronaldo's goal. Meanwhile, the Nerazzurri won it last season, beating the Bianconeri 2-1 after extra time at San Siro.

A WEDNESDAY IN JANUARY
AC Milan and Inter are set to meet in a final for just the third time, following on from the Coppa Italia clash in 1977 and Supercoppa showdown in 2011. The Rossoneri won both matches within 90 minutes, scoring twice on each occasion. Wednesday's game will see AC Milan and Inter face each other for the 19th time in January, with the Nerazzurri having lost just one of their last eight matches against the Rossoneri when the two sides have met in the opening month of the year. However, there have been four Wednesday encounters in the last 20 years and the Diavolo didn't suffer defeat in any of these games across the Champions League (2003 and 2005), Coppa Italia (2007) and Serie A (2018).

CURRENT FORM
AC Milan are without a win in three matches in all competitions. Since Pioli has been at the helm, only in February 2021 have the Rossoneri gone four games without tasting victory (they faced Inter during that run). The Nerazzurri, meanwhile, are unbeaten in six (their last defeat came against Juventus on 6 November), although they've conceded at least twice in each of their last six matches away from San Siro. On matchday 18 in Serie A, Davide Calabria found the net in Lecce and, in doing so, became the 17th player to bag for AC Milan this season. As for Inter, Lautaro Martínez's finish against Verona was the eighth time the Nerazzurri have scored in the opening 15 minutes this campaign (seven for AC Milan). Both teams like to recover the ball high up the pitch: Inter have done so more than any other side during the 2022/23 Serie A campaign (160), while AC Milan have scored the most goals (five) after regaining possession in this manner.

THE ROSSONERI, INTER AND FINALS
Divock Origi is someone who is used to playing these kinds of games: the Belgian could take to the pitch for his eighth final in all competitions across the Top Five European leagues. He also scored for Liverpool against Tottenham in the 2019 Champions League final. Davide Calabria and Tiémoué Bakayoko are the only players that remain from the 2019 Supercoppa Italiana AC Milan squad. Olivier Giroud has been involved in four goals in four matches against Inter in all competitions: three goals and an assist, including the brace he bagged in Serie A on 5 February 2022. Edin Džeko has netted six goals against AC Milan, all in Serie A. He scored three of these with his head. If they were to find the net, both Olivier (36 years and 110 days) and Edin (36 years and 307 days) would move ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (35 years and 350 days against Napoli in 2021) to become the oldest goalscorers in Supercoppa history. 

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