Wednesday 6 January brings us the 16th matchday of Serie A, with AC Milan vs. Juventus in the evening kick-off being the most interesting fixture. Pioli’s Rossoneri top the table with 37 points, ten more than Pirlo’s side (who have a game in hand over the Rossoneri). AC Milan remain unbeaten, while Juve have lost just once but are the team who have drawn the most matches: six times, tied with Fiorentina and Parma.

The statistical head-to-head of matchday 16 (made possible by the stats section on our website) pits Alessio Romagnoli against Leonardo Bonucci.

So far Romagnoli has made eleven appearances, always as a starter, totalling 990 minutes of play. Bonucci has made twelve appearances, also always from the start (1,031 minutes).

We begin with their defensive records, keeping in mind that this match sees the second-best defence in the league (Juventus, with 14 goals conceded and level with Verona) take on the fourth-best (AC Milan, with 16 goals conceded). Romagnoli leads the way in defensive clearances (52 vs. 35) and in blocked shots (10 vs. 8), while Bonucci intercepts more passes (21 vs. 13) and does better in tackles: he has emerged victorious six times compared to Romagnoli’s two, with a 75% tackle success rate compared to the Rossoneri man’s 33.3%.

In terms of distribution, it is well known that Bonucci is heavily involved in starting attacks, and it is no coincidence that he is the tenth best player in Serie A for attempted passes (822). The Bianconeri defender boasts 741 successful passes compared to Romagnoli's 459. The gap is closer when analysing pass accuracy: 90.1% for Bonucci and 89.6% for Romagnoli, with the Rossonero possessing a greater passing accuracy in the opposition half, with 83.3% as opposed to Bonucci’s 80.8%.

Both players like to have their say in the offensive area of the pitch: Bonucci has scored two goals, while Romagnoli has one goal and one assist. The Rossonero has taken three shots on goal (33.3% accuracy), and Bonucci has tried his luck on two occasions (28.6% accuracy).

We finish by looking at their disciplinary records. The number of fouls won is similar (eight by Romagnoli, nine by Bonucci), while the Juventus defender leads the way in fouls committed (12 vs. 7). Between them they have given away one penalty. On the cards front, Romagnoli has picked up two yellows compared to just one for Bonucci.