Matchday 9 of the Serie A season will begin in Reggio Emilia, where Sassuolo and Inter will lock horns at 15:00 CET on Saturday. De Zerbi’s side are currently unbeaten and sit second in the league behind Milan, while Conte’s team are fifth and looking to make amends after their Champions League defeat to Real Madrid.

The statistical head-to-head of matchday 9 (made possible by the stats section on our website) pits Manuel Locatelli against Nicolò Barella, both of whom have enjoyed excellent starts to the season with both Italy and their respective clubs.

Both have taken to the pitch for each of the past eight matchdays: Locatelli Is yet to miss a minute (720’), while Barella has made six starts and entered the pitch as a substitute on two occasions (583’).

Let’s now take a look at Locatelli and Barella’s build-up play. Notably, the Sassuolo midfielder is the player to have made the most passes this Serie A season (683), ahead of his teammate Ferrari (603) and Juventus’ Danilo (543). Both have high pass completion rates: 87.3% for Locatelli and 84.2% for Barella. The percentages are even closer when we look at passes made in the opposition half: 81.4% for Locatelli, 81.1% for Barella.

In terms of their attacking play, Locatelli has found the net twice (against Crotone and Napoli), while Barella has registered three assists. They’ve both had the same shot accuracy (42.9%), although the Inter midfielder has created more chances and produced more successful crosses (three compared to one).

As for the defensive side of things, Locatelli has been more active than Barella in this regard: the former has made 13 clearances (one for the latter), four blocks (zero) and twelve interceptions (five). Furthermore, the Sassuolo man has been involved in more tackles (17 compared to ten) and won 73.9% of those challenges (50% for Barella).

Finally, let’s take a look at the data relating to discipline. Barella has been fouled on more occasions (twelve times compared to eleven), while Locatelli has committed more fouls (15 compared to twelve). So far, the Sassuolo player has picked up three bookings compared to the two that the Nerazzurri man has received.