Our Sunday of football kicks off with a tasty lunchtime treat in the form of Lazio vs. Juventus. Inzaghi and Pirlo’s sides go into this one following outings in the Champions League in midweek: the Biancocelesti drew 1-1 with Zenit St Petersburg in Russia while Juve beat Hungarian side Ferencváros 4-1. In Serie A, Juventus are third in the table on twelve points, four behind league-leaders AC Milan, while Lazio are ninth on ten points.

The statistical head-to-head of matchday 7, made possible by the database on our website, pits Francesco Acerbi against Giorgio Chiellini. They are both pillars in their respective sides’ defences and key figures in Roberto Mancini’s Italy team.

Chiellini has struggled with injury so far this season and has made just two appearances in Serie A (172 minutes played), while Acerbi has not missed a single minute in the league for Inzaghi’s side in the current campaign (six appearances, 540 minutes).

Let’s begin our analysis of the defensive phase, in which Acerbi particularly shines compared to his Italy teammates. The Lazio defender has made more clearances (3.33 per game compared to Chiellini’s three) and many more interceptions (4.5 per game).

Chiellini, on the hand, is more involved in the distribution of play and is a more accurate passer. The Juve man has made a total of 144 successful passes (72 per game) to Acerbi’s 335 (55 per game), and he has also completed 94.1% of his attempted pass - Acerbi has a passing accuracy of 88.4%. The difference is only exaggerated when looking at passes in the opposition half; Chiellini still has an accuracy of over 90% (91.7%), while Acerbi’s drops to 77.2%.

There is little to speak of either player in the attacking phase, although Acerbi has completed one assist from open play. In terms of discipline, it’s curious to find out that Chiellini has been on the receiving end of more fouls (4) than he has committed (2). The Juve defender has not yet been booked, while Acerbi has picked up two yellow cards so far.