Adelaide and Melbourne have met 32 times. The Crows hold the advantage 22 – 12.

Adelaide has won three of the past four clashes between the two teams. The Crows claimed victory by 25 points in the most recent meeting at Adelaide Oval in Round Three last season.

On that day, former Demon Scott Thompson amassed 30 possessions, 11 clearances and laid 11 tackles to collect the three Brownlow Medal votes. Rory Sloane received two votes for his performance, which included 31 disposals, 10 tackles and eight clearances, and Taylor Walker topped the goalkicking with three.

Nearly a third of Adelaide's team has changed since the match against Melbourne in April last year. Of the 22 who took on the Dees in 2015, seven didn't play in the Club's most recent game against North Melbourne.

On Sunday, it will be 442days since the two teams last played.

Sunday’s clash will be part of a ‘MCG double’ for the Crows, who will return to the venue the following week to play Carlton. Adelaide also played at the ‘G’ against Hawthorn in Round Five.

The Demons, who sit 10^th on the AFL ladder with six wins and seven losses, are one of the most improved teams in the competition this season.

Melbourne’s most obvious area of improvement has been its ability to score. The Dees are averaging 14.5 goals per game this season – ranked sixth among all teams. This is compared to an average of 10.2 goals per game in 2015, which ranked the club second-to-last.

The Crows lead the League in goals per game, averaging 16.4 in their 13 matches.

A key to Melbourne’s improved scoring ability has been its quick ball movement. The Demons play on from the mark more than any other team (39.7 per cent).

They have the second-lowest kick-to-handball ratio of any team, often using handball chains to get the ball on quickly. The Dees rank third for total handballs, averaging 188.1 per game.

Rising Star winner Jesse Hogan leads Melbourne’s goalkicking with 31 – equal with Adelaide captain Taylor Walker. Josh Jenkins remains on top at West Lakes with 38 goals, nine behind Coleman Medal leader Lance Franklin (47).

Hogan kicked 2.2 in Melbourne’s loss to Adelaide early last season.

Hogan has been involved in more scores (31 per cent) than any other Demon and is the team’s most used target inside 50m. The powerful forward is fourth in the competition for marks inside 50m (41) and equal-sixth in contested marks (29).

Taylor Walker is second in the League for goal assists with 16 only one behind Giants co-captain Callan Ward (17), who has played one extra game.

The influential Crows forward (287) needs five more goals to draw level with Mark Ricciuto (292) in second spot in the Club’s all-time leading goalkicking. Eddie Betts is one goal-shy of his 150^th Crows goal.

Walker could be matched up by Dees backman Tom McDonald at the MCG on Sunday. As well as being strong defensively, McDonald has taken 35 marks from opposition kicks – ranked equal-fourth in the AFL. He’s also sixth in total intercept possessions (89).

Sam Jacobs will be looking forward to taking on the form ruckman of the competition, Max Gawn. Gawn leads the competition in hit-outs, averaging 42 per game, and also hit-outs to advantage (14.4 average). He’s also kicked 12 goals.

Gawn is the fourth ranked player in the competition according to Champion Data points.

Emerging Crows midfielder Matt Crouch has enjoyed the second-biggest jump in Champion Data ranking points in the past month, up 49.8 points.

Led by tough onballer Jack Viney, the Demons have the third-best clearance differential (+4.3).

Viney is third in the AFL for centre clearances (44) behind Geelong pair Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield. Viney averages more clearances right across the ground (6.3) than any other Demon, while Scott Thompson (6.2) leads the way for the Crows.

In another similarity, Viney and Thompson both average 6.8 tackles. Viney is also averaging 13.3 contested possessions just behind Adelaide star Rory Sloane, who averages 13.5.

Thompson won’t be the only ex-Demon playing against his old side on Sunday. Defender Kyle Cheney, who played 14 matches for the club before joining Hawthorn, is also set to take on Melbourne for the first time as a Crow. He missed last year’s clash through injury.

Bernie Vince and skipper Nathan Jones are also key playmakers for the Dees. Vince is averaging 19.1 kicks per game in 2015 – second only to GWS defender Heath Shaw (22.2) in the competition. Of all players to have featured in 10 or more games this season, Vince ranks No.1 in long kicks, averaging 6.7 per match.

Jones averages 5.2 inside 50ms per game – ranked fifth in the League. He’s also equal-seventh in total handball receives (176).

The Crows and Demons both have average winning margins of 42 points in their victories in 2016.

After kicking a club-record 18 behinds last weekend, Adelaide will have to rediscover its goalkicking accuracy against the sharpest shooters in the game. The Demons are the most accurate team in front of goal, kicking at 56 per cent. The Crows have dropped to sixth at 52.9 per cent on the back of their wayward ways in Round 14.