Adelaide and Essendon have faced off 38 times since the Crows joined the competition in 1991.

The record is tied at 19 wins each thanks to Adelaide’s recent form of four wins in the past five matches.

The Bombers won the most recent game (Round One, 2018) at Marvel Stadium by 12 points.

In the four matches prior, the Crows won by an average of 75.5 points.

Essendon was also on the receiving end of Adelaide’s highest score in the AFL - 188 points - in Round 10, 2006 at Football Park.

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The Crows played every other club since last it last faced the Bombers - some as many as four times - and will face Essendon at Adelaide Oval for the first time since Round Four, 2017.

Over the past five matches, co-captain Rory Sloane has been the standout player with an average AFL rating of 114.8 per game (27.8 disposals, 7.3 tackles and three marks).

Not far behind is key defender Rory Laird with an average rating of 110 (34.8 disposals, 6.8 marks).

On the scoreboard, Eddie Betts leads the way with 2.8 goals per match.

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For the Bombers, David Zaharakis tops the stat sheet with a player rating of 99.5 (27.3 touches, 4.3 marks, 4.8 tackles).

Adelaide and Essendon sit seventh and eighth on the AFL ladder, respectively, with nine wins each.

A win for either side could move them as high as fifth, depending on results elsewhere.

The match will be Adelaide’s third Friday night game of the season and Essendon’s fifth.