Torino seek to close the gap between themselves and Atalanta BC in the Serie A table when they face off in round 14's encounter at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino on Monday.
Ivan Juric's men lost their three-game undefeated streak at Bologna in the previous round, while the Bergamaschi's winless league run continued after losing to Napoli.
Match preview
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Just as Torino felt a corner was turned, Bologna sent them crashing to earth in gameweek 13 with a 2-0 defeat in Emilia-Romagna.
The loss was somewhat anticipated due to the Rossoblu's impressive home form, but Juric and his troops seek to get back to winning against off-form Atalanta.
The Turin outfit's results in front of their supporters have been mixed, with three drawn games diminishing the fact that only one defeat has been handed to them at home — a 3-0 loss to league-leading Inter Milan (before gameweek 14's commencement).
The Maroons' 3-1 win over Sassuolo at the start of last month ended a three-game winless sequence, and Juric's team are keen to record consecutive positive results at home for the first time since November 2022.
It remains to be seen if that aim is successful, owing to a seven-game winless run against Monday's opponents.
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As for Atalanta, European success has slightly affected domestic performances, with La Dea failing to win in Serie A since late October despite topping their Europa League group.
Two losses against Inter and Napoli have irked Gian Piero Gasperini, who bemoaned a costly Marco Carnesecchi mistake in the build-up phase to hand the Partenopei a winning goal in Bergamo last weekend.
Avoiding a fourth game without victory is the aim in round 14, especially for a side keen to secure continental qualification through a high league finish and one not fancying the prospect of fourth-placed Napoli stretching their four-point lead over La Dea.
Despite having the fifth-best road record in Serie A, the inconsistency from game to game and even within games threatens to undermine Atalanta's prospects this term, with two losses and as many wins secured in the last five away fixtures (one draw).
Gasperini will hope for a perfect performance in Turin to return to winning ways and avoid slipping to mid-table as Monza and Frosinone are two points behind, while Lazio are three adrift.
Team News
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Perr Schuurs is out for the season with an ACL injury, while Ange Nguessan (thigh), Saba Sazonov (nose) and Samuele Ricci (thigh) are missing Monday's encounter.
Duvan Zapata faces his old side for the first time since departing Bergamo on September 1 2023, and the Colombian seeks to hurt old friends.
Gasperini will be sweating over Sead Kolasinac's fitness after cameras caught the defender limping before his withdrawal against Sporting Lisbon on Thursday.
Berat Djimsiti played the Europa League game despite his flu, but Rafael Toloi, Jose Luis Palomino, Davide Zappacosta and Charles De Ketelaere all missed out on continental action and could be unavailable this gameweek.
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Tameze, Buongiorno, Rodriguez; Bellanova, Linetty, Ilic, Lazaro; Vlasic; Sanabria, Zapata
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Musso; Scalvini, Djimsiti, Kolasinac; Hateboer, De Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri; Koopmeiners; Lookman, Scamacca
We say: Torino 1-2 Atalanta BC
Atalanta should eke out a victory to end their three-game winless run and extend the Bergamaschi's undefeated sequence over Torino to eight games.
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