Ahead of the club's biggest game for a decade, Inter Milan conclude their Serie A season on Saturday evening, as they visit Torino still hoping to snatch second place on the final matchday.
While Inter will have one eye on the Champions League final, they are aiming to extend some superb form until departing for Istanbul; Toro, meanwhile, need points to assure a top-half finish.
Match preview
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Days after lifting a second trophy of the season - and they are still in contention for the ultimate prize - Inter hosted Lombardy rivals Atalanta last weekend, with both teams seeking to secure a top-four finish in Serie A.
The Coppa Italia winners strode out at San Siro having added victory over cup final opponents Fiorentina to January's defeat of Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana, and after an eventful 90 minutes they returned down the tunnel with a Champions League place confirmed for next term.
Having steamed into a two-goal lead thanks to early strikes from Romelu Lukaku and Nicolo Barella, the Nerazzurri later saw Lautaro Martinez add a third in the 77th minute; putting them 3-1 up before conceding again during stoppage time.
Now guaranteed to finish no lower than fourth - thanks, in part, to a 10-point penalty for old foes Juventus - Inter may be within touching distance of a spectacular cup treble, but their league record has been far more modest this season and they never mounted a sustained Scudetto challenge.
Losing 12 Serie A matches - although only one of the last seven - has seen to that, and Simone Inzaghi's side have incidentally drawn the fewest games of any team so far: a real case of win-or-bust.
However, Inter have embarked on a remarkable run of results since mid-April, which has carried them all the way to next week's showdown with Manchester City, and having won their last league match of the season for the past six years, they now aim to finish with a flourish in Turin.
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While victory for the visitors could see them claim runner-up status behind Napoli - but only if Lazio falter in Empoli - Torino can finish no higher than eighth place following a 4-0 win at Spezia on the penultimate matchday.
After crushing the relegation-threatened Aquilotti, Ivan Juric's side have something to defend, then, as that would be the club's best final placing for four years - two of which were spent struggling against the drop.
However, Toro's most recent league win over Inter dates back to January 2019; since then, six wins for the Nerazzurri and one draw have transpired. They have, though, lost just three of their last nine home games against Inter ahead of Saturday's season finale.
Turin soil has not been kind to the Granata of late, as they have failed to win any of their last six home matches, which represents their worst such sequence since a grim spell of 12 in 2020-21, when they went on to avoid relegation by the skin of their teeth.
For all Juric's good work since arriving nearly two years ago, scoring sufficient goals has been the limiting factor for most of that time, so a push for Europe never really transpired.
Despite Antonio Sanabria's input - which has drawn interest from other clubs higher up the pecking order - Torino have scored just 42 goals this term and are on course for their lowest tally since the ill-fated 2008-09 campaign. Perhaps some smart manoeuvres in the market can solve that problem over the summer, but first Toro must find a way past the potential champions of Europe.
Team News
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It is likely that Simone Inzaghi will rotate his resources this weekend, due to the looming Champions League final, and the Inter coach could rest some of his key players - primarily to avoid risking injury.
However, he will also want to end the Serie A season on a high note and still has six days to prepare for meeting English champions Manchester City in Istanbul.
Defensive duo Milan Skriniar and Danilo D'Ambrosio are set to be at his disposal on Saturday, after the former completed his return from back surgery and the latter - a former Torino player - recovered from the knock which forced him off during last week's win over Atalanta.
While Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Joaquin Correa remain sidelined by injury, Correa's compatriot Lautaro Martinez is fit and in top form. After his strike last time out, 'El Toro' has been directly involved in 99 Serie A goals to date. However, he has not registered either a goal or assist in any of his last three league games against Torino, following five in the previous four.
The hosts, meanwhile, will be without Inter loanee Valentino Lazaro due to an adductor issue, but Nemanja Radonjic hopes to be passed fit in time to feature on the final day.
After failing to get on the scoresheet in La Spezia last week, top scorer Antonio Sanabria will aim to improve his total of 12 league goals; having taken over from Andrea Belotti as Toro's main man up front while Pietro Pellegri's fitness problems persist.
Ivan Ilic - who has scored twice against Inter in the past and netted the third goal last week - should partner Samuele Ricci in the engine room of Ivan Juric's favoured 3-4-2-1 formation.
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Djidji, Schurrs, Buongiorno; Singo, Ricci, Ilic, Rodriguez; Miranchuk, Vlasic; Sanabria
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; D'Ambrosio, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Gagliardini, Asllani, Calhanoglu, Gosens; Martinez, Lukaku
We say: Torino 1-2 Inter Milan
Aside from a shadow XI suffering defeat to new champions Napoli, the Nerazzurri have steamrolled their way through the last few weeks, so even a tough last-day fixture in Turin will not stop them. Inter are full of confidence and goals come from all quarters now - not something Torino can claim, for all their fine play until reaching the final third.
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Jonathan O'Shea
