Having entered the international break with a run of three straight defeats, both Torino and Monza will try to stop the rot on Sunday, when they lock horns in Turin.
Toro signed off with yet another loss to city rivals Juventus, while their visitors were beaten by Lazio and are stuck inside Serie A's drop zone.
Match preview
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Once again, Torino came up short in the latest Derby della Mole, as their recent 2-0 defeat to Juve made it 19 games without a win in the one-sided Turin derby.
That result capped off a miserable sequence for the Granata, who had started the season with such promise under the new management of Paolo Vanoli: they have now lost six of their last seven league matches, and all of the last three without scoring.
Also turfed out of the Coppa Italia by Empoli, Vanoli's men are amid a crisis of confidence, and the ex-Venezia coach will hope his squad can return from the break with renewed vigour.
During their downturn, Torino have lost two of their last three Serie A home games - as many as throughout the previous 21 - and a season-ending injury to captain and attacking spearhead Duvan Zapata has surely played its part.
In a congested league table, though, Toro lie just outside the top half of the standings after 12 rounds, a mere four points behind AC Milan.
They will now return to action by meeting a team they are undefeated against in the Italian top flight, having most recently beaten Monza 1-0 in March.
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The first match in Monza's brief Serie A history was played at home to Torino in August 2022, and following a 2-1 defeat on that historic day for the Brianzoli, they have failed to win any of three league encounters since.
Alessandro Nesta's side also come into this week's contest having lost each of their last three games without scoring, so any hopes of ending that drought may not be particularly high.
Nesta might not have expected too much from back-to-back matches against two of his former clubs, Milan and Lazio, and successive 1-0 losses predictably followed Monza's 2-0 defeat to Atalanta BC at the very end of October.
Fortunately for the Biancorossi faithful, their fixture list eases up a little heading towards the festive period, as after travelling to Turin, they will then meet fellow strugglers Como.
A last-16 Coppa Italia clash with Bologna follows the latter, but first Monza will seek just a second league win of Nesta's reign: they have nine points fewer than at this stage of last season, and the board's patience may not last much longer.
Team News
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Not only is midfield star Samuele Ricci set to return from an injury that saw him withdraw from Italy's squad for the UEFA Nations League's group-phase finale, but Scotland striker Che Adams should also be passed fit to start.
The latter made an impressive start to life in Turin but has since struggled in the absence of fellow frontman Duvan Zapata; Antonio Sanabria - scorer of a spectacular goal for Paraguay last week - has also been below his best.
Sanabria has previously found the net three times against Monza, though, and only last season's Capcanonniere Lautaro Martinez has a better record versus the Brianzoli in Serie A.
Perr Schuurs - who has now been out of action for a year with an ACL injury - is still unavailable; Ivan Ilic may not recover from a hamstring problem in time for Sunday's game.
While Daniel Maldini has grabbed the headlines since continuing a family dynasty by appearing for Italy, Dany Mota is Monza's top scorer, and the Portuguese forward - who netted his club's first-ever Serie A goal in August 2022, against Torino - should support Milan Djuric up front.
A recent thigh injury may mean up to two months on the sidelines for Matteo Pessina, who is not only a mainstay in the Biancorossi's engine room but is also their first-choice penalty taker.
Pessina's fellow midfielders Stefano Sensi and Roberto Gagliardini also join goalkeeper Alessio Cragno in the treatment room, while ex-Torino defender Danilo D'Ambrosio is a doubt.
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Walukiewicz, Coco, Masina; Pedersen, Vlasic, Ricci, Linetty, Lazaro; Adams, Sanabria
Monza possible starting lineup:
Turati; Izzo, Mari, Carboni; Pereira, Bianco, Bondo, Kyriakopoulos; Maldini, Mota; Djuric
We say: Torino 1-1 Monza
Monza have actually fared better on the road than at home this season, and they may take a point home from Turin, as their hosts have issues to fix at both ends of the pitch.
Torino's fast start to the 2024-25 campaign is long forgotten now, and the pressure to produce improved results may count against them when hosting lowly opponents.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
