Aiming to cement their place in the top half of Serie A, Torino tackle rock-bottom Salernitana on Sunday afternoon.
Toro welcome their fellow Granata to Turin after winning two of their last three matches; the visitors are looking to avoid suffering five straight top-flight defeats for the very first time.
Match preview
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Thanks to first-half strikes from top scorer Duvan Zapata and Italy midfielder Samuele Ricci, in-form Torino made it 15 points from eight matches since the start of December by beating Cagliari last time out.
Such a streak means that Toro have collected more than 30 after their first 21 games of a Serie A season for just the third time this century, and they are not out of the fight for European football next season.
Sitting only three points adrift of sixth place at the start of the weekend, the Turin club ended a five-match winless streak away from home by seeing off their Sardinian hosts last week, and they now head back to base, where they have proved particularly tough to beat.
Unbeaten in their last five home fixtures - keeping a clean sheet in three, including last month's 3-0 defeat of reigning champions Napoli - Torino have developed into a force to be reckoned with under head coach Ivan Juric.
While his well-drilled side have kept opponents goalless during the first half more often than any other team this term - no fewer than 19 times out of 21 - this week's visitors have shipped some 19 goals before the break.
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Including a three-goal defeat in September's reverse fixture at Stadio Arechi, Salernitana are yet to beat Torino in Serie A after seven previous attempts.
The Salerno side's loss to Roma last time out left them stuck to the foot of the table, six points shy of safety, so they will travel north this weekend more in hope than expectation.
Following Paulo Dybala's spot-kick in their 2-1 reverse at the Arechi, Pippo Inzaghi's bedraggled defence have now conceded three of their last six goals from the penalty spot, and a tally of eight overall is more than any other team this season.
Furthermore, seven defeats from their first 10 away matches is only one fewer than Salernitana suffered throughout all of the 2022-23 campaign - and they also average under a goal per game on the road.
The Campanian club now require a comeback emulating that of 2022, when they were apparently bound for Serie A in January but somehow secured survival under ex-Toro boss Davide Nicola, who is now leading Empoli's attempts to stay up.
Team News
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In addition to signing Matteo Lovato from Sunday's visitors, Torino have also added Adam Masina, David Okereke and Serbian winger Uros Kabic to their ranks during the winter transfer window, with Nemanja Radonjic and Yann Karamoh being their most notable departures.
Ivan Juric is unlikely to tinker much with a successful starting XI, though, so his new acquisitions are set to start on the bench.
As the suspended Alessandro Buongiorno joins long-term absentee Perr Schuurs on the sidelines, Saba Sazonov or Koffi Djidji could deputise in the hosts' back three.
Antonio Sanabria has scored in each of his three Serie A meetings with Salernitana and should join Duvan Zapata and Nikola Vlasic in the final third.
Meanwhile, Milan loanee Marco Pellegrino and Pisa midfielder Emanuel Vignato have just joined the visitors' fight to defy demotion, but neither is expected to start in Turin.
Previous signings Toma Basic, Niccolo Pierozzi and Alessandro Zanoli are all likely to feature, but defensive duo Federico Fazio and Norbert Gyomber are major doubts due to injury, while Lassana Coulibaly remains with Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Boosting Simone Inzaghi's attacking options, last term's top scorer Boulaye Dia will be back on the bench following a long injury layoff, with either Simy or Chukwu Ikwuemesi leading the line up front.
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Tameze, Djidji, Rodriguez; Bellanova, Ricci, Ilic, Lazaro; Vlasic; Sanabria, Zapata
Salernitana possible starting lineup:
Ochoa; Zanoli, Pirola, Pierozzi, Bradaric; Martegani, Maggiore, Basic; Candreva, Tchaouna; Ikwuemesi
We say: Torino 1-0 Salernitana
Torino give very little away on home soil, having lost only once and conceded just six league goals at Stadio Olimpico Grande this season. Therefore, sieve-like Salernitana should prove a perfect match for a team intent on inching further up the Serie A standings.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
