Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's Serie A encounter between AC Milan and Torino at the San Siro. Both sides are pushing for a spot in the top five this season, so we should have an interesting game on our hands tonight.

We'll start with a look at our hosts tonight, and it is fair to say that Milan's season so far has been a long way below their usual standards. The club is used to be among Europe's elite teams, but they have struggled to creep into the top half of Serie A for most of the this season, resulting in the dismissal of former manager Allegri a last month.

Allegri was replaced in the dugout by former player Clarence Seedorf, and the Dutchman has certainly made a promising start to life as a manager. The performances may not be taking Italy by storm right now, but there has certainly been an upturn in results and the Rossoneri still have hopes of qualifying for Europe next season. The Champions League looks to be too far ahead of them now, but fifth place and a spot in the Europa League is still just about achievable.

Milan's city rivals Inter currently occupy fifth spot in the table, but they are just five points in front of Seedorf's side, a gap that could be reduced to just two with a victory this evening. Inter may also struggle to rebuild that gap tomorrow as they travel to runaway league leaders Juventus with very few people expecting them to come away from that match with anything.

One of Milan's biggest problems this season has been inconsistency, with the club having won seven, drawn seven and lost seven of their 21 games. However, under Seedorf they have won three out of four matches, including two from two in Serie A. Their only defeat saw them eliminated from the Coppa Italia courtesy of a 2-1 loss to Udinese. That defeat came at the San Siro, but their record here this season is generally decent, with just two home league defeats. In fact, stretching back to last season, they have only lost two of their last 22 Serie A games at home.

Their defensive record is something of a Jekyll and Hyde matter when it comes to home and away form. Only Juventus and Roma have conceded fewer goals in front of their own fans this season, with Milan letting in just nine in their 10 home games, but only one side in the league's top 12 has a worse defensive record overall.

In contrast, Torino's defence has been impressive this season, and no side outside the top five have conceded fewer in Serie A. For a club that wasn't expect to be vying for a European spot, that is a particularly good record, even if 27 goals conceded in 21 games may not appear at first glance to be a formidable defence.

Today's visitors are also pushing for fifth spot in the league, and as things stand they are better placed than Milan to get it. A victory this evening would see them leapfrog Inter into the final European spot, while a draw would bring them level on points with Milan's great rivals. Four points currently separate the two teams on show tonight, and Torino would be delighted if they could extend that to a massive seven points.

They certainly come into this game in good enough form to suggest that they can get something out of it. Torino have lost just one of their last nine matches, winning six and drawing two in that time. That run is even more impressive when you consider that it came on the back of an eight-match winless streak earlier in the campaign. They are, however, inconsistent away from home, as three wins, three draws and four defeats on their travels suggests.

Their recent defensive record has been very good, and Torino have not conceded a goal since their 3-1 loss to Parma on January sixth. They have played three games since then, marking the first time that they have kept three consecutive clean sheets in the league since May 2007. Looking even further back, that run stretched to five clean sheets in their last seven.

TEAM NEWS: With no Mario Balotelli available for Milan is it Pazzini who fills in for the suspended striker. Kaka, Honda and Robinho all start for the hosts, but there is no debut for Essien, who only makes the bench, or Taarabt, who is not in the squad. Montolivo also starts after overcoming an injury. Full teams news for both sides on the way.

AC MILAN STARTING XI: Abbiati; De Sciglio, Bonera, Rami, Emanuelson; Muntari, Montolivo; Robinho, Honda, Kakà; Pazzini

AC MILAN SUBS: Amelia, Gabriel, Mexes, Abate, Constant, Zaccardo, Cristante, Essien, Saponara, De Jong, Petagna

TORINO STARTING XI: Padelli; Maksimovic, Glik, Moretti; Darmian, Basha, Farnerud, Masiello; Vives, Cerci, Immobile

TORINO SUBS: Rodriguez, Bovo, El Kaddouri, Barreto, Gomis, Pasquale, Berni, Meggiorini, Tachtsidis, Kurtic

PREDICTION: We're nearing kickoff at the San Siro, which means that it is about time I made my prediction! This is quite a tough one to call with Milan looking rejuvenated under Seedorf but Torino also in good form and enjoying a really good season. I wouldn't be surprised to see this one end level, but I am going to stick my neck out and go for a home win, 2-1 to Milan.

The previous meeting between these two sides this season ended in a 2-2 draw, while the corresponding fixture last season saw Milan win 1-0. A lot has changed since then, however, and Torino will be confident of coming away from this match with at least a point tonight.

The San Siro crowd is reflecting the poor form of their team this season, with thousands of empty seats in the stadium. It is always a shame to see one of the genuine giants of European football struggling to such an extent that crowds dwindle to a fraction of what they sued to be.

The teams are out on the field on a miserable night in Milan with the rain pouring down. That could have an impact on the quality of this match for better or worse, and the result could come down to who adapts to the wet conditions the quickest this evening.

KICKOFF: Milan get us underway on what is a big night in their season. They can't afford too many slip-ups if they are to battle back into contention for European football, and a win over one of their rivals for fifth place is especially important.

CLOSE! Bright start to the match from Milan as Robinho takes control of things and threads the ball through to Pazzini. The stand-in striker gets a bit of luck before turning it goalwards, and it takes a full-stretch save from the keeper to get the slightest of touches to the ball to send it skimming off the top of the bar and over.

Basha plays the ball down the right for Darmian, whose low cross into the box is comfortably cleared by the Milan defence. It has been quite an open start to this match, with both sides looking to get forward when they have the ball.

Nice football from Milan as they pass the ball around inside the Torino half. Kaka has a chance to shoot but sees his effort blocked before Honda almost releases Robinho with a lovely little flick, only for the linesman to correctly flag for offside.

Rami picks up the ball a long way from goal and Seedorf must be looking away as soon as he sees the defender lining up an ambitious shot. He is right to do so as well, as Rami fires his effort a long way off target.

Great pace from Cerci down the right wing as he coasts past a couple of players before standing the ball up into the box. There aren't enough blue shirts to aim for, however, and his cross flies over the head of Immobile and away from danger.

Milan have certainly started this match on top, and Seedorf will have been happy with his side's performance so far. However, they need to create a few more options for the man on the ball when they do come forward, as they haven't really threatened to break down the Torino defence with a slick passing move so far.

Torino's main priority in the opening stages seems to be to protect their clean sheet, but that isn't to say that they are parking the bus here. They are committing at least four men forward every time they attack, but they are also getting back to defend in numbers when Milan have the ball.

The ball is slipped in to Immobile inside the box and he has a bit of space to work with. He could let the ball run across his body and go for goal with his left foot, but instead tries to cut inside and is subsequently tackled by the retreating defender. That was a decent opening for the visitors.

The visitors have the lead! One through ball sends Immobile in behind the defence with only Bonera to beat before coming face to face with the keeper. The Milan defender gets too square on Immobile, allowing the striker to beat him with ease before curling the ball into the far corner. Good finish, but poor defending from Bonera.

SAVE! Important stop from Padelli as he denies Milan an immediate equaliser. An initial shot from the edge of the box deflects into the air and falls to Pazzini, who pulls off an acrobatic bicycle kick that the keeper tips wide with a fine reaction save.

How will Milan respond to going behind, then? Well, before the goal they were seeing plenty of the ball and more or less controlling the tempo of the game, and they have fallen back into that rhythm quickly. They need to begin putting the defence under more pressure with their possession, though.

A Milan cross is cleared only as far as Muntari on the edge of the box, but he turns down the opportunity to shoot, instead feeding a pass back into the box. It eventually finds its way to Kaka, who curls a poor effort high and wide.

Milan have a free kick in a good position, but Montolivo's delivery is really poor as he fails to beat the first man. Disappointing from the midfielder.

Milan have been forced into a number of long shots so far, and the latest comes from Honda. As with all the others, however, it is nowhere near threatening the keeper, although this one did take a deflection which gives the hosts a corner.

That corner picks out Kaka at the back post, but I'm not sure whether he was trying to head it back across goal, which he should have done, or going for goal himself as he sends a poor header wide of the mark.

CHANCE! What a chance for Torino to double their lead! Montolivo's shot is blocked by Vives and that sends the visitors on a counter attack that is lead by Cerci. He makes his way down the right before picking our Farnerud at the back post, but the midfielder inexplicably heads over from close range with the goal gaping. That was an absolute sitter, I'm not quite sure how he managed to miss that!

Cerci is causing Milan problems when he gets on the ball. This time he works space to shoot from inside the box, but his effort is stopped by Abbiati, who gets everything behind the ball.

De Sciglio is starting to see a lot of the ball on the right, and he is putting some testing deliveries into the area. Padelli is perhaps a little too eager to race out of his goal to deal with them and, while he has not been punished yet, there appears to be a mistake waiting to happen in the keeper.

SAVE! Another long shot arrives from Milan, but this time it is a good, controlled effort that tests the keeper. Muntari connected with it well and kept it fizzing along the floor, but it was straight at Padelli, who made the save.

Farnerud is given far too much time on the edge of the box as Milan fail to react quickly enough to a short corner. He has time to take three or four touches, set himself and then shoot, only to fire an effort over the bar. He should have done better there, but where were the men coming out to close him down?!

Milan's attack are mostly coming down the middle of the field, where there simply isn't enough space to work with. Torino have crowded out the area in and around their box with three defenders and two defensive midfielders, so Milan are finding it really hard to find a way through at the moment.

You can see why Milan are persisting with attacks down the middle, though. They don't pose much of an aerial threat from open play, with Pazzini, Robinho and Honda the three most likely players to be in the box when a cross comes in.

Much better from Milan as a series of one-tough passes on the edge of the box almost creates an opening. They just upped the tempo there and you could sense an increase in anticipation along with it. They need more of that.

SAVE! Kaka is beginning to have more of an influence on this match and he forces good save from Padelli here with a low shot towards the far corner. The keeper got down well with a strong wrist to tip it wide, though.

Muntari plays the ball square along the edge of the box for Honda, but he can't keep his shot down. It did take a deflection on the way through, though, so it will be a corner for the hosts, who are finishing the half strongly here.

Referee Antonio Damato brings an end to the first half with no injury time, and it is yet another disappointing one for Milan. They go into the break trailing Torino despite enjoying the lion's share of possession in the opening 45 minutes, and will need to come from behind in the second half if they are to keep up their 100% league record under Clarence Seedorf.

The goal came from Ciro Immobile, who raced away from the defence before leaving Bonera on his backside with a simple shimmy and slotting the ball past Abbiati. It was a good finish from the Torino striker, but he really didn't have to do much to beat Bonera, who was too flat-footed and was left embarrassed on the floor.

In truth, Milan are fortunate to only be 1-0 down at the break as the visitors had a glorious chance to double their lead in the first half. Cerci led a break forward and stood the ball up at the far post where Farnerud met it, only to put it over the bar from close range with the goal gaping. It really was a sitter for the Swede, and he will still be wondering just how he managed to miss.

Milan have threatened on a couple of occasions, but nothing to unduly worry the visitors. Pazzini forced a fingertip save from the keeper in the opening stages of the match, while he drew another save immediately after Torino had taken the lead. Padelli has also denied Kaka and Muntari so far, but they were all saves that he would have expected to make.

Milan have been limited to long-range efforts so far due to the crowded nature of the edge of the box. Torino are not giving the hosts any room to manoeuvre in and around the area and, with the hosts seemingly unwilling to play the ball out wide too often, their only option if they can't find a way through is to go for goal from range.

Pazzini is an aerial threat for the hosts, but the limited amounted of crosses that have come in so far have not been accurate enough to find the striker. It is evident that Seedorf feels his best avenue of attack is through the middle, but they need to up the tempo if they are to catch the Torino defence off guard.

As things stand, then, Torino would be moving into the top five of the table, and Milan would be seven points behind the final European place if that happens. I said before the match that they can't afford many more setbacks this season, and you'd have to think that another defeat could leave them with too much to do.

Milan are out early for the second half and Torino eventually join them. Can the hosts recover from that first half to get something out of this game?

KICKOFF: The visitors get us underway for the second half as they look to hold on to this lead and move into the unlikely position of fifth.

Muntari picks up the ball from around 25 yards out and immediately looks to test the keeper. It is a decent strike that is on target, but Padelli simply takes a step to his right and makes a comfortable stop.

Milan are once again controlling the ball at the start of this second half, but it is all too slow from the hosts. They need to speed things up because, at the moment, Torino are dealing with their attacks comfortably.

Milan finally show a bit of urgency as Rami plays a one-two and drives into the area with purpose. He drills a low shot towards the bottom corner and it flicks off a trailing leg to take it past the keeper for the equaliser. It is certainly Rami's goal as it was on target, but the deflection may have just been the deciding factor in that finding its way past Padelli.

That goal has really given the hosts a boost and they are starting to threaten now. Kaka is the latest to go for goal from range, curling an effort a few yards wide of the post.

TORINO SUB: The first change of the day sees Farnerud make way to be replaced by Omar El Kaddouri. How costly could that miss by Farnerud in the first half prove to be in this match?

Torino are struggling to get out of their own half right now as they keep giving the ball away cheaply whenever they win it back. There is no doubt that they have been shaken by that Milan equaliser, and it has given the hosts a big boost too. Can they go on to win this one now?

Milan are pushing much higher up the pitch now as Torino continue to attempt to play their way out from the back. The visitors are sticking to their philosophy so far, but with more and more pressure being invited on to them now I wonder if they'll start to hoof it clear sooner rather than later.

DISALLOWED GOAL! Milan think that they have completed the comeback, but the celebrations are cut short by the linesman's flag. It was a lovely move from the hosts that ended with Kaka slipping the ball through to Robinho inside the box and the winger curling it around the keeper and into the far corner. However, Robinho was offside when he latched on to his compatriots pass, so it was correctly ruled out.

Seedorf has clear given his side orders to hound the Torino defence down very high up the pitch. They are not being given any time to work with from the back now, which is helping Milan win it back quicker and in better positions.

AC MILAN SUB: Interesting change from Seedorf as Muntari makes way for Nigel De Jong, who is slightly more defensive minded than the man he is coming on for. His holding presence should give those in front of him more license to pour forward, though.

I say De Jong is a defensive sub, but his first action is to draw a save from the keeper. He curled an effort towards range straight at the keeper, but it came through a mass of bodies which made it difficult for Padelli. He couldn't hold on to it at first but recovered in time to collect at the second attempt.

Lovely play from Honda on the wing as he skips away from one defender, but another is across to halt his progress. It is all Milan right now and has been for the whole of the second half. Torino have threatened very little since the restart.

If things carry on like this, it is hard to see any way that Torino could regain their lead and go on to win this match. They simply haven't looked like scoring at all in this second half.

TORINO SUB: The visitors make a change as Basha makes way for Jasmin Kurtic, who is making his Torino debut here having recently joined from Sassuolo on loan.

Emanuelson plays a really good ball into the box from the left and it is the first that Pazzini can really attack this evening. Moretti defends it expertly, however, flicking it away from danger before being awarded the free kick for Pazzini's aerial challenge.

I wouldn't be surprised if Milan had had about 80% of the possession in this second half so far. They have dominated the ball, but have fallen back into the problem of playing too slowly. They need to speed things up again as they did with the opening goal and immediately after that.

AC MILAN SUB: Robinho makes way for the hosts, and he is replaced by Riccardo Saponara for the final 15 minutes or so.

YELLOW CARD! Maksimovic goes into the book after an untidy challenge that could have been useful for Italy in their Six Nations defeat to Wales earlier today. He slipped and took his man down at the hip, and was subsequently booked.

YELLOW CARD! Ouch! Pazzini flicks the ball up and goes for a bicycle kick but Glik gets his head to it first and Pazzini's boot only connects with the jaw of the Pole. That was a nasty collision and, although it was not intentional from Pazzini, he goes into the book for it.

Glik will be able to continue after taking a while to shake off that incident. He got a boot square to the face then and I'm sure he'll still be feeling it tomorrow morning.

YELLOW CARD! Bonera will miss the next game through suspension having picked up a yellow for a cynical tug back on Cerci. The Milan man had tried to win the ball in front of the winger but misjudged it before pulling him back to stop his racing away. No complaints about the card.

Time is beginning to run out for Milan now. They have controlled this game in the second half but still haven't created enough chances to really say that they definitely deserve to win. Will there be another chance to come in the closing stages? I would be surprised if there wasn't.

Torino almost break away and steal an unlikely chance as Cerci races in behind Bonera but is just beaten to the through ball by Abbiati, who has read the play very well. Moments later they give a free kick away in a dangerous area that will give Torino a chance...

CLOSE! It is a long way out, but that doesn't deter Cerci as he curls his free kick up and over the wall, but just can't get it to dip under the crossbar. It wasn't far away, but Abbiati looked to have it covered anyway.

Kaka goes tumbling under the challenge of Darmian, but the referee waves away the protests for a free kick in a good position. That was a good decision from the ref as Darmian just used his strength to ease Kaka away from the ball. Good defending.

AC MILAN SUB: The hosts makes a late change, bringing on Andrea Petagna in place of Honda. Can the youngster make a difference in the closing stages?

Milan have a free kick in a very good position here after Emanuelson's driving run forced a number of Torino defenders into desperate challenges. This is a good chance for the hosts...

...What a waste from Kaka, who chooses to aim for the goalkeeper's side but sends it curling high and wide.

There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this match, and we've had two of those already. Can Milan find a winner in the final stages, or will Torino hold on for a draw?

TORINO SUB: The visitors wind down the club as Cerci ambles off the field to be replaced by Riccardo Meggiorini.

The referee brings an end to this match, and Seedorf drops points in Serie A for the first time as AC Milan manager. His side dominated possession and controlled large periods of the game, but they didn't play at a quick enough tempo and failed to create as many chances as their possession would suggest. A draw is not the worst scenario considering they were behind at the break, but if they want to catch fifth then they need to win games like that one.

It was Ciro Immobile who gave the hosts the lead in the first half, making a mockery of Bonera in defence before slotting the ball coolly past the keeper in the 18th minute. Milan equalised five minutes after the restart, however, as Adil Rami's deflected shoot flew into the far corner, leaving Padelli no chance. The result sees both teams stay where they were in the table, although Torino do move level on points with fifth-placed Inter.

Right, that is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for what was an interesting encounter between AC Milan and Torino. In the end, Torino will be the happier of the two sides to have held Milan to a draw, but it was by no means an ideal result for either side. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to check back in tomorrow for plenty more Serie A action. Until then, though, it is goodbye from me!