Locked together on points in the Serie A standings, Torino and Monza both aim to boost their hopes of a top-half finish when they meet on Sunday.

While Toro won in midweek, when they heaped more misery on Sampdoria, their visitors earned the latest eye-catching result of their first top-flight campaign, holding Roma to a draw.

Match preview

Applying another nail to Samp's coffin, Torino posted their second straight away win on Wednesday, as they followed up last month's surprise success against Lazio by beating the Serie B-bound Blucerchiati 2-0 in Genoa.

Alessandro Buongiorno's first Serie A goal gave Toro the lead before half time, and Pietro Pellegri confirmed all three points with a stoppage-time strike; keeping his team on track for a top-half finish.

However, Ivan Juric's side have not won any of their last four home fixtures ahead of Monza's visit this weekend, taking just one point from a possible 12 in Turin since mid-March.

While they possess Serie A's sixth-best record on the road this season, Torino have won only five times at home - scoring a meagre 13 goals in 16 games - so Juric will be keen to improve that record ahead of visits from Fiorentina and Inter in the final weeks of an inconsistent campaign.

History is certainly on their side as they aim to do so, as the Granata have lost only one of 21 meetings with Monza in the league or the Coppa Italia, including last August's reverse fixture.

Right at the start of their top-flight debut, Monza were left floundering at the foot of the table, with a 2-1 home defeat to Torino playing its part in the demise of former boss Giovanni Stroppa.

By contrast, under his predecessor Raffaele Palladino they have thrived and now arrive at Stadio Olimpico Grande di Torino level on points with their hosts and sitting safely in mid-table.

Following his heroics against former club Inter at San Siro, centre-back Luca Caldirola struck again on Wednesday evening as Monza drew 1-1 with European contenders Roma; extending their impressive unbeaten streak to five matches.

Featuring successive wins over Inter, Fiorentina and Spezia, that run has helped the Biancorossi keep pace with their rivals for a top-10 finish, and they lie only one point shy of eighth place with just five games to go.

Having also done the double over Torino's city rivals Juventus in a fine first season among Italy's elite, it seems Monza fear no-one, so they will surely seek victory rather than settling for an away point.

Team News

In addition to Perr Schuurs pulling out due to an adductor injury, Torino will still be missing Nemanja Radonjic, Ola Aina and David Zima this weekend, and Wilfried Singo is now absent from the right wing.

After the latter was recalled against Sampdoria, in place of Valentino Lazaro, the pair's roles will be reversed on Sunday as Singo must now serve a suspension for accumulated bookings.

Aleksei Miranchuk - who scored in the reverse fixture - and Andreaw Gravillon are both contenders to return from the start, too, with Demba Seck most likely making way for the former.

Meanwhile, Monza have Andrea Petagna back in time for the trip to Turin, though Dany Mota and Gianluca Caprari are set to feature up front in any case.

Aside from Andrea Colpani being sidelined by a muscular problem, Raffaele Palladino has a full squad to choose from. However, the visitors' coach - who is unable to take to the touchline due to suspension - is not expected to make many changes to a successful starting XI.

Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Gravillon, Buongiorno, Rodriguez; Lazaro, Ricci, Ilic, Vojvoda; Miranchuk, Vlasic; Sanabria

Monza possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; Caldirola, Mari, Izzo; Ciurria, Rovella, Pessina, Augusto; Valoti, Caprari; Petagna

We say: Torino 1-1 Monza

As Monza score regularly - regardless of whether they are home or away - Torino will struggle to keep them at bay for 90 minutes. By contrast, the Granata are often too reliant on Antonio Sanabria to bail them out and can be frustrated in the final third, so a draw may be the best they can hope for on Sunday.


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