Torino and Monza are separated by one place in the Serie A table heading into this weekend's gameweek 30 action at Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino.
Ivan Juric's team returned to winning ways before the international break, while Raffaele Palladino's men claimed a fourth win in five against Cagliari.
Match preview
The international break came at the wrong time for Torino, who ended their month-long winless sequence with a 2-0 victory at Udinese on March 16.
That victory came four winless matches since a similar triumph against Lecce on February 16, a positive result for the Maroons, whose three-game unbeaten run has a finer ring to it with that win against the Udine-based outfit.
Beating the Bianconeri came on the back of yet another clean sheet for the Turin outfit, whose shut-outs in Serie A better all but one side — Inter Milan.
Torino have prevented opponents from scoring 14 times in Italy's top division this season, four fewer than the champions-elect, while their nine clean sheets in Turin is a joint-high for home matches in the competition.
Given that Juric's men are one more home shutout from matching their season-high tally at their stomping ground, the hosts should back themselves to reach double figures on Saturday.
However, Monza's form puts that ambition under threat, given Palladino's side have secured four Serie A victories in five matches, with the away side's only defeat a home 4-1 loss to Roma on March 2.
The Biancorossi aim to end the month with a positive result than they began on Saturday, keen to prevent their hosts from leapfrogging them in the standings.
A Monza victory will be their fifth in six matches and a third on the trot, potentially seeing them match last year's April run and a similar one between September and October 2022.
Nevertheless, the Biancorossi never beating Torino in Serie A — one defeat and two draws — does not bode well for Palladino's troops heading into this weekend's match in Turin.
Both sides have outside prospects of European qualification, as the visiting side are just five points behind sixth-placed Atalanta BC, albeit having played one game fewer than La Dea — Torino are six adrift of the Bergamaschi.
Team News
Torino are not expected to be with the injured Koffi Djidji, Adrien Tameze, Perr Schuurs and Ivan Ilic for the visit of Monza.
Duvan Zapata, scorer and assister against Udinese, has netted nine times in Serie A for Torino — his first for the season came before loan move from Atalanta — making the Colombian the Maroons' leading goalscoring outlet in Serie A, with five more than Antonio Sanabria (four).
As for Monza, Daniel Maldini carries the ultimate threat, having scored three times and set up another in the last five Serie A matches.
Danilo D'Ambrosio (thigh) is doubtful, while Gianluca Caprari and Samuele Vignato (muscle) are missing because of injuries.
Two confirmed absentees are Papu Gomez — extended doping suspension — and Warren Bondo, who misses Saturday's match after picking up his fifth yellow against Cagliari before the international break.
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Masina, Buongiorno, Rodriguez; Bellanova, Ricci, Vlasic, Gineitis, Lazaro; Sanabria, Zapata
Monza possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio, Birindelli, Mari, Izzo, Carboni; Pessina, Gagliardini; Colpani, Maldini, Mota; Colombo
We say: Torino 1-1 Monza
Torino will hope to avoid conceding first against a Monza side that have secured 11 wins from 12 (one draw) after scoring the game's opening goal this term.
Despite the Bull's propensity for clean sheets, matches between the clubs in Serie A have witnessed both sides scoring, and Saturday's game should follow the same pattern in a third consecutive 1-1 draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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