Torino host Sassuolo early on Sunday afternoon with both sides knowing that a win would take them into the top half of the table, at least until the completion of the rest of the day’s fixtures.
It is a match that had not been played until 2009, but since then, the meetings have come thick and fast as first the Granata, then the Nerazzurri, progressed out of Serie B – indeed the two met in the playoffs for promotion the year before Torino moved up to Serie A.
In Serie A, Toro won both contests last season without conceding a goal, with Matteo Brighi scoring in each encounter, along with Alessio Cerci in Reggio Emilia, and Ciro Immobile in Turin.
Overall, the statistics are skewed in favour of Giampiero Ventura’s side, too, with Torino having won six, drawn two and lost just two of the ten matches to date, though it is worth noting that both of Sassuolo’s victories came at the Stadio Olimpico.
Ventura’s side go into this game in mixed form, having won just two of their last six games including a 3-0 hammering by Roma in their last match. Both of those victories were 1-0 home wins, and the Granata boast a four game unbeated record at home.
Sassuolo, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last five games, securing two wins during that period, though they have won only one away game all season. Their current run coincided with the return to the side of Domenico Berardi; the youngster is likely to start again on Sunday. The Neroverde have won only one game over the last two seasons in which Berardi did not feature, at home to Catania last season.
Neither coach has any suspensions to deal with for the fixture, though both have a number of injury concerns. Torino are likely to be without Migjen Basha and Cesare Bovo, while Amauri remains a doubt for the match. Eusebio Di Francesco is once again unable to call upon goalkeeper Gianluca Pegolo or Thomas Manfredini, but may well find that Davide Biondini isn’t quite ready in time.
Expected Starting XIs
Torino: Gillet; Maksimivic, Glik, Moretti; Peres, Gazzi, Vives, Farnerud, Darmian; El Kaddouri; Quagliarella.
Sassuolo: Consigli; Vrsaljko, Cannavaro, Acerbi, Peluso; Taider, Magnanelli, Missiroli; Berardi, Zaza, Sansone.
