Torino will come out guns blazing when they welcome Empoli to the Stadio Olimpico for their solitary midweek clash in round 34 of Serie A on Wednesday.
The home side aren’t showing any sign of slowing down their scintillating run of form as of late, which has kept them consistently in the running for a Europa league qualifying spot.
Giampiero Ventura has kept his men undefeated in the last six fixtures in Serie A, most impressively notching a historic 2-1 win in the process against Juventus in match day 32.
Much of the credit for the Granata’s success in 2015 is due to the prolific strike rate of Fabio Quagliarella up front. The 32-year-old has hit the back of the net nine times since January, including a recent tally in the side’s infamous first win over the Bianconeri in 20 years.
Victory will be crucial at this juncture for Torino, as three points would see them jump ahead of Sampdoria in the race for European competition after the Blucerchiati suffered a 1-0 defeat to Juventus in the Old Lady’s title winning match.
Meanwhile for Maurizio Sarri’s squad, there have been minor if not similar signs of life in their hopes to end their return to Serie A with a bang.
The Azzurri dropped jaws in their previous encounter at the Stadio Carlo Castellani against Napoli, where goals from Massimo Maccarone and Riccardo Saponara sandwiched between two own-goals by the Partenopei to lead Sarri’s side to a 4-2 triumph.
Empoli will look for another surprise victory when they play the visitor on Wednesday, and will hope that Maccarone and Saponara can continue to supply a challenge for the opposition.
Maccarone has hit 10 goals and five assists in his 30 appearances for the Azzurri thus far in the campaign, and his evergreen form will force the Granata defence to keep their wits about them.
Saponara has also shown positive development with Empoli after struggling for playing time at AC Milan, and will look to add to his has five goals and three assists earned thus far.
While neither side are riddled with injuries ahead of Wednesday’s clash, there is a risk of suspension for Empoli’s Mario Rui and Massimo Maccarone while there are also cautions for Torino’s Daniele Padelli, Fabio Quagliarella, and Nikola Maksimovic.
Form Guide: Torino (D-W-D-D-W-W), Empoli (W-D-D-L-L-W)
Expected Starting XIs
Torino: Padelli; Moretti, Glik, Maksimovic; Darmian, El Kaddouri, Gazzi, Benassi, B.Peres; Martinez, Quagliarella
Empoli: Sepe; Laurini, Barba, Rugani, Mario Rui; Vecino, Valdifiori, Croce, Saponara; Maccarone, Pucciarelli
