Torino will host an improving Bologna side at the Stadio Olimpico in Serie A on Saturday.
The hosts have suffered a slight dip in form having lost three of their last five matches, dropping points to league leaders Inter as well as Juventus in back-to-back losses, before earning a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Atalanta; however, Il Toro are still within the top 10, sitting 9th in the table and 12 points off from the top.
Bologna on the other hand sit just one point above the regulation zone in 17th place, and will look to continue climbing into the middle of the table following an inspiring 2-2 tie with Roma.
Following a terrible start to the season the Rossoblu replaced coach Delio Rossi and brought in Roberto Donadoni, which appears to have been an inspired choice, as they have taken 10 points from their last five fixtures with victories over Hellas Verona, Atalanta, and Carpi.
Having met 17 times previously, the two sides have had a rather consistent record against one another, with a draw being the most-likely outcome, as both sides have been level 50% of the time when the final whistle blew.
Bologna won promotion from Serie B last season with a play-off victory, but the newly promoted team took a hard fought victory from Torino in their last encounter, finishing 2-1.
Granata boss Giampiero Ventura will be missing the services of Alexander Farnerud as a cruciate ligament rupture is expected to keep the midfielder on the sidelines until the new year, where as left-back Danilo Avelar and Joel Obi are both recovering from injuries, and will be evaluated prior to kick off.
Bologna will have to continue without Franco Zuculini who underwent a surgery to repair a ligament injury and remains absent; while Emil Krafth is expecting to be assessed before the game. Forward Matteo Destro will also miss out due to suspension.
Form Guide: Torino (W-L-L-D-L) Bologna (D-W-W-L-W)
Expected Starting XIs
Torino: Padelli, Bovo, Glik, Moretti, Peres, Acquah, Gazzi, Baselli, Molinaro, Quagliarella, Maxi Lopez
Bologna: Mirante, Ferrari, Oikonomou, Gastaldello, Masina, Donsah, Diawara, Brighi, Mounier, Mancosu, Giaccherini
Infographic from www.sporticos.com
