Torino host Cagliari at the Stadio Olimpco in Turin on Sunday afternoon with Giampiero Ventura’s squad looking to continue their recent run of great form.
The Granata enter the match on the heels of four straight league victories, their first such run since March of 1978, while Cagliari continue to hold down one of the three relegation spots.
The first encounter in September ended 2-1 in favour of Torino with Fabio Quagliarella scoring the winner after Kamil Glik had cancelled out Andrea Cossu’s opener.
Since then Gianfranco Zola has replaced Zdenek Zeman as coach of Cagliari in hopes of rescuing them from relegation, while Torino have bounced back from a tough start to remain in the hunt for a Europa League spot.
The change in coaching personnel for the Rossoblu has not seen a major upturn in fortune as the club continue to languish in 18th spot in the Serie A table.
Over their last five games, Cagliari have managed to win only one match and are currently riding a two game losing streak. Their last match saw them lose 2-1 to Roma, but a spirited display against the second place team will bring in renewed optimism for the relegation battlers.
Having shipped 42 goals, Cagliari’s leaky defence will have to be at it’s very best to secure them points.
The Granata, on the other hand, are enjoying a great run of form and currently sit comfortably in eighth place only four points behind a place in Europe.
This is mostly due to the Turin club’s great start to 2015, with only one loss from seven played to start the new year.
Torino’s last game saw them comfortably defeat Hellas Verona by a score of 3-1, and a victory or draw will consolidate the Turin based club’s push for European football while increasing pressure on Zola and the Rossoblu.
Torino will be be without Giuseppe Vives, as the midfielder is expected to be replaced by Alessandro Gazzi. Matteo Darmian and Nikola Maksimovic are expected to be welcomed back into the starting 11 in place of Christian Molinaro and Cesare Bovo respectively, while Fabio Quagliarella and Josef Martinez are expected to be the preferred strikeforce.
Zola will be without the services of long term absentees Francesco Pisano and Antonio Balzano.
With new signing Paul-Jose M’Poku scoring on his debut against Roma, the winger might be handed a start to reinvigorate a misfiring attacking line.
Form Guide: Torino ( L-W-W-W-W), Cagliari (L-D-W-L-L)
Expected Starting XIs:
Torino: Padelli, Maksimovic, Glik, Moretti, Peres, Benassi, Gazzi, Farnerud, Darmian, Martinez, Quagliarella.
Cagliari: Brkic, Gonzalez, Rossettini, Capuano, Avelar, Dessena, Conti, Donsah, Ekdal, M’Poku, Cop.
