Serie A Preview: Juventus vs Torino – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction | OneFootball

Saturday’s Serie A action caps off at the Allianz Stadium with the latest edition of the famous Derby della Mole between Juventus and Torino. A fixture traditionally dominated by the home side catches two teams in conflicting spirits.

Juventus hauled back a halftime deficit to draw 1-1 at Lille in midweek UEFA Champions League action. Dusan Vlahovic’s second-half penalty spared Bianconeri’s blushes in France, guiding them to a third stalemate across their last four competitive outings.

That’s been a recurring theme for Juventus under Thiago Motta’s stewardship. They’ve drawn Serie A’s joint-high six matches this season, hence a four-point gap on table-topping Napoli despite Motta’s unbeaten league start in Turin (W5, D6).

However, Juventus deviated from the pattern last weekend to topple Udinese 2-0 at the Bluenergy Stadium. Unlike their hosts, Torino’s freefall following a decent start to life under new coach Paolo Vanoli hit a new low last Sunday.

Fiorentina squeezed past the Granata 1-0, condemning them to a fifth defeat in their last six Serie A outings (W1). Stuck in mid-table, seven points adrift of their opposition, Torino must defy the odds to get back on track.

If the recent history is anything to go by, that task will be nothing short of Herculean.

Match Preview

Juventus

Juventus have rarely relinquished their stranglehold on this match-up. Since 1995, they’ve only lost one of their 38 encounters against Torino in all competitions (W28, D9). That run includes a comfortable 2-0 victory in this corresponding fixture last term.

But there’s no room for complacency, considering the last Serie A meeting in April ended 0-0. The narrative has been quite different at this stadium, where Juventus have netted multiple goals en route to victory in four out of five top-flight clashes against Torino since 2020 (D1).

Against this backdrop, Motta’s charges have only registered one triumph in their last five competitive games on home turf (D3, L1). Even so, after beating Udinese, Juventus could rack up back-to-back Serie A wins for the first time since the opening two rounds.

Motta will put his trust in an almost impregnable backline that had only conceded once in four home league outings before a goal-glutted 2-2 draw against newly promoted Parma last time out.

Torino

With the division’s best defense waiting in the wings, Torino’s misfiring attack should prepare for a world of pain. Vanoli’s men have failed to score in their last two league matches, returning to their old habits under new Roma boss Ivan Juric.

Despite their recent setbacks, Torino will likely give Juventus a run for their money. Each of their last five Serie A defeats came by a single-goal margin, pinpointing their resilience and competitiveness. This narrow margin of defeat underscores their defensive discipline and ability to stay in games, often pushing more favored opponents to the limit.

Slow out of the blocks, the visitors have conceded the opening goal on their last three Serie A travels. They went on to lose each game. Therefore, another sluggish opening could be Torino’s undoing. But given that their most recent away win against Juventus dates back to 1995, that would hardly be a surprise.

Team News

Juventus cannot call upon the services of Arkadiusz Milik, Paul Pogba, Gleison Bremer, and Nicolas Gonzalez. However, Motta has welcomed star midfielders Douglas Luiz and Teun Koopmeiners back from injuries, with the former likely to stay on the bench in favor of Weston McKennie.

On the other hand, Torino will make this short journey without long-term absentees Duvan Zapata and Perr Schuurs. Ivan Ilic’s return from injury offers a silver lining to Vanoli, considering his side desperately lacked creativity in the midfield against Roma and Fiorentina.

Juventus vs Torino Potential Starting Line-ups

Juventus (4-2-3-1): Michele Di Gregorio; Nicolo Savona, Pierre Kalulu, Federico Gatti, Andrea Cambiaso; Weston McKennie, Manuel Locatelli; Francisco Conceicao, Teun Koopmeiners, Kenan Yildiz; Dusan Vlahovic.

Torino (3-5-2): Vanja Milinkovic-Savic; Saul Coco, Guillermo Maripan, Adam Masina; Marcus Pedersen, Ivan Ilic, Samuele Ricci, Nikola Vlasic, Valentino Lazaro; Alieu Njie, Antonio Sanabria.

Juventus vs Torino Prediction

With Torino terminally unable to score without Zapata, Juventus’ sturdy defense could have a field day on Saturday. However, goals have been at a premium for Motta’s team lately, leading us to believe a single ball in the visitors’ net could settle this city derby.