Preview: Torino vs. Bologna - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts play their third straight match in Turin following Tuesday's defeat in the Derby della Mole, while their visitors are fresh from a home victory over Inter.

Match preview

Separated by just one point in the Serie A standings ahead of the latest Turin derby, Torino and city rivals Juventus played out an enthralling encounter at the Allianz Stadium on Tuesday, in which the visitors twice took the lead but could not keep their hosts at bay.

After Yann Karamoh's early strike was soon cancelled out, a cute near-post finish from Antonio Sanabria put Toro 2-1 ahead, though their old foes equalised again just before the break and ultimately ran out 4-2 winners.

Torino have therefore conceded six goals in their last two Serie A games, and such a loss serves as a substantial hit to hopes of a top-six finish - for instance, they now trail seventh-placed Juve by four points, even accounting for the Bianconeri's 15-point penalty.

Now on a run of one win from six league and cup games, including being held 2-2 by Cremonese in their most recent home outing, the Granata are set to tackle two mid-table rivals before hosting leaders Napoli later this month.

Before next weekend's trip down to Lecce, they meet opponents against whom they have lost just once in their last seven Serie A meetings - though that was the most recent encounter, in November. Furthermore, Torino have also scored in each of their last 17 top-flight home games against Bologna.

Then still struggling to absorb Thiago Motta's methods in the early throes of his reign, Bologna fought back for a 2-1 victory in this season's reverse fixture, in which Riccardo Orsolini and Stefan Posch both struck during the second half.

Fast forward four months and the Rossoblu are one of Serie A's form teams and sit four points above their hosts in the standings ahead of Monday night's game.

Following a hard-fought 1-0 win over Inter last week, they occupy eighth spot in the standings and are, alongside Juventus, applying pressure to an ailing Atalanta side in the race for European football next year.

Orsolini was on target again in Bologna's latest win - a fifth in seven league games - and not only are they making their much-admired home ground something of a fortress but they have also enjoyed a fair share of success on the road in 2023.

Victories in each of their last three away matches represents the Emilian club's best such run in Serie A since 1964, when they won five in a row, and Motta's men may fancy their chances of taking one step closer to that mark on Monday.

Torino Serie A form:

W

D

W

L

D

L

Torino form (all competitions):

D

L

W

L

D

L

Bologna Serie A form:

D

W

W

L

W

W

Team News

Following derby defeat last time out, Ivan Juric is set to make some changes to his Torino team, with at least one wing-back likely to make way. Ola Aina returns from a one-match ban to battle it out with Mergim Vojvoda for promotion to the starting XI, as club captain Ricardo Rodriguez is demoted to the bench.

It is now Samuele Ricci's turn to serve a suspension, after being booked as a substitute against Juventus, so Ivan Ilic and Karol Linetty are expected to continue together in midfield.

With Nikola Vlasic joining Valentino Lazaro, David Zima and Pietro Pellegri on the sidelines due to injury, Yann Karamoh should start again in support of lone striker Antonio Sanabria. The latter has scored in his last two Serie A starts against Bologna and also matched his personal-best haul in the division by scoring a sixth league goal of the season on Tuesday.

Bologna's main man up front, Marko Arnautovic, has now recovered from an injury which kept him out of several recent matches - including the win over former club Inter - and is a candidate to start in attack for the Felsinei.

Musa Barrow is more likely to be retained, though, while Joshua Zirkzee is also back in action and offers another option for Thiago Motta to mull over.

A certain starter on the right wing, Riccardo Orsolini has scored the most goals of any Italian player across Europe's top five leagues in 2023 (five). He has also found the net in two of his last three league games against Torino - both times as a substitute.

Torino possible starting lineup:

Milinkovic-Savic; Djidji, Schuurs, Buongiorno; Aina, Ilic, Linetty, Vojvoda; Miranchuk, Karamoh; Sanabria

Bologna possible starting lineup:

Skorupski; Posch, Sosa, Lucumi, Soumaoro; Schouten, Dominguez; Orsolini, Ferguson, Soriano; Barrow

We say: Torino 2-2 Bologna

Torino are unbeaten in their last seven Serie A matches played on a Monday - the most recent six coming under current coach Ivan Juric - and that streak should be extended against Bologna.

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