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

While the Viola can still claim a Coppa Italia-Europa Conference league double, Toro have little left to play for - though they will still want to beat their visitors to a top-half finish.

Match preview

Following a first-leg collapse in Florence last week, Fiorentina overhauled their deficit by striking with almost the last kick of extra time to beat Basel on Thursday night, as they scraped through into the Conference League final.

Ultimately winning 4-3 on aggregate, Antonin Barak's late goal at St Jakob-Park helped the Viola avoid the lottery of penalties and set up a showdown with West Ham United early next month.

In addition to the Czech playmaker guiding his team to the final in Prague, Fiorentina are also awaiting their Coppa Italia decider against Champions League finalists Inter, which will take place next week.

The Tuscan club's chances of lifting major silverware for the first time in 22 years are therefore increasing, but before thoughts of such glory must come the matter of concluding an inconsistent league campaign.

Ending a three-game losing run, Vincenzo Italiano's men secured a 2-0 home victory over Udinese last Sunday; helping them climb to eighth in the Serie A standings, but hopes of securing a top-seven finish are essentially over - they trail seventh-placed Atalanta by nine points with three rounds remaining.

Winning one of their two finals may be Fiorentina's only route back into Europe, but as they sit on the same number of points as Monza and Torino, beating the latter would at least help them tighten their grip on a top-10 league placing.

Torino, of course, will have other ideas - particularly as their fortunes have changed considerably in recent encounters with the Viola.

Following a streak of 16 successive league meetings in which they conceded at least one goal against Fiorentina, Toro have kept clean sheets in the two most recent - winning on both occasions.

After a 1-0 victory in January's reverse fixture - which was subsequently followed by a Coppa Italia quarter-final exit at the Florence club's hands - they now aim to continue a trend which has seen them go unbeaten in nine of their last 10 games when Fiorentina have come to town.

The Granata are marooned in mid-table, but an impressive run on the road has kept them in contention to secure a top-half finish: they have taken 13 points from a possible 15 in their last five away fixtures, following a 1-0 win at Hellas Verona last week.

Much to the frustration of Ivan Juric, Torino's home form has been nowhere near as impressive, and they have taken just two points from their last five matches in Turin; only the league's bottom two, Cremonese and Sampdoria, have scored fewer goals on home soil this season.

So, if Juric is to break through the 100-point barrier since taking charge in 2021 - Toro's next point will bring up the Croatian coach's Serie A century with the club - it could take a little help from a tired away team, who have an eye on bigger tests to come.

Torino Serie A form:

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Fiorentina Serie A form:

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Fiorentina form (all competitions):

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Team News

Having just played over 120 minutes in Switzerland, Vincenzo Italiano is bound to make some changes to his Fiorentina team on Sunday - he swapped out nine players from his starting lineup ahead of last week's win over Udinese.

The Coppa Italia final will naturally be on Italiano's mind too, so Jonathan Ikone, Rolando Mandragora and Christian Kouame could be among those promoted to the first XI; after his crucial brace in midweek, Nicolas Gonzalez may now be rested.

Giacomo Bonaventura will certainly make way, as he serves a suspension due to his post-match dismissal last week, while Salvatore Sirigu - whose season has been ended by an Achilles injury - joins his former Italy colleague on the sidelines.

Torino, meanwhile, could be missing Nemanja Radonjic and 11-goal top scorer Antonio Sanabria due to thigh problems, with Aleksei Miranchuk's presence also in doubt because of a toe injury.

Nikola Vlasic would therefore shoulder much of the burden up front - the Croatian has been involved in nine Serie A strikes so far this term (five goals and four assists), including last week's winner. If Sanabria is unavailable, Pietro Pellegri stands ready to lead the line.

Both Perr Schurrs and Ola Aina are fit to feature after recent absences, and following his return to the bench against Verona, Schurrs should now resume his role in the hosts' back three.

Torino possible starting lineup:

Milinkovic-Savic; Djidji, Schurrs, Buongiorno; Singo, Ricci, Ilic, Rodriguez; Karamoh, Vlasic; Pellegri

Fiorentina possible starting lineup:

Terracciano; Venuti, Martinez Quarta, Ranieri, Biraghi; Duncan, Mandragora; Ikone, Barak, Saponara; Kouame

We say: Torino 1-1 Fiorentina

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