Cut adrift at the foot of Serie A, winless Cremonese once again seek their first league victory of the season on Monday, when they visit mid-table Torino.
While their hosts are in the mix for a top-seven finish despite last week's defeat in Milan, the Grigiorossi are relying on a miracle to save them from an immediate return to the second tier.
Match preview
© Reuters
After back-to-back wins over the champions in league and cup, Torino's success streak against Milan came to an end last time out in Serie A, as they slipped to a 1-0 loss at San Siro.
Having failed to extend the Rossoneri's recent woes, Ivan Juric's team allowed an Udinese side they had just beaten to leapfrog them in the table, but still occupied eighth place after 22 rounds of action.
Following that defeat of Udinese, Torino have won three of their last five home fixtures in the league - as many as in the previous 14 - yet they have only scored eight times on home soil so far; conceding just six in Turin to date has been the key to their relative success.
With city rivals Juventus heavily penalised by the authorities for irregular accounting, the Granata are among several sides - including their old foes - aiming to claim 'best of the rest' status behind Serie A's clear top six.
As the table is tightly packed, Toro will be determined to take advantage of a home game against the league's bottom club, and having won each of their last five against promoted teams, they will expect to make it six for the first time since 1950.
© Reuters
One of four straight defeats to begin their comeback campaign in Italy's top flight, Cremonese were beaten 2-1 by Torino in August's reverse fixture, and since then their fortunes have hardly improved.
Without a single league victory after 22 games, they would become one of only three teams in history to reach 23 still winless in Serie A should they fail again on Monday.
Relegation seems assured, then, with an 11-point deficit to make up to 17th place, and only the Grigiorossi's spectacular cup run offers a real ray of hope for the months ahead.
Into the Coppa Italia semi-finals after eliminating both Napoli and Roma, Davide Ballardini's men returned to Naples last weekend, but on this occasion met a full-strength home side. Therefore, a 3-0 loss was perhaps to be expected against the rampant league leaders.
After firing blanks again at Stadio Maradona, only fellow Serie A strugglers Sampdoria, plus Bournemouth and Real Valladolid, have failed to score more times than Cremonese's tally of 11 across the top five European leagues in 2022-23.
As the Lombardy side also hold the second-worst defensive record in Italy and have conceded the most goals from set pieces, their chances of winning a top-flight match in Turin for the first time since 1930 certainly seem slim.
Team News
© Reuters
After missing out on a return to San Siro last week due to a thigh problem, Torino striker Pietro Pellegri is aiming to be involved on Monday, but it is Antonio Sanabria who should hold off competition from Demba Seck to start up front.
However, Samuele Ricci remains sidelined by a calf injury which will keep him out until next month, with Valentino Lazaro and David Zima (both knee) also unavailable to Ivan Juric.
While the Croatian coach should have January signing Ivan Ilic at his disposal, it remains to be seen if the Verona loanee is fit enough to make his first start, so Karol Linetty could come into the hosts' midfield. Further forward, Nikola Vlasic and Nemanja Radonjic - who both scored their first Serie A goal against Cremonese in August - support lone striker Sanabria.
The visitors, meanwhile, must make at least one change to the team comfortably beaten by Napoli, as Johan Vasquez serves a suspension: Vlad Chiriches or Alex Ferrari are therefore set to come into the back three.
Nigeria internationals David Okereke (adductor) and Cyriel Dessers (muscular) may both miss out on Monday, though the latter could be passed fit in time to feature on the bench.
Former Torino pair Soualiho Meite and Marco Benassi are likely to line up in Cremonese's midfield, with Daniel Ciofani most probably partnered by Frank Tsadjout up front.
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Djidji; Schuurs, Buongiorno: Singo, Adopo, Linetty, Aina; Miranchuk, Vlasic; Sanabria
Cremonese possible starting lineup:
Carnesecchi; Ferrari, Bianchetti, Aiwu; Sernicola, Benassi, Meite, Pickel, Valeri; Tsadjout, Ciofani
We say: Torino 1-0 Cremonese
Goals have been at a premium for both sides, so a close contest is to be expected on Monday evening. Torino lack a cutting edge to complement their approach play, but facing a Cremonese team bereft of confidence, they can find a way through at some stage.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
