Torino and Lecce are separated by three places and nine points in the Serie A table heading into Friday's round 25 encounter at Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino.
The Bull missed a chance to do the double over Sassuolo last weekend, while the visitors suffered their 10th league defeat of the campaign in gameweek 24's 4-0 beatdown by Bologna.
Match preview
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Torino's undefeated 2024 run faces its latest threat when Ivan Juric's men host Lecce in Turin this Friday, keen to extend that sequence to six games without defeat.
However, the Maroons' run is littered with draws (three) than victories (two) before this weekend's encounter, with ties against cellar-dwelling Salernitana and struggling Sassuolo seeing the Europe-chasing outsiders miss out on the opportunity to rise in the standings.
Juric's men are mid-table on 33 points, even if five points separate the Bull from sixth-placed Roma and six adrift of Bologna, pointing to the possibility of ending the campaign in a continental position if they find consistency.
Torino's only home defeat in 2023-24 came against champions-elect Inter Milan, and they could secure their sixth win in front of their supporters in gameweek 25.
Their sturdy defensive record in Turin — the Bull have let in just six goals as hosts, the joint-best statistic in the league — offers hope to the home side's prospects, but only by putting the ball in the net at the other end can they rise in the standings.
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The Maroons should back themselves against out-of-form opposition, with Lecce's joy at securing a shock 3-2 victory over Fiorentina short-lived as Bologna beat Roberto D'Aversa's men 4-0.
The Salentini's away record does not bode well for Friday, having suffered five consecutive losses on their travels since drawing at Empoli in December, continuing a winless run in away games this term.
Lecce have secured only five road points in 12 games, outdoing only Frosinone and Cagliari, whose three points fall below the Wolves.
D'Aversa's 13th-placed side are not in immediate danger of battling relegation, but that situation could change swiftly as Hellas Verona in 18th are just five points shy of the club from the Apulia region.
With Udinese (15th) and in-form Empoli (16th) under Davide Nicola picking up victories in the previous gameweek — the former stunned Juventus at the Allianz Stadium on Monday night — Lecce's away form could be pivotal to stay clear of the bottom three.
Team News
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Adrien Tameze is suspended after an accumulation of yellow cards, while Ange N'Guessan is doubtful after not featuring due to a thigh injury since November; meanwhile, Alessandro Buongiorno's shoulder injury should keep him out until March, and Perr Schuurs (ACL injury) is out for the season.
Duvan Zapata netted for the 10th time against Sassuolo last weekend, and Juric hopes the club's leading scorer in Serie A this term adds to his seven league goals this weekend.
Kastriot Dermaku (knee) is doubtful for Lecce's visit to Torino, even if the Albanian centre-back was not expected to feature in Turin.
D'Aversa will look to the pair of Nikola Krstovic (five goals) and Remi Oudin (three) to come up trumps for the struggling side seeking a first road victory of the campaign.
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Djidji, Lovato, Rodriguez; Bellanova, Ricci, Ilic, Lazaro; Vlasic; Zapata, Sanabria
Lecce possible starting lineup:
Falcone; Venuti, Pongracic, Baschirotto, Gallo; Kaba, Ramadani, Oudin; Almqvist, Krstovic, Banda
We say: Torino 1-0 Lecce
Torino's low-scoring nature and tendency to keep clean sheets at home points to another marginal triumph over an opponent that cannot buy road wins this season.
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