Riding high in the early Serie A standings, Torino will try to extend their fine start to the season on Friday evening, when they visit Hellas Verona at Stadio Bentegodi.
Occupying fifth place, with eight points already on the board, Toro will meet a Hellas side that have been either win or bust so far this term.
Match preview
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Facing Napoli, Juventus and Lazio in their first four league fixtures, Hellas Verona perhaps expected to experience a tough start to the 2024-25 campaign, but they have come through with six points and some hope for the season ahead.
Including their elimination from the Coppa Italia by Serie B side Cesena, the Scaligeri have alternated losses with wins thus far - most notably beating Napoli 3-0 on the opening matchday.
Last time out, they were beaten by Lazio at Stadio Olimpico, as Casper Tengstedt's equaliser cancelled out the hosts' early opener, only for Taty Castellanos to score what transpired to be the winning goal just a few minutes later.
Since Paolo Zanetti took charge, Verona's attacking efficiency has certainly improved, no doubt aided by the arrival of strikers Tengstedt and Daniel Mosquera.
Only Monza have attempted fewer shots than Hellas have so far, but they are still sitting on a healthy tally of six goals, with their shot-conversion rate of 18% the best of any Serie A side this season.
Across their last six league meetings with Torino, the Gialloblu have only scored twice, failing to find the net four times, so they may expect to improve on that dismal record this weekend.
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However, recent history suggests Torino should fancy their chances of picking up maximum points on Friday night, as they have won each of their last three Serie A matches at Stadio Bentegodi.
More pertinently, the Granata are unbeaten so far this season, following draws with AC Milan and Lecce either side of back-to-back wins against Atalanta BC and Venezia.
Only once this century have Torino kicked off a top-flight campaign by going five games without defeat, but that will be their minimum aim when Paolo Vanoli's men arrive in Verona.
Toro have perhaps enjoyed a little luck, having faced the most shots (84) in Serie A so far - and the second-most shots on target (25) - yet they have only conceded three goals. Several saves from goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic have certainly helped in that regard.
Level on points with city rivals Juventus, the Granata are enjoying a honeymoon period under new management, but Vanoli will be put to the test over the next few weeks, following Friday's game with a Coppa Italia clash against Empoli and then league meetings with Inter Milan and Lazio.
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Team News
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Verona coach Paolo Zanetti has several significant injuries to concern him, as Ondrej Duda and Martin Frese remain major doubts for Friday, and Moroccan midfielder Abdou Harroui is now facing a late fitness test. Suat Serdar and Juan Manuel Cruz are definitely ruled out.
Dani Silva could continue to deputise in midfield, while Grigoris Kastanos and Tomas Suslov may start in support of loan striker Casper Tengstedt.
Following his goal against Lazio, the latter has scored in back-to-back league matches for the first time since joining parent club Benfica at the start of last year.
Meanwhile, Torino will be missing Mergim Vojvoda and long-term absentee Perr Schuurs, while Saul Coco's presence in defence is doubtful due to a muscular problem. Sebastian Walukiewicz and Guillermo Maripan could therefore come into the visitors' back three.
Paolo Vanoli should be able to count on recently recovered forward Nikola Vlasic, who is set to start on the bench, while Che Adams and Duvan Zapata join forces up front.
Goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic has made the most saves in Serie A this season - 21, at an average of 5.25 per game - and has kept a clean sheet three times against Verona to date.
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Daniliuc, Coppola, Dawidowicz; Tchatchoua, Belahyane, Silva, Lazovic; Suslov, Kastanos; Tengstedt
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Walukiewicz, Maripan, Masina; Lazaro, Ricci, Linetty, Ilic, Sosa; Adams, Zapata
We say: Hellas Verona 1-2 Torino
Verona have exceeded expectations so far this season, but Torino are looking lively under new management and could sneak away from the Bentegodi with three points.
Victory would keep Toro among the early front-runners in Serie A, as they pursue a long-awaited return to Europe for next season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
![Serbia's Vanja Milinkovic-Savic pictured during the warm-up on June 16, 2024 [IMAGO]](https://sm.imgix.net/11/29/1x1.gif?w=1&h=1 "Serbia's Vanja Milinkovic-Savic pictured during the warm-up on June 16, 2024 [IMAGO]")
