Torino vs Inter Milan

Inter Milan’s hopes of defending the Serie A crown are hanging in the balance as the reigning champions travel to the Stadio Olimpico di Torino to take on bottom-half Torino.

Torino’s hopes of landing their first Serie A top-half finish in three years have been dealt a blow after Ivan Juric’s men failed to win any of their last six league matches (D3, L3). A lack of scoring prowess saw ‘I Granata’ net under 1.5 goals in each of those six games, which has been the case in both previous top-flight H2Hs (L2). In fact, Torino have lost their last five Serie A meetings with Inter, conceding an average of 2.6 goals per match, following a run of five league H2Hs without defeat beforehand (W2, D3). Yet, far more comfortable on home turf, they have picked up a vast majority (71%) of their total Serie A points this season at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino (24/34).

Torino’s decent home league record should not intimidate reigning champions Inter, who will take the field on the back of a scintillating 5-0 romping of rock-bottom Salernitana. A Pyrrhic 1-0 win away to Liverpool in the return leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in midweek must have lif spirits in the ‘Nerazzurri’ camp even further, as they target back-to-back Serie A wins for the first time in 2022. However, Simone Inzaghi’s men have drawn each of their last three league matches away from home, two of which yielded a dismal 0-0 scoreline. Another stalemate here would see Inter draw four consecutive Serie A games on the road for the first time since 2004. But after falling five points behind pacesetters AC Milan, they can ill-afford matching that infamous record if they are to win successive Serie A titles for the first time since 2009/10.