AC Milan vs Torino: The Diavolo seek further improvement
AC Milan will hope to continue their improved form as they welcome Torino to the Stadio San Siro on Saturday.
The Rossoneri will be coming into this match full of confidence after being able to nick a point off Scudetto contenders Napoli in their fixture on Monday. Considering that the Partenopei had humiliated them 4-0 in their meeting earlier this season, a one-all stalemate is a vast improvement for Sinisa Mihajlovic’s men. Still, there is plenty of work still to be done, as they presently sit in sixth, but fans all in all will be encouraged by the improved performances of the team as they chase a European football spot.
After starting off 2016 on a bad note with a loss to Bologna, Milan have responded in style. Although it’s not eight straight wins (four wins and four draws) they nonetheless are unbeaten in those same octet of matches, which is the second longest unbeaten streak in the league after Juventus, who are now 16 games sans a defeat. The Diavolo’s stats against upcoming opponents Torino also make for some good reading: they have not lost in their past 16 Serie A matches (nine wins, seven draws) versus the Granata, and the last time Torino won at the San Siro was back in March 1985.
However, the reverse fixture between these two sides ended as a 1-1 draw, which marked the fourth time in their past five matches that the Diavolo had to settle for a stalemate against the Granata. And although Giampiero Ventura’s side have been quite poor this season, Saturday’s visitors have now managed to go three games without a loss, which may give their supporters hope that the team’s poor form is a thing of the past.
Or is it? Torino were held to a dull scoreless stalemate against Serie A debutants Carpi and have only picked up one win in their last five games, when they showed some signs of life in a 3-1 rout of Palermo. In addition, Ventura will be sweating on the fitness and availability of defender Cesare Bovo and defensive midfielder Alessandro Gazzi. both of whom will have to undergo a late fitness test to see if they can feature, and Danilo Avelar’s season is now over after suffering another knee injury. Finally, Marco Benassi will miss out due to a ban.
Milan captain Riccardo Montolivo will play no part in this match due to serving a suspension of his own, but Alessio Romagnoli, who missed out on the game against Napoli due to illness, will return to the starting XI for this match.
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