Torino vs Juventus: Who will win first Derby della Mole of the season?
Torino and Juventus will square off for the first Derby della Mole of the 2021/22 season on Saturday. Interestingly, both the Granata and the Bianconeri come into this match tied on points: eight. Ivan Juric’s side, however, are actually ahead of their city rivals due to a better goal differential three versus zero) and have rebounded very well after losing their first two games of the season. As of now, all of Torino’s eight points have been earned from their last four games, with two wins and two draws, and that includes a recent one-all draw with Venezia last time out.
However, they’ll have to make do without defender Koffi Djidji, who was dismissed during the second half. And that’s not all. Torino will be missing two attackers with striker Simone Zaza and winger Simone Edera. To complicate matters, star man Andrea Belotti is a doubt for this game, along with others like Croatian international Marko Pjaca, who often is deployed like a winger. To round things out, Juric could have to tinker with his defense, with Armando Izzo and Dennis Praet still not fully fit, either.
Juventus, meanwhile, appear to be finally turning a corner after a bad start. The Bianconeri come into this match having recorded a 1-0 win over reigning champs Chelsea in the Champions League, which makes it two wins in Europe’s premier club competition for Massimiliano Allegri’s men. More important, Juve have not conceded a goal so far in that tournament, which will certainly be encouraging given their poor showings in Serie A, which has seen them concede ten goals so far.
Indeed, Juventus have not kept a clean sheet this season in Serie A, and it took until matchday five for the Bianconeri to win a match. And in all honesty, it was far from a convincing performance, as they had to really battle for all three points against Spezia. Remember, Spezia are only in their second season in Serie A – in the club’s entire history – and in prior seasons, a minnow like this would have been easy pickings for a team of Juve’s caliber.
But much has changed, and even this upcoming tie may see Juventus have to work harder than usual in order to preserve their excellent record against their bitter rivals. Like Torino, Juve will come into this derby missing a few key players, including both Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata, while Aaron Ramsey and Arthur are in doubt for this tie.
It’s not shocking that Juve have the better head to head, as Torino have won just 20 times at their stadium against their cross-town foes, while drawing 24 and losing on 34 occasions. The last time the Granata beat La Vecchia Signora in the league was back in April 2015, when they recorded a 2-1 victory at the Stadio Olimpico. It was a notable result considering that Torino’s last win prior to that was in January 1995. From a personal standpoint, Allegri’s only lost one of his last 17 meetings with the Granata – that shock result from over six years ago – while winning 12 and drawing the other four. His tactical counterpart Juric has won twice in eight meetings with Juve, while drawing two and losing three times.
But as things look in the table, things may be a bit more evenly balanced – on paper at least. While Torino are missing quite a few players, so are Juventus, and the visitors did lose to Empoli, draw Udinese, and struggle for wins over other smaller teams like Sampdoria and Spezia. That’s not to mention their loss to league leaders Napoli, so it will be very interesting to see if Juve’s Champions League win will be the boost they need, or if Torino will end their long wait for a win in the Derby della Mole this Saturday.
