Torino-Lecce is a Serie A Week 5 match played on Monday at 20:45.
Despite a strong performance, Torino were unable to overturn the odds in their midweek match against Atalanta in Bergamo. At the Gewiss Stadium it ended 3-1 to Gasperini’s men, led by a hat-trick from Dutch midfielder Koopmeiners. The master defeated the pupil this time, but the Granata coach Ivan Juric has little to reproach himself for. For Toro, this was their first loss of the season after two victories against newly-promoted Monza and Cremonese and a blank-net draw with Sarri’s Lazio. However, Rodriguez and his team-mates never completely got out of the game – at the end of the second half, new signing Vlasic’s goal seemed to have reopened everything – and if Dea eventually got the better of the match, it was only thanks to their greater quality compared to the Piedmontese team.
Torino who now, in order to forget the drubbing on home soil, must return to winning ways at home: in the league it hasn’t happened since last April. In the last three home matches, moreover, the granata have also run out of goals. However, it is not going to be an easy game against Lecce, who, of the three newly-promoted teams, have given the impression of being the most enterprising so far, despite the fact that their first victory has not yet arrived. Marco Baroni’s Salentini, who started off with a double defeat against Inter and Sassuolo, picked up their first point in their direct clash with Empoli (1-1) and last Wednesday managed to emerge unscathed from the ‘Maradona’ in Naples with the same result.
Torino-Lecce: latest line-up news
The exultation of Lecce’s Colombo
Juric will have to do without Ricci and Singo: the midfielder has a calf problem and his absence could be felt in midfield. The outfielder, on the other hand, will do everything he can to be there, although the chances of seeing him on the pitch are negligible. Ola Aina and Vojvoda will be in charge of the flanks, while Sanabria, who was disappointing in Bergamo, and Pellegri are in a tight duel in attack. The Vlasic-Radonjic pair will be reunited in the three-quarter.
On the other side, Baroni is undecided on who to deploy in the centre of the attack: Ceesay has the advantage, but Colombo did very well against Napoli and at the last minute he could win out over the former Zurich player. The Zambian Banda will replace the injured Strefezza, who is not at his best due to a muscle injury. Umtiti, who arrived from Barcelona, is still on the bench at the back.
The prediction
Looking back to the past, Lecce have often proved indigestible to Torino: in their last Serie A appearance (2019-20 season), the Giallorossi won both the first leg and the return match. This time we should see a different script, the granata have more quality and are on the whole superior but the Salentini will in all likelihood not play the role of the extra, along the lines of what happened in Naples this week. Toro are favourites, therefore, in a match in which both sides will score, bearing in mind the host team’s always proactive attitude.
Torino-Lecce matchday squad
- TORINO (3-4-2-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Djidji, Schuurs, Rodriguez; Ola Aina, Lukic, Linetty, Vojvoda; Vlasic, Radonjic; Sanabria.
- LECCE (4-3-3): Falcone; Gendrey, Pongracic, Baschirotto, Pezzella; Gonzalez, Hjulmand, Bistrovic; Di Francesco, Ceesay, Banda.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
