Saturday’s Serie A program caps off at San Siro as high-flying Milan and out-of-sorts Torino go head-to-head in a lopsided contest. Let’s take a look at our match preview for this exciting fixture.
Following a dismal Scudetto-defending campaign in 2022/23, Stefano Pioli’s new-look Milan side got the new Serie A season off to a flying start. Olivier Giroud and marquee summer arrival Christian Pulisic were on the scoresheet inside the opening 25 minutes to fire I Rossoneri to a routine 2-0 win at Bologna on Monday.
Despite failing to score in his first league appearance donning the No10 shirt, Rafael Leao’s showing at Renato Dall’Ara can inspire confidence among the Milan faithful. So can the acquisition of prodigious defender Marco Pellegrino, especially following an underwhelming pre-season that exposed many vulnerabilities of Pioli’s backline.
While defending has rarely been an issue for Torino since Ivan Juric’s appointment as the new manager last summer, their attacking performances have often flattered to deceive. Fans at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino had high hopes for I Granata’s curtain-raising Serie A fixture last Monday.
However, Torino’s long-term scoring problems came back to bite them again as newly-promoted Cagliari held them to a tepid 0-0 draw. An uneventful league start hardly makes for good reading ahead of the Turin side’s ominous-looking trip to San Siro. Their perennial struggle at this venue threatens to pour more misery on their 12th consecutive Serie A campaign.
Match Preview
If an opening-day display at Dall’Ara is anything to go by, Milan could be the most realistic candidate to dethrone Napoli this term. There’s no doubt that Pioli would want to return the favor to I Partenopei after seeing them sweep his team aside in last season’s Scudetto race. Winning their opening home league match should solidify that quest.
Pioli’s men are looking to win their curtain-raising Serie A fixture at San Siro for the 11th season on the bounce. Their last two such triumphs have seen them score precisely four goals, highlighting the potential for an emphatic victory. On top of their traditionally quick-fire home starts, Milan can draw further inspiration from their stellar league run against Torino.
In addition to going unbeaten in all 16 top-flight home encounters (W11, D5) in the 21st century, Milan have not conceded a home goal against Torino in top-flight action since August 2016 (W4, D2). Furthermore, they’ve racked up an eye-catching nine-game unbeaten league run at San Siro (W6, D3) since losing to Sassuolo last January.
Player to Watch: Rafael Leao
After letting Pulisic take the spotlight against Bologna, Leao should re-embrace the starring role after netting three goals in his last two Serie A appearances at San Siro.
Torino
Those born in 1991 or later don’t remember Torino’s last top-flight away win over Milan. In fact, no player from Juric’s starting XI against Cagliari on the opening weekend was alive when I Granata last had a sweet taste of Serie A victory at San Siro. Based on their performance against the Sardinians, their wait could linger on for at least another year.
But it’s not all doom and gloom from the visitors’ perspective. As odd as it sounds, Torino picked up more points on the road last term (31) than they did on home turf (22), suggesting Milan shouldn’t take them lightly after all. Adding to this sentiment, Juric’s team won four straight away league fixtures ‘to nil’ toward the end of last season.
Since each of those four triumphs saw them lead 1-0 at halftime, a fast start could prove crucial to Torino’s bid to upset the apple cart. But it’s also worth noting that three of those four wins came against sides finishing in the bottom half of the Serie A table last season.
Player to Watch: Nikola Vlasic
Nikola Vlasic’s five-goal Serie A tally last season convinced Torino to hand him a permanent contract this summer. While it’s not a remarkable haul for a forward, four of those five goals inspired I Granata to victories, highlighting him as a talismanic figure.
Team News
Besides long-term absentee Ismael Bennacer, Milan won’t have an additional injury concern tormenting Pioli ahead of this clash. The Italian manager will unlikely perform any changes to the starting lineup that took Renato Dall’Ara by storm earlier this week.
On the other hand, Torino will take this trip without Koffi Djidji and Demba Seck. However, Juric could alter several players compared to the opening-day clash against Cagliari. For starters, Nemanja Radonjic may take Yann Karamoah’s place on the left wing.
Milan vs Torino Potential Starting Lineups
Milan (4-3-3): Mike Maignan; Davide Calabria, Fikayo Tomori, Malick Thiaw, Theo Hernandez; Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Rade Krunic, Tijjani Reijnders; Christian Pulisic, Olivier Giroud, Rafael Leao
Torino (3-4-2-1): Vanja Milinkovic-Savic; Perr Schuurs, Alessandro Buongiorno, Ricardo Rodriguez; Raoul Bellanova, Ivan Ilic, Samuele Ricci, Mergim Vojvoda; Nemanja Radonjic, Nikola Vlasic; Antonio Sanabria.
Milan vs Torino Prediction
Anything other than a clear-cut win for Milan here would be a massive upset. Pioli’s men hold a firm upper hand over Torino, and we believe there’s no wriggle room for the underperforming visitors.
Prediction: Milan Win
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