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AC Milan are back in Serie A action on Monday night after being knocked out of the Coppa Italia, and they face a tricky trip to Torino.
Milan’s 1-0 loss against Lazio on Thursday night was just their second of the season, but they still carry a 12-game league unbeaten run with them to Turin. However, they have won just one of their last 12 Serie A matches at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, and that was 7-0 in 2020-21.
For the Rossoneri, it is a chance to jump back into top spot in the Serie A table depending on the results of others, but Inter’s 4-0 hammering of Como once again demonstrated their capabilities on Saturday night.
Lazio in 2025-26
➤ Manager: Maurizio Sarri
➤ Form (all comps): D-D-D-L-L
➤ Top scorer (Serie A): Giovanni Simeone – 4
➤ Most assists (Serie A): Saul Coco, Nikola Vlasic, Cyril Ngonge, Valentino Lazaro, Niels Nkounkou and Adam Masina – 1
➤ Injuries & suspensions: Ismajli, Schuurs, Savva and Simeone.
Last season was a fairly uneventful one for Torino, as they finished in 11th place, with 10 wins, 14 draws and 14 defeats in their 38 games. That was enough to earn Marco Baroni the confidence of Urbano Cairo, but 2025-26 has not gone entirely to plan so far.
The Granata’s summer window saw them sign Zaharia Aboukhlal from Toulouse for €8m, Franco Israel from Sporting CP for €4m and Marcus Pedersen from Feyenoord for €3.5m. Kristjan Asllani, Cyril Ngonge, Giovanni Simeone and Niels Nkounkou all arrived on loan.
Torino have not won a game since the end of October, when they beat Genoa 2-1 at home. Since them, they have drawn with Bologna, Pisa and Juventus, before losing their last two games to Como (5-1) and Lecce.
They have however caused a couple of shocks, such as beating Napoli and Roma 1-0. They are currently sitting in 13th place with 14 points collected, which is four points clear of the relegation zone, but that gap has been getting smaller.
Results need to turn around with Baroni under pressure. He spoke at a pre-match press conference at Torino’s training ground on the eve of their game against Milan, and said that ‘crumbling or getting stronger’ are the only options.
In terms of selection problems, Baroni is expected to be without Ismajli, Schuurs, Savva and Simeone. However, only the latter is definitely out of the game, and the rest could yet make a late recovery to face the Rossoneri.
It should be a case of matched systems in this game with Torino having played a 3-5-2 in recent weeks. Ngonge and Adams should lead the line with Vlasic, Asllani and Casadei as the three-man midfield, Pedersen and Lazaro as wing-backs, then Tameze, Maripan and Coco as the back three.
Predicted Torino XI (3-5-2): Israel; Tameze, Maripan, Coco; Pedersen, Casadei, Asllani, Vlasic, Lazaro; Ngonge, Adams.
Predicted bench: Paleari, Popa, Nkounkou, Masina, Biraghi, Ilkhan, Ilic, Gineitis, Zapata, Dembélé, Anjorin, Aboukhlal, Njie.
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