Inter Milan welcome Torino to San Siro on Monday night knowing that they realistically have to end a two-match winless streak in order to get back into the Serie A title race.
Meanwhile, Torino head into the game having recently moved away from the relegation zone courtesy of a crucial victory over struggling Brescia.
Match preview
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After witnessing Juventus lose out to AC Milan earlier this week, it threw open the door for Inter Milan to close the gap on their long-time title rivals.
However, only recording a 2-2 draw at Hellas Verona, courtesy of an 86th-minute equaliser from their hosts, has left Inter still 10 points adrift of Juve with seven matches remaining.
All things considered, the gap may prove too big at this stage of the campaign, but back-to-back defeats for Lazio have left Inter just three points adrift of second spot.
Although finishing as runners-up would still be perceived to be a disappointment by supporters and the media, Antonio Conte would view it as a minor success with more challengers emerging for next season's top-flight crown.
Conte will be hoping for an improvement from top goalscorer Romelu Lukaku, who has contributed just one strike from open play in his last five appearances.
While Torino went into this season with ambitions to make an impact in Europe and at the top end of the table, they needed a 3-1 success over Brescia on Wednesday night to put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone.
After conceding 10 goals in three successive defeats, the positive response was desperately required at a time when a fourth setback would have allowed their opponents to move closer to safety.
Moreno Longo, who had won just one of his first eight games in charge before that game, would have naturally had his concerns when his side went into half time facing a one-goal deficit.
However, the comeback will have given him reassurances over the character of his team, who have now provided themselves with a seven-point cushion above 18th-placed Genoa.
Inter Milan Serie A form: WDWWLD
Torino Serie A form: DWLLLW
Team News
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Conte may drop Lukaku down to the substitutes' bench, allowing for the return of Alexis Sanchez in attack.
Alessandro Bastoni is expected to be restored to the defence after suspension, resulting in Diego Godin only being selected as a replacement.
However, Victor Moses, Nicolo Barella and Stefano Sensi all continue to miss out due to injury.
Torino are dealt a blow with Simone Zaza missing out on this game due to suspension.
However, Armando Izzo is likely to return to the backline after completing a ban.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Candreva, Gagliadini, Brozovic, Young; Eriksen; Sanchez, Martinez
Torino possible starting lineup:
Sirigu; Izzo, Nkoulou, Bremer; Aina, Meite, Rincon, Ansaldi; Verdi, Belotti, Berenguer
We say: Inter Milan 3-1 Torino
Despite having under-performed in their last two fixtures, we expect a response from Inter, who have the freedom to throw caution to the wind on Monday. Although Torino have the firepower to make an impact, the home side should have enough quality in their ranks to get over the line.
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Inter Milan win with a probability of 68.61%. A draw had a probability of 17.7% and a win for Torino had a probability of 13.69%.
The most likely scoreline for a Inter Milan win was 2-0 with a probability of 9.97%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.65%) and 1-0 (8.39%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.12%), while for a Torino win it was 1-2 (3.93%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 7.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Inter Milan would win this match.
