Following their weekend success in Turin, top-four chasing AC Milan now hope to claim back-to-back wins in the city, as they meet a Torino side still battling for Serie A survival.
While the Rossoneri saw off Il Toro's more illustrious city rivals to climb to third in the standings, Wednesday's hosts continued a run of form which has seen them inch away from the drop zone.
Match preview
© Reuters
A resounding and richly-deserved victory over old foes Juventus on Sunday evening elevated Milan above the Bianconeri in the table - with a three-point buffer over Andrea Pirlo's side heading into the final three games.
The two giants went into the game locked together on points, but Brahim Diaz capped an impressive display to give Milan the lead just before the break, and late goals by Ante Rebic and on-loan Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori ultimately sealed victory for the jubilant Rossoneri.
Milan may have faded badly this spring - slinking meekly out of Europe and now drifting close to missing out on a return to Champions League football after an eight-year absence - but some of their fresher-faced stars have picked up the pace since the turn of the month.
A regulation win over relegation candidates Benevento kicked off May, before Stefano Pioli's side continued their exceptional away form with a 14th success on the road from 17 attempts, against Juve.
Particularly, borrowed talents Tomori and Diaz (the latter on loan from Real Madrid) have recently proved their worth, as the influence of established starters Alessio Romagnoli and Zlatan Ibrahimovic has started to wane. Top scorer Ibrahimovic has been plagued by injuries and illness of late - with his role in saving Milan's season now possibly confined to cheering from the sidelines, after picking up another knock on Sunday.
As a potentially decisive final day clash with Lombardy rivals Atalanta still looms, any failure this week could prove terminal for the aspirations of Pioli's team, so their young guns will be called on again.
© Reuters
Having lost back-to-back encounters against this Wednesday's opponents, within the space of three days in January, battling Torino will be eager to not only extract some revenge but also aid their own survival cause this time around.
The Granata return to home turf having followed a narrow 1-0 victory over Serie B-bound Parma in their previous outing at Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino with a hard-earned 1-1 draw at Verona on Sunday.
A mid-table Hellas side hit back soon after Mergim Vojvoda's late header - his second goal in as many games - to keep Torino within striking range of the bottom three, but still four points clear of 18th-placed Benevento and with a game in hand.
Though the star strike duo of 12-goal top scorer Andrea Belotti and January signing Antonio Sanabria (currently on eight league goals) has cooled of late, Davide Nicola's men have still tallied 11 points from the last available 18.
Nonetheless, Il Toro have won just three times at their headquarters this term, so facing a rejuvenated Milan side with one of the best away records in Europe is a far from ideal assignment to kick off a final fortnight comprising four crucial games.
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- D
- W
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Milan's top scorer and line-leading talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic will have a knee injury sustained in the victory over Juventus assessed before Wednesday's game, and early reports suggest the Swedish star could miss at least two of the Rossoneri's three remaining games.
As the 39-year-old striker has already missed a total of 16 games across all competitions due to injuries and illness this season, both Ante Rebic and Rafael Leao have grown accustomed to filling the void up front, with Stefano Pioli most likely to select the former from the start in Turin.
Having arguably shone at his brightest since joining the club last summer when scoring the opener last weekend, Brahim Diaz should shrug off a muscular injury to feature. Either his compatriot Samu Castillejo - back from suspension - or Rade Krunic could join him, should Pioli opt against offering Leao a supporting role out wide.
The hosts, meanwhile, picked up several niggles of their own last time out, as Nicola Murru - out with a thigh strain - could be joined on the sidelines by back-up goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic and centre-back Armando Izzo, who also has a thigh problem. Furthermore, Nicolas NKoulou is absent through suspension.
Despite Mergim Vojvoda's unexpected goalscoring input of late, previous regular Wilfried Singo is set to replace him in Davide Nicola's plans for the right flank, with Ricardo Rodriguez favoured to start on the left of Torino's 3-5-2.
Ahead of upcoming clashes with direct rivals Spezia and Benevento - and starting a four-game spell over just 11 days - Andrea Belotti and Antonio Sanabria will start on the bench, with veteran forward Simone Zaza instead being partnered by Federico Bonazzoli up front.
Torino possible starting lineup:
Sirigu; Bremer, Lyanco, Buongiorno; Singo, Linetty, Mandragora, Baselli, Rodriguez; Zaza, Bonazzoli
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Calabria, Kjaer, Tomori, Hernandez; Kessie, Bennacer; Diaz, Calhanoglu, Castillejo; Rebic
We say: Torino 0-1 AC Milan
Though they are in equal need of the points and are in better medium-term form heading into this contest, Torino may be facing Milan at just the wrong time.
Thanks to their varied attacking options - and with most of their key men finally back to full fitness - the Rossoneri can eke out a third win from three this season against Turin's second side: sealing their second success in the Piedmontese capital within the space of four days.
Top tip
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 AC Milan win with a probability of 52.36%. A win for Torino had a probability of 24.84% and a draw had a probability of 22.8%.
The most likely scoreline for an AC Milan win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.72%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.77%) and 0-2 (8.08%). The likeliest Torino win was 2-1 (6.34%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.54%). The actual scoreline of 0-7 was predicted with a 0.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that AC Milan would win this match.
