Udinese will be looking to make it back-to-back victories in Serie A when they make the trip to Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino on Monday to face Torino.
The visitors, who edged a five-goal thriller against Sassuolo before the international break, are currently 14th in the table, level on 14 points with 12th-placed Torino.
Match preview
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Torino only just survived in Serie A last term, ending the campaign four points above the relegation zone, but it has been a relatively solid start to the 2021-22 season for the Turin outfit.
A record of four wins, two draws and six defeats from 12 matches has seen them collect 14 points, which has left them in 12th position in the table, five points above the bottom three and just four points off the top seven.
Torino have won their last two home league matches against Genoa and Sampdoria, scoring three times on both occasions, but they entered the international break off the back of a 1-0 defeat at Spezia.
The Bull will be eyeing their second successive victory over Udinese, having ran out 1-0 winners when the pair last met back in April, although the White and Blacks won 3-2 at Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino last term.
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Udinese finished 14th in Serie A last term and that is the position that they currently occupy in 2021-22, picking up 14 points from their 12 matches, boasting a record of three wins, five draws and four defeats.
Le Zebrette have only actually lost one of their last six league games, which was a 2-0 defeat away to reigning champions Inter at the end of October.
Luca Gotti's side will enter this match off the back of a 3-2 victory over Sassuolo at Dacia Arena before the international break, with Beto's goal early in the second half proving to be the game's decisive strike.
Udinese finished fourth, third and fifth in Serie A between 2011 and 2013 but have been a bottom-half team in Italy's top flight over the last eight seasons.
There is plenty of talent in their squad, though, and Beto and Gerard Deulofeu have both been in impressive form this term, netting seven goals between them in Serie A.
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Team News
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Torino are expected to be missing five players on Monday night through injury, with Dennis Praet, Ricardo Rodriguez, Cristian Ansaldi, Simone Verdi and Rolando Mandragora all likely to be absent.
Head coach Ivan Juric is again likely to select a 3-4-3 formation, with Josip Brekalo coming in for a start, while Marko Pjaca is also expected to feature in an attacking area.
Andrea Belotti - out of contract next June - has only scored twice in Serie A this season but will again lead the line for the Turin outfit here.
As for Udinese, Jean-Victor Makengo will be unavailable for selection through suspension, having been sent off late on against Sassuolo before the international break.
There are not expected to be any real surprises in the away side's starting side, with Deulofeu and Beto again set to be joined in an attacking area by Roberto Pereyra.
Head coach Gotti could decide to change to a back three, though, with 18-year-old Destiny Udogie coming into the side in a wing-back area.
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Izzo, Bremer, Buongiorno; Singo, Lukic, Pobega, Aina; Brekalo, Belotti, Pjaca
Udinese possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Becao, Nuytinck, Samir; Molina, Walace, Arslan, Udogie; Deulofeu, Beto, Pereyra
We say: Torino 2-2 Udinese
This has all of the makings of an open game of football, and we are predicting goals in Turin on Monday night. Both teams have a lot of talent in the forward areas, meaning that an entertaining score draw could be on the cards here.
Matt Law
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 Torino win with a probability of 57.63%. A draw had a probability of 22.5% and a win for Udinese had a probability of 19.87%.
The most likely scoreline for a Torino win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.74%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.98%) and 2-1 (9.9%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.66%), while for a Udinese win it was 0-1 (5.74%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Torino would win this match.
