Preview: Torino vs. Bologna - prediction, team news, lineups

Torino entertain Bologna in Serie A on Sunday with the hosts searching for only their second league win of the campaign.

Bologna, meanwhile, have slid to 13th in the table after failing to win any of their last three matches.

Match preview

Indeed, Torino are currently competing in Serie A for the ninth successive campaign, but Marco Giampaolo has a serious job on his hands to ensure the club spends a decade in Italy's top-flight.

Having won just once in the opening 12 games of the season, the Turin-based club are stranded in the relegation zone, four points behind 17th-placed Fiorentina.

Scoring goals has certainly not been a problem, with their tally of 20 better than any side below eighth in the table, but Giampaolo's side are conceding an average of 2.5 goals per game, making their defensive record comfortably the worst in the division.

The 53-year-old may actually have been happy with his side only conceding three goals at Roma on Thursday, though, after Wilfried Singo was sent off after only 14 minutes. Andrea Belotti's late consolation goal made it a fairly respectable 3-1 defeat given the circumstances, with the 26-year-old Italy international surely attracting strong interest from teams higher up the pecking order these days.

Bologna have had a significantly more impressive season under Sinisa Mihajlovic by their own standards, but have shown signs of slowing down in recent weeks.

Like their forthcoming opponents, goals tend to fly in at both ends in Bologna matches, with Wednesday's 2-2 draw at Spezia Calcio a classic case in hand of that.

Mihajlovic's side fell two goals behind to a M'Bala Nzola brace, but pegged their opponents back via Nicolas Dominguez and Musa Barrow's late strikes.

Of Serie A's bottom half teams, only Torino have scored more goals, but equally only three sides in the division have an inferior defensive record. There should be goals on Sunday, then.

Torino Serie A form: DLDLLL Torino form (all competitions): LWDLLL

Bologna Serie A form: LWWLLD Bologna form (all competitions): WLWLLD

Team News

Torino's struggles are made a little more understandable given that they are without Vincenzo Millico, Simone Verdi, Cristian Ansaldi, Daniele Baselli and Simone Zaza though injury.

Singo will miss the visit of Bologna, too, through suspension after his dismissal in Rome.

Bologna, meanwhile, are missing Andreas Skov Olsen, Jerdy Schouten, Ibrahima Mbaye, Riccardo Orsolini and Federico Santander through injury.

Aaron Hickey is unavailable for the trip to Turin due to coronavirus.

Torino possible starting lineup: Sirigu; Bremer, Lyanco, Buongiorno; Segre, Gojak, Meite, Linetty, Vojvoda; Lukic; Belotti

Bologna possible starting lineup: Da Costa; De Silvestre, Danilo, Paz, Tomiyasu; Medel, Dominguez; Palacio, Soriano, Vignato; Barrow

We say: Torino 1-2 Bologna

With both sides boasting decent offensive records but struggling to shut sides out at other end, we can envisage plenty of goals in an entertaining affair.

We think Bologna have a little more balance at present, though, so if they can keep Belotti as quiet as possible, they should have a good chance of winning.

Top betting tip

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