Locked together on 11 points in the Serie A standings, reigning champions Inter Milan and surprise package Torino clash at San Siro on Saturday evening.
While Inter have got back on track with consecutive wins, Toro were recently toppled from top spot, soon after exiting the Coppa Italia.
Match preview
© Imago
Having failed to win in three matches before last week's 3-2 victory over Udinese, an improving Inter side continued to build momentum on Tuesday night, when they swept aside Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.
Following the Nerazzurri's late loss to AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, captain Lautaro Martinez first ended a goalless run of five league games to help claim maximum points in Udine, then appeared from the bench to score in a 4-0 win over the Serbian champions.
In Europe's top club competition, Inter are now unbeaten in 10 home matches - and that represents their best such run since beating Bayern Munich in the 2010 final - but they still trail Serie A leaders Napoli in the domestic standings.
While they are yet to concede a Champions League goal, Simone Inzaghi's men have shipped two in both of their last two league matches, and they have already conceded multiple goals three times this term - more than throughout the entire first half of the 2023-24 campaign.
En route to the title, Inter ran a tight ship defensively and were ruthless in attack, so Inzaghi will want to rediscover that mentality sooner rather than later, with predecessor Antonio Conte throwing down an early challenge with his new-look Napoli side.
After that loss to Milan ended a 17-game unbeaten run at home in Serie A, the current Inter coach is now intent on starting a new streak by beating Conte's former sidekick.
© Imago
Paolo Vanoli played a part in Inter's 2021 Scudetto win as an assistant, but now he occupies the top job at Torino after leading Venezia to the top flight last term.
Under his watch, Toro have won three of their opening six Serie A matches and can now try to win four from seven for the first time since 2015.
Last month, a 3-2 away victory over Hellas Verona briefly put them top of the table, capping a fine start to Vanoli's time in Turin; but just a few days later they were turfed out of the cup by Empoli, then beaten at home in the league.
Lazio led by two goals before Che Adams pulled one back last weekend, but the Biancocelesti then struck again, meaning Saul Coco's stoppage-time strike was effectively a consolation.
Nonetheless, Torino are still undefeated on the road this season, which would surely be cause for optimism if they had not lost all of their last five games against Inter at San Siro.
Team News
© Imago
Midfield maestro Nicolo Barella will again be missing from Inter's XI this weekend, as a thigh injury sustained in last month's derby defeat will keep the Italy star sidelined until after the international break.
Either Piotr Zielinski or Davide Frattesi will deputise in the hosts' engine room, while Simone Inzaghi is set to rotate his resources up front.
Mehdi Taremi and Marko Arnautovic were paired on Tuesday, but first-choice duo Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez may be back in the lineup against Torino.
The latter may have recently ended a Serie A goal drought, but he has not scored at home in the Italian top flight since February, going seven league games without scoring since - his second-worst streak to date.
Meanwhile, the man tasked with stopping Inter's attack should be Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, who is expected to recover after missing Torino's 3-2 defeat to Lazio with a knee injury. According to xG data, the Serbian goalkeeper has prevented more goals than anyone else across Europe's top five leagues this season.
That would leave Perr Schuurs (ACL) as the visitors' only significant absentee, giving Paolo Vanoli an almost full squad to choose from.
Once again, Antonio Sanabria and Che Adams will vie to partner Toro captain Duvan Zapata up front, while Croatian forward Nikola Vlasic is set for a place on the bench.
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Frattesi, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Vojvoda, Coco, Masina; Lazaro, Ilic, Tameze, Ricci, Sosa; Sanabria, Zapata
We say: Inter Milan 2-1 Torino
Torino have lost their last four Serie A games against Inter without scoring a single goal, but their form this season suggests they can at least improve on that grim trend.
The champions have started their title defence unconvincingly, but Toro are beginning to leak goals and could be caught out on more than one occasion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
