Torino head into Wednesday's Serie A fixture with Hellas Verona looking to strengthen their position in the top half of the standings.
At a time when the home side occupy ninth position, the visitors are rock bottom and will be hoping that the break for the World Cup came at the right time.
Match preview
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After the exit of Andrea Belotti, Torino were heading somewhat into the unknown without their long-standing leading forward in their ranks, yet Ivan Juric can be satisfied with how their season is progressing.
Ninth place and sitting 14 points clear of the relegation zone leaves Il Toro in a position where they can throw caution to the wind in a bid to challenge for European qualification.
That is a target which is currently realistic on the back of 10 points being collected from five games before the World Cup break, one of their three wins being posted versus AC Milan.
Last time out, Torino also earned a 1-1 draw away at Roma, only missing out on all three points courtesy of a late equaliser from Nemanja Matic.
Nevertheless, ahead of the resumption, Torino are in a positive place, and they will expect to record a fourth victory in six outings against the current worst team in the division.
Verona now have Marco Zaffaroni in charge after caretaker boss Salvatore Bocchetti failed to prevent the club extending their losing streak to 10 matches.
None of those losses have been greater by a two-goal margin, suggesting that a turnaround is not out of the question, but their only win all season came versus a Sampdoria side who are in 19th spot.
With Cremonese, who also sit in the bottom three, to follow this contest, Zaffaroni will appreciate that the biggest games of his reign, however long it lasts, may be the two which are coming up.
Although five successive defeats have been posted on their travels, Verona have not conceded more than twice in any of those fixtures.
Team News
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Torino will have to make do without Alessandro Buongiorno with the defender serving a one-match ban for five yellow cards.
However, Perr Schuurs should come back into the defensive three after missing the final game before the World Cup through injury.
Despite his regular showings for Serbia at the World Cup, Sasa Lukic may miss out on a recall with Karol Linetty having starred versus Roma.
With the appointment of a new manager, alterations are possible in the Verona XI as Zaffaroni looks to instigate a change of fortunes.
The likes of Marco Faraoni, Roberto Piccolo and Kevin Lasagna are all expected to miss out through injury, but Isak Hein may be restored to the back three.
Torino possible starting lineup:
Milinkovic-Savic; Djidji, Schuurs, Rodriguez; Lazaro, Ricci, Linetty, Vojvoda; Vlasic, Miranchuk; Sanabria
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Hien, Gunter, Ceccherini; Lazovic, Sulemana, Veloso, Doig; Verdi, Tameze; Henry
We say: Torino 2-1 Hellas Verona
With a new manager in place, Verona will be looking to make a positive impression as they bid to make quick headway up the table. However, we feel that Torino should have too much quality for the bottom-placed side, even if they only edge this game in the closing stages.
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Top tip
Darren Plant
