Nearing the final stretch in their pursuit of a first Scudetto in over a decade, Inter Milan travel to meet Torino on Sunday afternoon, with the hosts still under the shadow of a debilitating COVID-19 outbreak.
The Granata had their two previous games postponed at short notice before returning with a defeat against lowly Crotone last week, while Inter saw off potential challengers Atalanta at San Siro.
Match preview
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As back-to-back matches with Sassuolo and Lazio were both called off shortly before kickoff, virus-hit Torino had not played or trained together for over a week before travelling south to Calabria, where they met Crotone last Sunday. Not only were Davide Nicola's struggling squad placed in quarantine during much of that period, but also banned from training collectively.
Their patched-up squad, with several men still missing - including star striker Andrea Belotti - perhaps understandably fell to a 4-2 defeat against the Squali, leaving them firmly stuck in the relegation zone. Though with two games in hand on most sides around them, Il Toro remain hopeful of playing catch-up in the coming weeks.
Before their campaign was thrown up in the air by the far-reaching impact of COVID-19, Nicola had stabilised a sinking ship, with an unbeaten streak of seven games - albeit featuring five straight draws - keeping them afloat amid a tightly-packed bottom part of the table.
A significant question mark lingers over the physical condition of Torino's available players ahead of the league leaders' visit though, so the former Genoa boss may treat this weekend as something of a free hit against Serie A's dominant side - concentrating more intently upon the re-scheduled game with Sassuolo and subsequent trip to meet Sampdoria, ahead of the Derby della Mole early next month.
Torino have also lost each of their last three league encounters with Inter - conceding at least three goals in each game - so will await their arrival with some trepidation, particularly given the circumstances.
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Centre-back Milan Skriniar's decisive goal against local rivals Atalanta, in Monday evening's round-closing showpiece at San Siro, gave Inter a 1-0 win over the Bergamaschi and kept them six points clear at the top of the standings. Incidentally, Skriniar's three goals throughout 2020-21 have effectively won five points for his team in Serie A - a potentially telling intervention in the destiny of the title.
It took a performance of graft and defensive resilience to nullify their free-scoring opponents, with Antonio Conte's celebrations indicative of how much clearing one of the final major hurdles before the championship finish line meant to both the former Italy manager and his increasingly resolute team.
Conte's men not only still possess the best goalscoring record in Serie A, with 63 goals so far, they have now conceded only two goals in their last nine games.
After finally killing off any hopes Atalanta had of mounting a late-season challenge, Inter certainly appear to be in prime shape for success. With an ambitious and able squad, few injury concerns to manage and no further European commitments, the path is paved for Conte to be the first man to lead the club to the Scudetto since revered club legend Jose Mourinho.
The numbers continue to stack up well for the Nerazzurri too, as they are ten points clear of third-placed Juventus (who have a game in hand) and have now put together a streak of seven consecutive victories.
One of the chief contributors to their recent dominance and league-leading goals tally has been in-form Lautaro Martinez, who has registered four goals and two assists in his last seven appearances.
'El Toro' meets Il Toro on Sunday, having scored in each of his last three league matches against Turin's second side and will surely fancy his chances of continuing that run still further.
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Team News
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After being sent for surgery on a torn meniscus, Inter boss Antonio Conte will be without midfielder Arturo Vidal - who had finally started on Monday after a prolonged spell out of the team - until some time next month. Otherwise, only Christian Eriksen (knee) and Aleksandr Kolarov are doubtful ahead of the trip to Turin.
If Eriksen is fit to start, the former Tottenham playmaker or Roberto Gagliardini will replace Vidal, with the rest of the XI that faced Atalanta unlikely to change.
Following his late red card in Crotone, midfield mainstay Tomas Rincon must serve a suspension for Torino, but Davide Nicola will be buoyed by the return of several first-teamers after they emerged from quarantine protocols.
The Granata's COVID-19 outbreak seems to be subsiding, as Karol Linetty, Bremer and top scorer Andrea Belotti returned negative tests during the week, with both Wilfred Singo and Nicolas Nkoulou awaiting the results of re-tests before kickoff.
If Bremer is not thrown back into the deep end against the fearsome Inter attack, then former Milan defender Ricardo Rodriguez would continue to deputise in the Toro back three, while Serbian midfielder Sasa Lukic could cover for Linetty again if needed.
After scoring his first goal for the club, having returned from his own brush with the virus, Antonio Sanabria is set to continue in the front pairing alongside Simone Zaza, with Belotti perhaps playing a part from the bench.
Torino possible starting lineup:
Sirigu; Izzo, Lyanco, Rodriguez; Vojvoda, Baselli, Mandragora, Lukic, Ansaldi; Zaza, Sanabria
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Hakimi, Barella, Brozovic, Gagliardini, Perisic; Martinez, Lukaku
We say: Torino 0-2 Inter Milan
For Torino, there could be no worse team to face at a time when troubled by questions of form and fitness than this predatory Inter outfit.
Though both sides set up in a similar 3-5-2 formation, the visitors' far greater individual quality and match-sharpness should ensure a straightforward day at the office for the Scudetto favourites, who march on towards their 19th title.
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 Inter Milan win with a probability of 62.29%. A draw had a probability of 20.2% and a win for Torino had a probability of 17.55%.
The most likely scoreline for a Inter Milan win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.92%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.58%) and 0-1 (9.02%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.34%), while for a Torino win it was 2-1 (4.83%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 9.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-2 win for Inter Milan in this match.
