Serie A preview: Torino vs. AC Milan – Team news, opposition insight, stats and prediction | OneFootball

Stefano Pioli’s penultimate AC Milan game sees his side travel to Turin to face Torino this weekend, and the Rossoneri will be hoping to give the fans one final away performance to cheer this season.

The 5-1 victory against Cagliari was huge, not only did it show that Milan can deliver in style, but with several key players taking a back seat role, if any role at all, showed that there is a sizeable amount of quality within the ranks.

Therefore, it is important to continue that trend at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino on Saturday night, with Pioli expected to make more changes to his starting eleven.

In his pre-match press conference, the 58-year-old addressed the quality which the hosts possess, but the main topic of conversation, expectedly, was about the future of himself and the club, given it is his final travel as the club’s manager.

Game date: Saturday, May 18Kick-off time: 20:45 (CEST)Venue: Stadio Olimpico Grande TorinoReferee: Ermanno Feliciani (VAR: Mazzoleni)

Team news

Milan have struggled with a few issues this week, most notably Theo Hernandez, who has suffered from flu-like symptoms, and he is a worry for the clash. Pioli said that the issue will be evaluated on Saturday, and a decision will be made if he can play.

Aside from that, not much has changed from last weekend’s win. Whilst Mike Maignan has recovered and can play, it is expected that Marco Sportiello is once again given the nod, and this could even be the case next week, given the Frenchman is wary of risking his injury ahead of the European Championship.

Should Theo recover in time to play tomorrow, he will start at left-back, and Pioli may field the strongest defence of the season. Pierre Kalulu, Malick Thiaw, and Fikayo Tomori will be alongside the Frenchman, if not him, then it will likely be Filippo Terracciano. Matteo Gabbia will miss the game due to suspension.

Yunus Musah will retain his place in central midfield, given he offers some fluidity for Milan, should they want to move into a more attacking shape. Additionally, Tijjani Reijnders will start in the midfield trio.

However, their partner is currently unknown. The two players fighting for the spot are Yacine Adli and Ismael Bennacer, and strong cases can be made for both, but reports suggest Pioli will make a decision late on.

In his press conference, the 58-year-old stated his desire to give ‘all players’ minutes, and this can be seen with his attacking line. Only Christian Pulisic remains from the 5-1 victory, and he moves back to his natural position on the right, Noah Okafor will be given a chance from the left, and Luka Jovic will lead the line.

Although Olivier Giroud has an exceptional record against Torino, Pioli stated that he will play the game against Salernitana from the start, so he is wary of giving him minutes beforehand. However, he could feature as a substitute.

Predicted Milan XI (4-3-3): Sportiello; Kalulu, Thiaw, Tomori, Terracciano; Musah, Reijnders, Bennacer; Pulisic, Jovic, Okafor.

The opponents

Whilst the Toro have a mountain to climb for it, they have a real chance of European qualification, and three points against Milan in their final home game of the season could be the boost required to take them into the European places.

Torino’s form coming into this game is a reflection of the difficulty of their fixtures, and they have been dealt a horrible hand. Saturday’s fixture is their final game against the top three in this run of fixtures, which has seen them draw against Juventus, and lose against Inter.

Throughout these games they have been resolute, though, only conceding three times in their past five games, and two of these were against the champions. However, that has been the story of their season.

Ivan Juric’s side have conceded the fourth fewest goals in Serie A this season, and this is something that the Diavolo need to try to counter, and given there have only been nine games this season where the side have conceded two or more goals, Pioli’s attack needs to be at their best.

Milan may have also been given an unwanted boost with the hosts’ team news. Reports suggest that Juric will be without top scorer Duvan Zapata, while Alessandro Buongiorno has also been struggling in recent days. However, it looks like he will make it.

Predicted Torino XI (3-4-2-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Vojvoda, Buongiorno, Masina; Bellanova, Tameze, Linetty, Rordriguez; Ricci; Zapata, Sanabria

Head to head

The previous meetings between Milan and Torino have been historically evenly split, and this trend is shown in the past five games that the sides have played. The Rossoneri have 77 wins, compared to the Toro’s 54, in the 197 previous meetings. In the past five, both sides have won twice, drawing the other clash.

Stefano Pioli will be aiming to complete the double over the Toro as well for the first time since the 2020-21 season, where his side won 2-0 at San Siro and 7-0 (!) at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino. However, it is difficult to imagine a similar score re-occurring tomorrow evening.

Pioli’s side have not won at the host’s venue since that thrashing, drawing 0-0 in the 2021-22 season, and losing last season’s game 2-1, with Junior Messias’ late goal unable to inspire a comeback. However, they have won the past two fixtures, with a 1-0 victory last season, and a 4-1 victory at the start of this season – goals from Theo, Pulisic and a brace by Giroud were the difference.

Key facts and stats

➤ AC Milan have won six of their last eight Serie A matches against Torino (D1 L1), as many wins in the previous 17 games against the Granata in the top-flight (D9 L2). In general, in 155 matches between the two sides in the competition there are 65 wins for the Rossoneri, 34 for the Granata and 56 draws.

➤ Torino have won three of their last five home games against AC Milan in Serie A (D1 L1), as many wins in their previous 24 home matches against the Rossoneri in the competition (D16 L5).

➤ After a streak of four consecutive games without scoring, Torino netted two goals in their last league match, winning 2-1 against Hellas Verona; the Granata could win two matches in a row in Serie A while scoring at least two goals for the first time since October 2022 (two in that case, the second of which against AC Milan).

➤ Since the beginning of 2024, AC Milan have scored at least three goals in nine of their 18 matches played in Serie A: only Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal (10) have scored at least three goals in more games in this period in the Big-5 European leagues.

➤ AC Milan have drawn their last two away games in Serie A and could register three consecutive draws in away games in the competition for the first time since December 2018 under Gennaro Gattuso.

➤ In 2024 Torino conceded only two goals in nine home matches in Serie A, fewer than any other team; on the other hand, only Inter (24) have scored more away goals than Milan (20) this calendar year in the competition.

➤ AC Milan (34) have scored the second-most goals in the first half in Serie A this season, after Inter (39); on the other hand, Torino have conceded the joint-fewest goals in the first half in the Big-5 European leagues in 2023/24 (seven, level with Inter).

➤ Duván Zapata has been involved in 45% of Torino’s goals in Serie A this season (15/33, 11 goals and four assists), a record in percentage for a player in the current league season. Against AC Milan, the Colombian has netted five goals in 15 matches in Serie A.

➤ Olivier Giroud has scored 14 goals in Serie A this season, the last season he netted more in the Big-5 European leagues was in 2015/16 (16 with Arsenal). In addition, Torino are the team against which Giroud has the best mins/goal on average in Serie A (one goal every 86 minutes, four goals in 344 minutes).

➤ Christian Pulisic has been involved in 19 goals in 34 appearances in the current league season (12 goals and seven assists) and could become only the second AC Milan midfielder to be involved in at least 20 goals and assists in a single season in the last 20 Serie A campaigns (since 2004/05), after Kakà (20 in 2005/06, 26 in 2007/08, 25 in 2008/09).

Ones to watch

With Giroud and Rafael Leao among the substitutes, this will be a huge game for Okafor and Jovic. The duo have not been given many opportunities to start this season, but they have consistently grabbed chances with both hands, and another impressive showing could provide some intriguing outcomes.

Another area of interest will be Musah’s performance, with Pioli set to give him a chance from start. He has certainly struggled with consistency as of late and could use a really good performance before the end of the season.

Looking at the hosts, it would be naive for Milan to underestimate Torino though there could potentially be some significant absences. The Toro still have a quality side, and it will be difficult to break down their midfield, and this is a huge strength of their team.

The star of it, though, is Samuele Ricci, who the Diavolo have monitored heavily during the past few years. Whilst normally deployed as a deeper midfielder, Juric has experimented with the Italian in a more advanced role, and he has taken to it exceptionally whilst still offering the stability that would be expected of him in a deeper role.

Prediction

Milan will be looking to end the last away trip of the season with a good win. There is also a lot to prove for the attacking line. Pulisic once again takes the role as the ‘leader’ of the attack, and Okafor and Jovic must prove their worth to the team.

Torino 1-3 AC Milan