Serie A Preview: Milan v Torino

Torino head coach Giampiero Ventura may need to shake things up in defence against Milan if his side are to avoid relegation from Serie A.

Ventura’s team have been in fine scoring form over the past two months having netted 11 goals in seven matches, led by Paulo Barreto and Rolando Bianchi, but poor defence has cost them.

Last week, league-leading Juventus held Torino scoreless for the first time in seven games as Ventura’s side conceded their 18th and 19th goals in that period to lose 2-0 to the defending champions.

Ventura’s first job in defence will be to improve discipline as Torino have finished the last two games with 10 men – Kamil Glik was sent off against Juventus, while Matteo Darmian received a red card in their 4-3 defeat to Fiorentina the week before.

While Glik will not play away to Milan on Sunday, Ventura may be tempted to make even more changes to his back four, as the likes of Angelo Ogbonna, Darmian and Danilo D’Ambrosio have been regulars in defence over the past two months.

Ventura may opt for Uruguayan left-back Pablo Rodriguez, who has only played one game this season, or central defender Valerio Di Cesare, who has only featured five times, to resurrect Torino’s battle to avoid relegation.

Torino are two positions and four points above Serie A’s drop zone with four games left this season, but having only won once in nine matches, Ventura’s side are plummeting down the table.

Meanwhile, Milan must win if they are to have any hope of overhauling second-placed Napoli before the end of the season.

Napoli (69 points) have one hand on Italy’s second automatic qualifying berth into next season’s UEFA Champions League and will secure that spot if they knock off Inter and Milan (62) fail to defeat Torino.

Milan also need to win to ensure they stay ahead of fourth-placed Fiorentina (61 points), who will take on Roma on Saturday.