Preview: Salernitana vs. Torino
Two points and five places separate Salernitana and Torino in the Serie A table heading into Monday’s meeting at Stadio Arechi.
The home side are winless in the league after three games, while Torino have picked up three points on one occasion.
Paulo Sousa masterminded Salernitana’s Serie A survival last season after taking charge in February, even briefly delaying Napoli’s coronation as champions for the first time in 33 years at the Maradona.
However, this term has not started positively for the Granata, whose three-game winless run leaves them 16th in the table.
The season is still at an embryonic stage, so it is far too early to panic after the Salerno-based club’s indifferent start to the campaign.
Unsurprisingly, two of their games have been draws — 2-2 at Roma and 1-1 against Udinese — with their only defeat a 2-0 reverse at Lecce before the international break.
They host Torino this weekend, seeking maximum points for the first time in 2023-24, but the home side must end a four-game winless run against the club from Turin.
As for Ivan Juric’s side, they halted a two-game winless run with a 1-0 triumph over newly-promoted Genoa before the two-week hiatus.
Substitute Nemanja Radonjic scored a 94th-minute winning goal to defeat Alberto Gilardino’s men in a rather dour game in Turin.
The four-game undefeated run against Salernitana have seen Toro win half of those encounters, but both meetings last season ended 1-1.
Goalscoring seems to be an issue for Juric’s men in the opening three games, with two goals in three matches — Radonjic’s coming at the death at Genoa — underscoring that challenge.
They have the head-to-head’s recent history against Salernitana in their favour, but they cannot rely on that alone in Salerno.
Salernitana Serie A form:
DDL
Salernitana form (all competitions):
WDDL
Torino Serie A form:
DLW
Torino form (all competitions):
WDLW
We say: Salernitana 2-2 Torino
This game has another draw written all over it, even if it could have more goals than the meetings between both sides last season.