Serie A Preview: Torino vs. Atalanta
Andrea Belotti is likely to be at most on the bench following an ankle sprain, as Torino try to put their pre-season struggles behind them against an increasingly ambitious Atalanta.
New Granata coach Ivan Juric has become increasingly frustrated at the lack of reinforcements, and is short-staffed upfront with both Belotti and Simone Zaza carrying injuries. They scraped through the Coppa Italia First Round on penalties against 10-man Cremonese and were jeered off the pitch.
La Dea kept most of their star names, but have three big players suspended for this opener and Inter transfer target Duvan Zapata on the treatment table.
Stat fact: If Torino lose, it’ll be the first time they opened two consecutive Serie A seasons with a defeat since 1994 and 1995, against Inter and Fiorentina.
Probable line-ups
Torino (3-4-2-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Izzo, Bremer, Rodriguez; Singo, Lukic, Mandragora, Aina; Linetty, Pjaca; Sanabria
Suspended: None
Injured: Ansaldi, Zaza, Millico, Kone
On a yellow card: None
Atalanta (3-4-1-2): Musso; Djimsiti, Demiral, Palomino; Maehle, Pasalic, Pessina, Gosens; Ilicic; Malinovskyi, Muriel
Suspended: Toloi, De Roon, Freuler
Injured: Hateboer, Duvan Zapata
On a yellow card: None
Ref: Chiffi