On Monday afternoon, Torino's appeal to have a 3-0 victory awarded in their favour (after the original match between the two teams was abandoned due to floodlight failure) was turned down.
That means that on Wednesday afternoon, Torino will travel to Padova in order to play the last 14 minutes of the match, that currently stands at 1-0 to the home side.
So what tactics does a team employ for a 14 minute game of football? With Torino 1-0 down they may decide that they have nothing to lose and go all out in search of an equaliser. Whilst Padova may be content to defend their lead and attempt to hit Torino on the counter attack.
The fact that Giampiero Ventura has not even included Alen Stevanovic, Angelo Ogbonna and Rolando Bianchi in the squad for this 'mini' match suggests that Toro are not willing to risk serious injuries to key players in a match the players will spend more time on the coach to Padova than on the football pitch.
Instead Torino have turned to the younger and less established members of the squad such as Simone Verdi and Nnamdi Oduamadi in order to get something from this match. Primavera products Abou Diop, Emanuele Gatto and Marco Chiosa have also been included in the squad and their eagerness to impress could be vital.
The three players who were originally suspended for this match, Parisi, Vives and Basha are all ineligible for this game, as are Mirco Antenucci and Alessandro Sgrigna as they had already been substituted by the time the floodlights failed - yet Abou Diop, who wasn't even in Padova at the time of the original match, is eligible.
Without having to conserve energy for an entire 90 minutes we should expect a high tempo encounter, that at times, could resemble a basketball match than a game of football.
Whilst it is farcical that Torino find themselves in this situation, lets hope Toro have enough time to get something out of this match, and earn a vital point in their quest for promotion. And if nothing else, I'm sure this saga will provide an intriguing trivia question for years to come.
Forza Torino
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