Torino V Padova Preview

After Pescara, Sassuolo and Hellas Verona all recorded victories, Torino must beat Padova on Monday evening in order to return to the top of the table.

The race for promotion is tighter than ever as just one point separates the four teams, and with Padova looking to gain a place in the playoffs, this match promises to be an entertaining affair. If that wasn't enough, there is already some ill feeling between Toro and Padova after the reverse fixture was abandoned due to floodlight failure, and although Torino were initially awarded the victory, that decision has since been reversed.

Torino will be without the suspended Matteo Darmian so Danilo D'Ambrosio should replace him with Alessandro Parisi coming in at left back. Top scorer Mirco Antenucci should also return after starting to the bench against Livorno on Tuesday.

Opponents Padova appeared favourites to finish in the top six earlier this season, but after suffering defeats against Pescara and Sassuolo (two teams that Torino still have to play) they have slipped out of the playoff positions. In their last match against Sassuolo, both centre backs were sent off (Portin and Trevisan), whilst their two full backs (Legati and Renzetti) were booked which means Padova will arrive at the Stadio Olimpico with their first choice defence all suspended.

Prediction
Torino 2-0 Padova

Juve Stabia V Torino Preview

After their surprise defeat at home to Hellas Verona on Monday, Torino have the chance to make amends against Juve Stabia on Saturday afternoon. It is has been a strange week for Toro, because despite that defeat they have moved to the top of the Serie B table after their defeat against Padova was overturned and the Granata were awarded a 3-0 victory.

As you may remember from December, Torino's match against Padova was abandoned because of floodlight failure after 76 minutes with the home side 1-0 ahead . However, despite the remainder of the match being replayed eleven days afterwards, it has now been decided that result was void and Torino have been awarded the points. With many Torino fans agreeing that this may be the incorrect the decision, we can expect this saga to continue as Padova are expected to appeal.

However, now that is out of the way, its time to focus on the football on the pitch, and Torino will make at least two changes for their visit to Juve Stabia. Valerio Di Cesare and Manuel Iori have not made the trip, and are expected to be replaced by Kamil Glik and Migjen Basha. Stefano Guberti has once again been included in the squad following injury, and he could make his first appearance since September's victory against Vicenza.

Torino's opponents Juve Stabia have done well since being promoted last season and are currently in mid table, but will need to secure some more points in order to ensure they are not dragged into a relegation battle. Much of their success has been built on their good home form, as of their eleven victories, eight have came at the Stadio Romeo Menti. Striker Marco Sau has scored 15 goals this season, so a Torino defence fresh form conceding four goals on Monday will have to be wary.

Prediction

Juve Stabia 1-2 Torino

Padova 1-0 Torino (Last 14 Minutes)

Finally, eleven days after these two sides first met - the Padova v Torino saga was finally completed as the home side managed to hold to their advantage from the first match to claim a 1-0 victory.

As you will remember, the original match was abandoned after 76 minutes due to floodlight failure, and it was eventually decided that the remaining fourteen minutes would be played on Wednesday afternoon.

Giampiero Ventura resisted the temptation to play a team full of attacking minded players - and instead lined up in his usual 4-4-2 (or 4-2-4) formation with Simone Verdi, Nnamdi Oduamadi, Guilio Ebagua and Biagio Pagano leading the line.

Torino had a number of chances to get an equaliser, with Valerio Di Cesare coming close, but he could only volley Manuel Iori's free kick over the bar. Padova also came close to extending their lead, but former Toro loanee Dejan Lazarevic had his shot blocked by a defender.

In the closing stages of the mini match, Torino brought on Kamil Glik as an auxiliary striker, but despite a number of half-hearted penalty appeals, Toro could not find an equaliser.

Whilst Toro will be disappointed to lose their second match of the season, although given the unusual circumstances surrounding this match, they shouldn't lose any momentum from this defeat and should be able to continue their good form. And Torino can now concentrate on there next match against Modena on Saturday - the last game before the winter break.

Forza Torino

Padova 1-0 Torino (Last 14 Minutes) Preview

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

Padova 1-0 Torino (Abandoned after 76 Minutes)

Torino's match against Padova finished prematurely and in farcical circumstances on Saturday afternoon, as the game was abandoned after 76 minutes due to continued floodlight failure, with the home side 1-0 up.

Whilst match began in torrential rain, the first half was able to start without any problems, with Torino including Rolando Bianchi in the side after suspension, and Giuseppe De Feudis was given his first start of the season in midfield.

Padova started the match brightly, and Daniele Cacia twice should have opened the scoring for the home side, especially on the second occasion when he was one on one with Ferdinando Coppola but somehow managed to put it wide.

The problems first arose at the beginning of the second half, as just before the two teams came out onto the pitch, the floodlights turned off for the first time. However, after a slight delay the second half resumed, although soon afterwards, play was halted again as the floodlights turned off for a second time.

And it was in these uncertain circumstances that Padova took the lead, as Francesco Ruopolo diverted Francesco Renzetti's cross past a helpless Coppola. Although due to the constant interruptions, it was perhaps understandable that Torino conceded at this time.

Torino made two changes as they looked to get back on level terms, with Giulio Ebagua and Simone Verdi coming on, and within seconds they combined to set up Rolando Bianchi, whose shot was well saved by Mattia Perin. And the home side's young goalkeeper also did well to deny Angelo Ogbonna from the resulting corner.

With fifteen minutes remaining, the pitch was plunged into darkness once again, and this time the floodlights did not regain power and the match was abandoned. Initially, the original plan was to play the remaining fifteen minutes on Sunday afternoon, although Torino were unhappy with this idea, as they believed that the whole second half should be replayed as that was when the floodlight problems arose.

Therefore, the decision on when the remainder of this match will be replayed has been delayed, and there has even been some discussion that Torino could be awarded a 3-0 victory because it was the home side who had the problems. This does seem a little unlikely, as well as being a little unfair on Padova - although to be honest, I don't think any Toro fan would complain too much if they were awarded the points.

Padova V Torino Preview

In the final game of last season, it was Torino's defeat to Padova that ended their hopes of gaining promotion via the playoffs. This season, Torino are aiming for automatic promotion and will be looking to maintain or even extend their five point lead at the top of Serie B, with victory against Padova on Saturday.

Torino are boosted by the return of Rolando Bianchi, who is back with the squad after serving a two match suspension. However, Toro will be without midfield duo Migjen Basha and Giuseppe Vives, who will have to serve their own suspensions after both having gained their fourth yellow cards of the season against Livorno last Saturday.

Padova are currently seven points behind Torino in fourth place, and head into this game on the back of an impressive 1-0 away win against fellow promotion contenders Sassuolo.

Torino 0-2 Padova

Torino succumbed to a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Padova, and thus ensured that they would remain in Serie B for a third consecutive season, with it being their opponents who now go on to the playoffs.

In a game that Torino needed to win in order to prolong their season, coach Franco Lerda made a brave decision as he left striker Mirco Antenucci on the bench, in order to revert to his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation that Torino often used at the start of the season.

Torino had the better of the opening exchanges, and it looked as though Lerda's gamble may pay off, as Rolando Bianchi and Guiseppe De Feudis both had opportunities to give Toro the lead. However, just as it looked that the teams would go into half time level, Padova delivered the ultimate sucker punch. Once again it was a set piece that was Torino's undoing, and when Rubinho failed to claim an inswinging corner, Matias Claudio Cuffa rose highest to head into an unguarded net.

In all honestly, after going in at the break behind, Torino never really looked as though they would stage the comeback that they desperately needed. Mirco Antenucci was introduced at half time, perhaps an admission by the coach that he had got his initial team selection wrong, but it was not until the introduction of Andrea Gasbarroni in the 71st minute, that Toro had their best opportunity of the match.

With almost his first touch, Gasbarroni delivered a fantastic cross to the far post to find Bianchi, whose header hit the base of the post when it seemed certain he would equalise. Whilst their was some suspicion that the former Manchester City striker was being fouled, it was a chance that the Captain would normally take, and was perhaps an indication that it was not going to be Torino's day.With just ten minutes remaining, Padova sealed the victory and therefore their place in the playoffs, as with Torino going forward in search of an equaliser, Marcos De Paula was able to go into the Torino box unopposed and score with a neat left footed finish.

Despite a slight resurgence towards the end of the season, it cannot mask what has been an undeniably disastrous campaign, and drastic changes must be made next season in order for Torino to return to Serie A. Whilst this was also said last season, the fact that this team, that on paper should have been challenging for the automatic promotion places, has finished the season in eighth position, is almost unforgivable.

It will be interesting to see whether President Urbano Cairo will vacate his position, as he declared that he would when he reappointed Franco Lerda as coach in March, and it is almost certain that Torino will begin next season with yet another coach in charge.

It will also be difficult to convince Rolando Bianchi and Angelo Ogbonna to spend yet another season in Serie B, when both are likely to be coveted by a number of clubs in Serie A, and therefore they may have just played their last games in a Torino shirt.


Forza Torino 

Torino V Padova Preview

On the eve of the 1938 World Cup Final, Benito Mussolini sent the Italian football team a telegram with the message “Vincere o morire” - Win or Die.

Whilst the Italian dictator did not mean this literally and instead wanted his team to go out and do their best, this sentiment is an adequate one ahead of Torino’s fixture against Padova on Sunday. Although the term ‘must win’ is often overused (including many times on this blog) that is the only way that Sunday’s match can be described. A victory will guarantee Torino a place in the end of season playoffs and therefore keep their dreams of a return to Serie A alive.

However, anything less than a victory would mean that Torino would be playing in the Italian second tier for a third successive year, and instead of facing glamorous fixtures against the likes of Milan, Inter and Juventus next season, Toro would be facing the not so glamorous prospect of newly promoted Gubbio, a team who were in the Eccellenza (Italian Sixth Division) as recently as 1997.

Torino and Padova head into the game with long unbeaten records, with both sides not having tasted defeat since March. However, it is Padova who have the better form, winning their last three games, whereas Toro have drawn five of their last six matches, and they know that if this game ends level, then it will be their opponents who will reach the playoffs.

Whatever happens, Sunday will be a tense affair, but victory in a game that is effectively a playoff for the playoffs, would certainly give Torino momentum for the actual post season that begins on Thursday, and in the playoffs, momentum could lead to promotion.

Forza Torino

Padova 1 - 1 Torino

In Torino's first game of 2011, they were thankful to the man who scored so many goals for the team in 2010, Rolando Bianchi. Bianchi's outstanding lob with just 15 minutes remaining rescued a point for the Granata, and kept them in the all important Serie B playoff positions.

Whilst the first half was a largely forgettable affair, the game livened up in the second period, as defender Elia Legati gave Padova the lead after sloppy Torino defending from a corner. However, the home side were unable to hold on, as Bianchi scored a deserved equaliser just 6 minutes later, to give both sides a share of the spoils.

Padova V Torino Preview

Torino return from the winter break with their first Serie B game of the New Year on Saturday evening as they take on a difficult away game against 10th placed Padova. This game is sure to be a difficult challenge for Franco Lerda's team, as Padova have the 3rd best home record in the division, with 7 victories from their 10 home games.However, Torino fans should have cause for optimism as talismanic captain Rolando Bianchi has been named in the squad, and could feature in the game.

In other news, Torino have had their first departures of the January Transfer Window, as Isaac Cofie has had his loan spell from Genoa ended early. Mario Salgado and Aimo Diana have also had their contracts terminated by mutual consent.