Torino and Genoa square off on Thursday evening with both teams looking to move clear of the Serie A relegation zone.

While the visitors begin the week just one point above 18th-placed Lecce, Torino hold a five-point advantage over the bottom three.

Match preview

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When Torino held a half-time lead at Inter Milan on Monday, Moreno Longo would have been optimistic that he was making some headway with regards to getting his side back on track after winning just two of his first nine games in charge.

However, after conceding three goals in the space of 13 minutes shortly after half time, the recently-appointed boss realised that avoiding relegation would continue to be far tougher than he had initially anticipated.

Torino have now collected just seven points from their last 11 matches, a run which has ensured that they are having to pay constant attention to the results of the teams below them.

Nevertheless, Thursday's contest represents an opportunity to give themselves a minimum of a five-point lead with five matches left, an advantage which could ultimately prove pivotal.

Despite their recent setbacks, Andrea Belotti has remained in excellent form, netting in six successive matches since drawing a blank in the first game back after the resumption.

As for Genoa, they make the trip to the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino having ended their five-match winless streak with a crucial triumph over SPAL.

Although that victory came against the bottom-placed side in the division, it was a result which lifted Davide Nicola's team out of the relegation zone by a point.

However, faced with a relatively difficult run-in, Nicola and his players are under pressure to deliver in matches such as the one on Thursday night, aware that three wins from six outings may realistically be enough to keep Lecce at bay.

While Genoa kept their first clean sheet since February at the weekend, they also continued a run of scoring in their last 11 fixtures.

Torino Serie A form: WLLLWL

Genoa Serie A form: LDLDLW

Team News

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Despite their victory over SPAL, Nicola may decide to revert to a 3-5-2 formation to match their hosts.

That could see Lasse Schone, Valon Behrami and Francesco Cassata line up for Genoa in the middle of the pitch, with Paolo Ghiglione and Antonio Barreca in the wing-back positions.

Meanwhile, Torino boss Longo will contemplate whether to hand an immediate recall to Simone Zaza, who missed the last game through suspension.

The former West Ham United attacker is competing for a place on the left-hand side with Simone Edera.

Torino possible starting lineup:
Sirigu; Izzo, Nkoulou, Lyanco; Silvestri, Meite, Rincon, Ansaldi; Verdi, Belotti, Edera

Genoa possible starting lineup:
Perin; Biraschi, Soumaoro, Masiello; Ghiglione, Behrami, Schone, Cassata, Barreca; Pandev, Pinamonti

We say: Torino 2-1 Genoa

Despite letting slip a lead against Inter at the beginning of this week, we feel that Torino will benefit from being able to get the result quickly out of their system. Although a draw would still represent a satisfactory result, expect Belotti and co to come out on top.

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