Coppa Italia | Second Round

Sep 24, 2024 at 8pm UK

Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino

Torino vs Empoli

Match preview

Torino not only extended their fine start to the season on Friday evening, when they visited Hellas Verona at Stadio Bentegodi, but a 3-2 victory also put them top of the early Serie A standings.

Level at 1-1 when their hosts went down to 10 men, Toro struck twice more - through Duvan Zapata and second-half substitute Che Adams - to go two points clear of city rivals Juventus.

Only once before this century had the Granata kicked off a top-flight campaign by going five games without defeat, but Paolo Vanoli's men also achieved that modest milestone in Verona.

With 11 points already on the board, it has been a dream start for new boss Vanoli - who joined from promoted Venezia when Ivan Juric departed - and his reign got off to a fine start with first-round success in the Coppa Italia.

Zapata was again on target last month, as Torino overcame Serie B side Cosenza, and the five-time Italian cup winners are now intent on meeting Fiorentina in the last 16.

However, Vanoli could be forgiven for having one eye on his team's upcoming games against Inter Milan and Lazio, which will truly act as a barometer of their potential to challenge for Europe this season.

Without a win in their last three league visits to Stadio Olimpico Grande, Empoli did come out on top in their most recent meeting with Torino, back home in Tuscany.

En route to pulling off a great escape from relegation, the Azzurri snatched a crucial stoppage-time goal to prevail 3-2 at Stadio Castellani, after Zapata had scored twice for the away side.

This time, they will come into Tuesday's cup contest riding high in the standings, thanks to two wins and three draws from their first five league matches.

Impressively, two of those stalemates came against Bologna and Juventus - both of whom qualified for the Champions League last season - and they also conquered Roma at Stadio Olimpico.

Last time out, Lorenzo Colombo opened the scoring against Cagliari, before Sebastiano Esposito broke his long Serie A goal-drought to seal a 2-0 away win.

Now that Empoli have gone unbeaten through their first five top-flight fixtures for the first time ever, coach Roberto D'Aversa - who finally took his place in the dugout at the weekend after completing a suspension - will believe that toppling Torino is possible.

Injuries and Suspensions

Torino

3 Peter Schuurs

27 Vojvoda

79 Zanos Savva

Empoli

1 Samuele Perisan

15 Saba Sazonov

24 Tyronne Ebuehi

10 Jacopo Fazzini

93 Youssef Maleh

16 Luca Belardinelli

Possible starting lineups

Torino(3-5-2)

32Milinkovic-Savic(GK)

13Maripán(DC)

5Masina(DC)

4Walukiewicz(DC)

20Lazaro(DMR)

24Sosa(DML)

61Tameze(MC)

28Ricci(MC)

8Ilic(MC)

91Zapata(FW)

9Sanabria(FW)

Empoli(3-4-2-1)

23Vásquez(GK)

34Ismajli(DC)

2Goglichidze(DC)

21Viti(DC)

11Gyasi(DMR)

3Pezzella(DML)

5Grassi(MC)

8Anjorin(MC)

29Colombo(AMC)

6Henderson(AMC)

99Esposito(FW)