Out-of-form Torino face a struggle if they are to overcome a two-goal deficit in their Europa League last-16 tie with Russian leaders Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday.

Goals from Axel Witsel and former Genoa defender Domenico Criscito condemned the Turin side to a 2-0 defeat in the first leg in Russia, and Giampiero Ventura's men will have to put an end to a three-game losing streak if they are to progress any further.

Young midfielder Marco Benassi was sent off in the first half of the first leg, and is suspended for the return match as a result.

Torino's home record in European competition is a formidable one, having gone unbeaten at the Stadio Olimpico since 1993; they have won seven and drawn three of their matches on home turf since.

However, Champions League group stage drop-outs Zenit have won all three of their Europa League games since entering the competition at the knockout round, and have not conceded a goal in that time.

As a result, manager André Villas-Boas seems upbeat about his side's chances of continuing their form and qualifying for the quarter-finals. However, he has been scathing of visiting supporters who reportedly made racist chants at Brazilian forward Hulk in their previous game against Torpedo Moscow.

The incident is the latest in a long line of racism-related incidents to plague Russian football, and Villas-Boas was left visibly fuming in a post-match press conference.

"It's a disgrace to football," he said. "It's a disgrace to the public. That's something that shouldn't happen."

However, the player himself remained calm and focused on the game, brushing off the chants by cupping a hand to his ear before blowing the Torpedo fans a kiss.

"What can you do in those situations other than just react with a smile? If I react to the fans with respect, then maybe I'll get the same in return," said the Brazil international.

Meanwhile, Torino defender Gastón Silva remains hopeful that his team can bounce back from their recent 2-0 defeat to in-form Lazio to achieve the result they need to progress.

“We won’t be looking back at the Lazio game but rather forward to the Zenit match,” the Uruguayan told reporters after the match.

“We will have to be positive about the Zenit match.

“It will be a tough challenge to overturn the first leg deficit but one that we are relishing."