Lazio welcome Giampiero Ventura's Torino outfit to the Stadio Olimpico aiming to atone for last weekend's 2-1 reversal at the Mapei Stadium against Sassuolo.

Stefano Pioli lamented the manner of the defeat and urged his team to bounce back against Norwegian side, Rosenborg, in the Uefa Europa League.

The signs may have been ominous after defender Mauricio received his marching orders with the game five minutes old, but the Biancocelesti rebounded and saw off the threat of the Norwegians thanks to strikes from Alessandro Matri, Felipe Anderson and Antonio Candreva.

Form

Pioli has dealt with his increasingly growing injury list with commendable ease.

After the 5-0 ignominy suffered at the hands of Napoli last month, the Biancocelesti have emerged victors from three of their last four encounters. 

Last weekend's defeat to Eusebio Di Francesco's Sassuolo side was borne out of a series of inexplicable mistakes and, accounting for the strength of the opponent, there can be little stigma attached in losing to Neroverdi.

Felipe Anderson seems to have rekindled last season's blistering form, netting in his last two outings. Keita Balde, too, has shown promise leading the line in Miroslav Klose's absence, but the Spaniard has been struck down with injury.

Torino, in the meantime, have plodded along, wavering, as always, been two extremes and look set to confound expectations yet again as they lay within touching distance of the European places. 

The matchday two comeback victory over high-flying Fiorentina, for instance, was offset by defeat at lowly Carpi

The contrast between their home and away form has grown starker, however, with their only victims on the road being newly promoted Frosinone in the season's curtain raiser. They have yet to record a victory as visitors since then.

Ventura will turn to the goalscoring prowess of Fabio Quagliarella, his confidence soaring after a call-up to the Azzurri squad as they stamped their tickets to Euro 2016 next summer. Daniele Baselli, meanwhile, has been a shrewd acquisition from Atalanta, with the Granata beating Milan -- against whom he netted last weekend -- to the midfielder's signature.

Previous meetings

History favours the hosts as the Biancocelesti remain undefeated in ten consecutive meetings with the Granata.

Lazio recorded the double over Ventura's side last term. Goals from Lucas Biglia and Miroslav Klose propelled the Roman outfit to victory at the Stadio Olimpico and a quick-fire brace from Felipe Anderson proved suffice when the side's met on a Monday evening encounter in Turin.

Team news

As ever, Stefano Pioli will forced to forgo several central figures as Lazio's injury list continues to pile up. 

Stefan de Vrij -- who was scheduled to return to the side against Sassuolo last weekend -- may now go under the knife and face a prolonged spell on the sidelines, while Ricardo Kishna, Keita Balde and Marco Parolo are unavailable. 

Daniele Cataldi is serving his one-match suspension after his dismissal at Sassuolo. Captain Lucas Biglia and forward Filip Djordjevic could make the bench, though both remain doubtful.

Torino, in the meantime, will be boosted by the return of coveted full-back, Bruno Peres. Ventura, however, will be shorn of Joel Obi, Nikola Maksimovic, Danilo Avelar, Pontus Jansson and Alexander Fernerud.

Probable line-ups 

Lazio (4-3-3): Marchetti; Basta, Mauricio, Hoedt, Radu; Onanzi, Milinkovic-Savic, Lulic; Candreva, Matri, Felipe Anderson.

Torino (3-5-2): Padelli; Bovo, Glik, Moretti; Peres, Acquah, Vives, Baselli, Molinaro; Maxi Lopez, Quagliarella.

Verdict

Torino's away form has been dismal thus far and are facing a side who have demonstrated their capacity to cope without the deluge of injuries. A tight affair, perhaps, with Lazio having been forced into playing with a numerical disadvantage for 85 minutes of Thursday, but the Biancocelesti should prevail.

Prediction: Lazio 2-0 Torino

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About the author
Craig Vickers
Milk, honey and Andy Murray. Email: craigvickers1998[at]outlook.com