Crotone vs Torino prediction, preview, team news and more

Serie A's relegation battle kicks off in earnest on Sunday as Torino make the long trip south to face Crotone at the Stadio Ezio Scida.

Torino are in the relegation zone with 20 points, although they have a couple of games in hand over Cagliari above them in 17th.

Meanwhile, Crotone need nothing short of a miracle to survive. Their 12 points from 25 games this season has left them dead last.

The Calabrians are on a run of seven consecutive losses. They lost 2-0 at home to Cagliari at the weekend, resulting in manager Giovanni Stroppa being sacked.

Serse Cosmi took over, but his debut resulted in a humiliating 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Atalanta on Wednesday.

Crotone went into the break with the scores level thanks to Simi's goal. However, a second-half collapse saw them concede three times in 10 minutes to suffer their 19th defeat of the season.

As for Torino, a COVID-19 outbreak saw the entire squad quarantined. This resulted in their game against Sassuolo being postponed, but a farce followed in the scheduled fixture against Lazio.

Lazio turned up to the Stadio Olimpico with their squad despite Torino being prohibited from traveling by the authorities.

The club have already announced their intention to legally contest a potential 0-3 defeat being handed to them.

Crotone vs Torino Head-to-Head

Draws have reigned supreme in the last decade when it comes to this fixture. Six out of the last nine matches have ended in stalemates, with Torino winning the other three games.

The two teams last met in November, earlier in the season, when they played out a goalless draw in Turin.

Crotone form guide in Serie A: L-L-L-L-L

Torino form guide in Serie A: W-D-D-D-D

Crotone vs Torino Team News

Crotone

Lisandro Magallan is likely to miss the game

Serse Cosmi continues to be without centre-back Koffi Djidji, with Lisandro Magallan also a doubt. Giuseppe Cuomo could join Sebastiano Luperto and Vladimir Golemic in a three-man defencdefense

Midfielders Ahmad Benali and Salvatore Molina are making their return from injury, but trained separately, alongside Eduardo Henrique. Forwards Adam Ounas and Samuel Di Carmine also trained on their own. However, they are expected to be fit enough to make the squad.

Injured: Koffi Djidji, Luca Cigarini, Milos Vulic

Doubtful: Lisandro Magallan, Eduardo Henrique, Ahmad Benali, Salvatore Molina, Adam Ounas, Samuel di Carmine.

Suspended: None

Torino

It's been an unhappy birthday for Torino boss David Nicola, as eight of his players are unavailable due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the squad.

Nicolas N'Koulou, Bremer and Ale Buongiorno's absences should see Ricardo Rodriguez being drafted in as an emergency centre-back alongside Armando Izzo and Lyanco.

Mergim Vojvoda should come in for Wilfried Singo, with Federico Bonazzoli likely to replace Andrea Belotti up top.

Injured: None

COVID-19: Andrea Belotti, Karol Linetty, Nicola Murru, Alessandro Buongiorno, Daniele Baselli, Bremer, Wilfried Stephane Singo, Nicolas N'Koulou.

Doubtful: Antonio Sanabria

Suspended: None

Crotone vs Torino Predicted XI

Crotone Predicted XI (3-1-4-2): Alex Cordaz (GK), Gieseppe Cuomo, Vladimir Golemic, Sebastiano Luperto; Luca Marrone; Pedro Pereira, Junior Messias, Niccolo Zanellato, Arkadiusz Reca; Emmanuel Riviere, Simy

Torino Predicted XI (3-5-2): Salvatore Sirigu (GK); Lyanco, Armando Izzo, Ricardo Rodriguez; Mergim Vojvoda, Tomas Rincon, Rolando Mandragora, Sasa Lukic, Christian Ansaldi; Federico Bonazzoli, Simone Zaza

Crotone vs Torino Prediction

Torino would typically be favorites for this game. Crotone are quite hapless at the back and the absent Andrea Belotti would probably have got on the scoresheet. The COVID-19 outbreak, however, makes the result of this game anyone's guess.

Torino still have a fair few options to play with, and Simone Zaza could come good to generate a much-needed win for the Granata.

We expect a high-scoring game, with Torino eking out a narrow win.

Prediction: Crotone 2-3 Torino