Torino have had a wretched time against city rivals Juventus for more than a decade, but Toro midfielder Omar El Kaddouri believes they can cause some problems for the Serie A leaders in today’s Derby della Mole.
Torino have failed to beat Juve in the league since April 1995 and have lost 14 out of 16 encounters against them since.
Moreover, 12 years have passed since they last scored against them.
“The derby is always a special game and we don’t need any extra motivation,” El Kaddouri told the Italian media.
“You never know what can happen in a derby. We know that they are favourites because they play at home but if we play at our best level, we know we can hurt Juve.”
Torino, 15th in the standings with just three wins so far, will have to show a drastic improvement in attack.
The Maroons, who drew 0-0 at home to Club Brugge in Thursday’s Europa League game, have not found the back of the net in four of their last five games in all competitions.
The departure of strikers Ciro Immobile and Alessio Cerci to Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid, respectively, has left a void the team have yet to fill.
Giampiero Ventura’s side have found the back of the net just seven times this season, with former Juve forward Fabio Quagliarella providing four of those goals.
Quagliarella will start today and face Juve for the first time since leaving them this summer to join the city rivals.
Massimiliano Allegri’s Juve have had no problem finding goals.
Juventus boast the best attack and defence in the competition, with 28 goals scored and just four conceded.
The Bianconeri, who won 2-0 at Malmo in their midweek Champions League match, go into the clash with a three-point advantage over Roma in Serie A with 15 points collected out of a possible 15 at home.
“There is only one possible result in the derby for us and that is a win,” Juve defender Leonardo Bonucci said.
Patrice Evra will replace suspended Simone Padoin at left-back. Juve are also without wing-back Kwadwo Asamoah, who is sidelined with a knee injury.
Ventura will have all of his players available with the exception of defender Salvatore Massiello and striker Marcelo Larrondo, both out injured.
Results
Serie A
Played yesterday
Sassuolo 2
Sansone 50; Taider 77;
Verona 1
Moras 7;
HT: 0-1. Att: 10,000.
Chievo 0
Lazio 0
Att: 14,000.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Juventus | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 4 | 31 |
| Roma | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 21 | 7 | 28 |
| Napoli | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 15 | 22 |
| Sampdoria | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 9 | 21 |
| Genoa | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 12 | 20 |
| Lazio | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 16 | 20 |
| Milan | 12 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 21 | 17 | 18 |
| Udinese | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 18 |
| Sassuolo | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 18 |
| Inter | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 15 | 17 |
| Fiorentina | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 11 | 16 |
| Palermo | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 19 | 14 |
| Verona | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 22 | 14 |
| Empoli | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 13 |
| Torino | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 12 |
| Cagliari | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 20 | 11 |
| Atalanta | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 10 |
| Chievo | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 10 |
| Cesena | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 8 |
| Parma | 12 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 30 | 6 |
Playing today
Cagliari vs Fiorentina
Cesena vs Genoa
Empoli vs Atalanta
Milan vs Udinese
Juventus vs Torino - 18.00
Palermo vs Parma
Roma vs Inter - 20.45
Tomorrow
Sampdoria vs Napoli - 21.00
Next fixtures
Friday: 20.45 Fiorentina vs Juventus.
Saturday: 18.00 Roma vs Sassuolo; Torino vs Palermo.
Sunday: 12.30 Napoli vs Empoli. 15.00 Atalanta vs Cesena; Genoa vs Milan; Parma vs Lazio. 20.45 Inter vs Udinese.
Monday, Dec. 8: 19.00 Cagliari vs Chievo. 21.00 Verona vs Sampdoria.
Serie B
Carpi vs Frosinone - 0-0
Cittadella vs Brescia - 1-1
Crotone vs Modena - 1-4
Entella vs Avellino - 0-0
Latina vs Pro Vercelli - 1-1
Livorno vs Perugia - 0-0
Ternana vs Catania - 1-0
Trapani vs Spezia - 3-2
Varese vs Vicenza - 2-3
Playing today
Bologna vs Bari - 12.30
Standings: Carpi 30; Frosinone 29; Livorno, Spezia, Avellino, Trapani 25; Lanciano 24; Bologna, Perugia 23; Modena, Pro Vercelli 21; Vicenza 20; Catania, Brescia, Bari, Ternana 19; Pescara, Varese (-1) 17; Entella 16; Cittadella, Latina, Crotone 14.
Lega Pro
Group A: Cremonese vs Arezzo 3-1; Sudtirol vs Pordenone 2-0; Como vs Lumezzane 2-0; Monza vs Alessandria 2-3.
Group B: Santarcangelo vs Pro Piacenza 2-0; Lucchese vs Teramo 0-0; Prato vs Ancona 2-3; Pontedera vs Forli 2-1; Ascoli vs Grosseto 1-1.
Group C: Messina vs Catanzaro 1-1; Casertana vs Foggia 1-2; Paganese vs Vigor Lamezia 1-0; Reggina vs Benevento 0-2; Lecce vs Melfi 4-1.