Torino’s Alessandro Gazzi battles for the ball with Roberto Pereyra, of Juventus.Torino’s Alessandro Gazzi battles for the ball with Roberto Pereyra, of Juventus.

Perched in second place, two points behind joint leaders Inter and Fiorentina, Torino are have been one the most in-form sides in the opening phase of the 2015/16 Serie A championship.

The Maroons have collected 13 points from 18, scoring 11 and conceding six in the process. The only points Torino have dropped so far were in a 2-2 draw against Verona and a 1-0 defeat at Chievo.

This weekend, Torino have a great opportunity to consolidate their position as they travel to pointless Carpi who sacked coach Fabrizio Castori.

The Serie A newcomers, second from bottom, only have two draws to show from their first six outings.

Torino have not enjoyed such a strong start to a campaign in over two decades.

For many years, Torino endured contrasting fortunes as they were relegated to the Serie B in 1996, 2000, 2003 and 2009.

Torino’s turnaround in recent years began in 2011 when the club hired the much-travelled Giampiero Ventura who led the team to promotion to the Serie A.

The 1993 Coppa Italia winners kept their heads above water on their return to the top division.

A seventh-place finish at the end of season 2013/14 underlined Torino’s improvement under Ventura.

Last season, Torino not only did well in the Europa League but also finished a creditable ninth in the domestic league.

Last summer, the Granata were one of the most active clubs in the transfer market, spending €30m to lure highly-rated young players, namely Davide Zappacosta, Daniele Baselli (both Atalanta), Andrea Belotti (Palermo) and Marco Benassi (co-owned with Inter).

Moreover, Torino also secured the services of a number of foreign imports, namely Joel Obi (Inter), Afriyie Acquah (Hoffenheim), Danilo Fernando Avelar (Cagliari) and Sanjin Prcic (Rennes).

Talks with Milan youth product Bryan Cristante, now playing for Portuguese giants Benfica, are already in progress to further bolster Torino’s midfield.

Part of the funds invested in the new players was derived from the sale of Italy defender Matteo Darmian to Manchester United.

In Ventura, Torino have arguably one of the shrewdest Italian coaches around and the improvement has been constant ever since he took over the reins of the team

Furthermore, club president and owner Urbano Cairo resisted to the temptation of selling the club’s best players – Kamil Glik, Nikola Maksimovic, Bruno Peres and Fabio Quagliarella – last summer.

The move is paying rich dividends as Torino have become stronger in all departments.

Thus, Torino’s strong form of late is by no means surprising as the new players have settled well whereas the old guard has grown in confidence.

The injuries sustained by Maksimovic, Peres, Alessandro Gazzi and more recently Baselli are not hindering Torino’s progress at the top because, unlike past seasons, Ventura has adequate replacements.

During Sunday’s 2-1 home win over Palermo, Ventura played Zappacosta instead of Peres whereas Maxi Lopez was utilised in attack instead of Belotti, who is still settling in the new environs since his protracted move from Palermo.

Cairo forked out a staggering €8 million for Belotti, making him the most expensive signing during his 10-year club presidency.

Torino are not involved in any Euro club competitions this season, leaving them with only their Serie A commitments to focus on.

Moreover, Ventura and his players have set their sights on ending a 23-year wait to lift the Coppa Italia. Torino seem to have everything in place to do well this season.

The biggest mistake Torino can commit at this stage is to lose focus on their objectives.

The way forward is quite straightforward. The Torino players need to keep their feet to the ground and show hunger for more success.

In Ventura, Torino have arguably one of the shrewdest Italian coaches around and the improvement has been constant ever since he took over the reins of the team.

The omens are good for Torino, albeit it is still premature to properly assess their chances.

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