Last weekend, Torino fought back from a goal down to salvage a draw against lowly Cagliari at their Olympic Stadium.
For the Granata, this was their 10th successive match without defeat (five wins and five draws) whereas Gianfranco Zola’s men obtained their first point in three games after back-to-back defeats to Atalanta and Roma.
Torino’s positive run of late has almost assured them of retaining their top-flight status for another season as Giampiero Ventura’s men now have 32 points from 23 matches.
Tomorrow, the seven-times Italian champions re-enter the European fray as they host Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League round of 32.
Ernesto Valverde’s side bring back unhappy memories for Napoli as Bilbao had knocked the Partenopei out of this season’s Champions League qualifiers.
When the Europa League draw took place in Nyon in December, few gave Torino a realistic chance of progressing at the expense of the La Liga outfit.
At the time, the Maroons were languishing in the bottom half of the Serie A table and possessed one of the poorest scoring records in the division.
But things have changed dramatically as Torino are no longer in the mire of relegation. Their elimination from the Coppa Italia, at the hands of Lazio, means that Torino can concentrate on the Serie A and Europa League.
On the contrary, Athletic Bilbao, twice UEFA Cup beaten finalists in seasons 1976/77 (against Juventus) and 2011/12 (against Atletico Madrid), are currently 12th in La Liga, just five points above the drop zone.
Also, Bilbao, who have never won in three previous visits to Turin (one draw and two defeats, all against Juventus), are still in with a chance of reaching this season’s Copa del Rey final. Last week, Valverde’s team drew 1-1 with Espanyol at their San Mames Stadium. The return leg is on March 4.
After ousting Rafa Benitez’s Napoli, Athletic Bilbao’s bright start to the season was short-lived.
The Basque team never got going in the group stages of the Champions League as they finished third behind Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk, winning just two of their six Group H outings.
In La Liga, Bilbao have so far failed to replicate the brilliant form of last season which saw them finishing fourth.
In their first ever meeting with Athletic Bilbao in Euro club competitions, Torino’s current form gives them an outside chance to knock out one of the favourite teams to reach the final in Warsaw in May.
Torino, who have not won any silverware since lifting the 1992/93 Coppa Italia at the expense of Roma, have last featured in the spring phase of a UEFA club competition in March 1994.
At the time, Emiliano Mondonico’s side were eliminated in the Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals by eventual winners Arsenal, 1-0 on aggregate.
Torino are undefeated in their last nine European home fixtures (seven wins and two draws).
Moreover, the 1991/92 UEFA Cup losing finalists have kept a clean sheet in their last eight Euro outings. This run goes back to the goalless draw with North London side Arsenal on March 2, 1994.
Torino have a 100 per cent winning home record against Spanish teams without conceding a goal.
By contrast, the five-times Coppa Italia winners have lost all their previous four games played on Spanish soil.
To date, Torino’s only European final was their 1991/92 UEFA Cup defeat against Ajax on away goals.
En route to reaching that showdown, Mondonico’s men had accounted for none other than Spanish giants Real Madrid in a pulsating two-legged semi-final 3-2 on aggregate.
Athletic Bilbao are favourites to go through. Nevertheless, Torino, buoyed by their superb run in the Serie A, have all cards in place to give the Spaniards a good run for their money.
Before the draw against Cagliari, Torino had overcome Verona to record their fourth straight league win – a first since March 1978.
Now, Torino need to maintain their brilliant domestic form against Athletic Bilbao if they are to stand a chance of progressing to the round of 16.