Cremonese will host Torino at the Stadio Giovanni Zini in Serie A on Saturday as they look to get their first point on the board.
La Cremo, back in the top flight after 26 years, have found life difficult so far, losing their opening two league games to sit in the relegation zone. A 3-2 win over Ternana in the Coppa Italia was supposedly a good start, but back-to-back losses to Fiorentina and AS Roma snapepd their momentum.
Massimiliano Alvini's side are the only team in the division besides Lecce and Monza who are yet to register a point in the top flight this season.
Torino, meanwhile, opened their league campaign with a 2-1 win over Monza, another newly promoted team, but were held to a goalless draw by Lazio last weekend. The Maroons have booked their place in the second round of the cup after battering Palermo 3-0 at home.
Cremonese vs Torino Head-To-Head
Cremonese have never beaten Torino in three previous meetings, losing twice and drawing once. That stalemate came last year in the Coppa Italia, which the Maroons won 4-1 on penalties.
The two teams will meet in a league game for the first time since the 2005-06 season, when Il Toro beat Cremonese home and away.
Cremonese Form Guide (all competitions): L-L-W
Torino Form Guide (all competitions): D-W-W
Cremonese vs Torino Team News
Cremonese
Michele Castagnetti is out injured and will remain sidelined, but on the bright side, Gonzalo Escalante returns from a suspension that had ruled him out of the last game.
Injured: Michele Castagnetti
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Torino
Aleksei Miranchuk sustained a thigh strain on his club debut and has been ruled out for a month, while David Zima is sidelined. New signing Perr Schuurs, who joined from Ajax, could start in defence.
Injured: Aleksei Miranchuk, David Zima
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Cremonese vs Torino Predicted XIs
Cremonese (3-4-1-2): Ionut Radu; Emanuel Aiwu, Vlad Chiriches, Luka Lochoshvili; Paolo Ghiglione, Charles Pickel, Santiago Ascacibar, Emanuele Valeri; Cristian Buonaiuto; David Okereke, Cyriel Dessers
Torino (3-4-2-1): Vanja Milinkovic-Savic; Koffi Djidji, Alessandro Buongiorno, Ricardo Rodriguez; Wilfried Singo, Samuele Ricci, Karol Linetty, Ola Aina; Nemanja Radonjic, Nikola Vlasic; Antonio Sanabria
$1,100 First Bet Insurance at Caesars
Cremonese vs Torino Prediction
Torino have shown better form than Cremonese, who could take some time to get used to life in the top flight. The Maroons also have a more experienced squad and should be able to secure all three points.
Prediction: Cremonese 1-2 Torino