Roma vs Torino Match Preview

When Roma travels north to Torino on Sunday, they will have two objectives: First, do a little Matteo Darmian and/or Burno Peres window shopping, and second—brace yourself—attempt to bag their third straight league victory, a feat unmatched since November 9^th through the 30^th when they took down this very same Torino side before toppling Atalanta and Inter in successive weeks. Of course, Torino is gunning for a three match winning streak of their own, possibly putting pressure on Sampdoria for Italy's final Europa League spot.

In terms of this match up, recent history has favored the Giallorossi...heavily. Torino hasn't beaten Roma since 2007, so the naïve side of me says they're the perfect foil in Roma's attempt to tighten the reins on second place in Serie A. The realist, however, is far too shell shocked from far too many years following this club to expecting anything to come easy.

Fortunately for Roma, Francesco Totti should be set to return to action after a brief absence. With Gervinho remaining on the sidelines, we should be treated to the titillating combination of Totti, Adem Ljajic and Juan Iturbe, the latter of whom is, depending on who you ask, either the recipient of a genuine vote of confidence or the latest Premiership poachee. Whatever the case may be, Iturbe should have plenty of room to roam with Totti and Ljajic on the ball.

With Lazio taking on 14^th place Empoli at the Stadio Olimpico, we better hope the return of Totti is enough for Roma to at least maintain the status quo.