Cagliari vs Torino preview - Torino boss calm despite slow start
Posted Tuesday, September 23, 2014 by PA
Torino punched above their weight last season but are struggling to find their feet in the opening weeks of the new Serie A campaign.
Giampiero Ventura's men travel to the Sant'Elia stadium on Wednesday to face Cagliari desperate to claim their first win of the season.
Torino, who finished seventh in Serie A last term, have one point to their name after three league games played.
Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Hellas Verona was their second straight loss in the league and dropped the Granata to the foot of the standings.
Toro, who began their Europa League adventure with a goalless draw at Club Brugge last week, have failed to score so far.
However, Ventura is not pressing the panic button just yet.
"We are in a delicate situation," he said. "But we are team that is used to having to resolve problems.
"Last season we also had a slow start to the campaign but then we bounced back and qualified for European competition.
"We now face a difficult game at Cagliari and I'm sure my players will go out determined to take a win.
"We must look to the future with optimism."
Rivals Cagliari have also endured a disappointing start to the campaign and fell 2-0 at Roma on Sunday.
The Sardinian outfit have mustered one point out of a possible nine so far.
"My team played with fear against Roma," Cagliari coach Zdenek Zeman said. "I felt let down by my players' performance.
"I keep telling them that it's better to play rather than having to watch your rivals play.
"On Wednesday I expect a totally different approach from my team."
Zeman will have all of his players available with the exception of injured midfielder Sebastian Eriksson.
The visitors will be without midfielder Antonio Nocerino, who is sidelined for a month with a muscle injury.
Amauri and Fabio Quagliarella are expected to start against Cagliari with both experienced strikers having yet to score since joining Toro this summer.
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