AC Milan vs. Torino: Preview and TV schedule

AC Milan have narrowly scraped past both Hellas Verona and Cagliari since Clarence Seedorf took over as coach, though now they face their toughest test yet. Giampiero Ventura's Torino head for the San Siro on Saturday, looking to maintain their incredible form and leapfrog Inter Milan into a Europa League place.

Toro are currently five points clear of the rossoneri in the table, having exceeded expectations so far this season. They're a side built on a solid defensive foundation, though attackers Alessio Cerci and Ciro Immobile have both scored ten times in Serie A this season. They certainly won't make life easy for AC Milan's notoriously shaky defence.

Milan will hope for an easier ride than they were given by Cagliari last time out, with the rossoneri only salvaging a smash-and-grab victory with a couple of goals at the death. Unfortunately they'll be without star striker Mario Balotelli through suspension, while Stephan El Shaarawy, Cristián Zapata and Matías Silvestre are all injured. Late January arrival Adel Taarabt should start from the bench.

As for Torino, they only have midfielder Alessandro Gazzi unavailable through injury. Their recent capture -- midfielder Jasmin Kurtić from Sassuolo -- could make his first appearance in the granata jersey.

AC Milan: Christian Abbiati; Mattia De Sciglio, Adil Rami, Daniele Bonera, Ignazio Abate; Nigel De Jong, Riccardo Montolivo; Robinho, Kaká, Keisuke Honda; Giampaolo Pazzini.

Torino: Daniele Padelli; Emiliano Moretti, Kamil Glik, Nikola Maksimović; Salvatore Masiello, Alexander Farnerud, Giuseppe Vives, Migjen Basha, Matteo Darmian; Ciro Immobile, Alessio Cerci.