Cesena vs Torino preview - Lopez likely to feature for Torino

Posted Saturday, January 17, 2015 by PA

Maxi Lopez will feature for Torino in Sunday's Serie A clash at bottom side Cesena.

The Argentinian forward made his debut with the Granata coming on as a substitute in Wednesday's 3-1 home defeat to Lazio, a result that saw Toro crash out of the Coppa Italia.

"Lopez showed the right spirit," Toro coach Giampiero Ventura said to the Italian press. "He is an important signing. I'm sure he will give us a helping hand."

Lopez, who joined Toro on a permanent transfer from Chievo this week, is hoping to spark the club's season into life.

"I want to honour this jersey and repay the trust shown by the club with good performances on the pitch," the 30-year-old said. "I hope I can score many goals to help the team finish high up in the standings."

Lack of goalscoring has been Toro's main problem this season. The Granata have the weakest attacking line in the competition alongside Chievo with just 13 goals scored so far.

Toro are unbeaten in Serie A since November 30 but have collected just one win in their last 10 league games.

Last weekend's 1-1 draw against AC Milan dropped the Granata to 14th place.

Fortunately for Toro, they take on a Cesena side that has not won a game since the opening day of the campaign in August and lie at the foot of the standings, eight points adrift of safety.

The Emilia-Romagna outfit fell 2-1 at Cagliari on Sunday - a fifth defeat in their last six league games - to see their winless run extended to 17 games.

"We are handing (in) good performances and we cannot give up," Cesena coach Domenico Di Carlo said. "I'm confident we will soon be rewarded."

The visitors are without suspended defender Kamil Glik but have recovered the team's top scorer Fabio Quagliarella, who missed the midweek encounter against Lazio with a foot injury.