Torino vs Chievo preview - Ventura keen to stop Chievo
Posted Saturday, December 22, 2012 by PA
Torino head coach Giampiero Ventura is eager to put the brakes on a Chievo side on the verge of matching an historic run.
The Flying Donkeys struggled for points in the early stages of the current season, a five-game losing streak representing a pale imitation of the team that took Serie A by storm 10 years ago.
Luigi Del Neri's greatest sequence of league victories as Chievo boss came back in 2002, but now current coach Eugenio Corini finds himself plotting a fourth straight win in order to equal that record before the winter break.
Ventura's Granata are not in such fine form, though, having won just once in 11 outings, a 1-0 victory over Bologna arriving six games ago.
The veteran coach told the Corriere dello Sport: "We meet an outfit who have won their last three games, two away from home, and they're a good side.
"It will be a finely balanced game, more than you might think. When you go up against top teams you're at risk every time you lose the ball.
"If you consider that they have a great player like Sergio Pellissier on the bench, that means the other players are doing really well.
"They have a good squad and have recovered well from a bad run."
Five points from eight in 11 games have come from draws and Ventura is urging his players to kill teams off.
"We have had a lot of draws, which could have been different results," he added.
"If two of those games had have been wins then we would be in a very different position in the table. This team has earned fewer points than it deserves."
Winger Mario Santana will miss out thanks to a leg injury, with Angelo Ogbonna, Simone Verdi and Abour Diop all struggling for fitness.
Chievo have coped well without midfielders Luciano and Kamil Vacek, defender Nicolas Frey and goalkeeper Sergio Viotti, who all remain sidelined.
French striker Cyril Thereau is crediting Corini's recent tactical switch for the Gialloblu's upturn in fortunes.
He said: "This 4-3-3 formation allows the team to express itself more than in the past while allowing us to create more chances.
"We have found a good balance - we are dangerous going forward and risking very little at the back."
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