Fonseca Makes His Serie A Return While Vanoli Has Lots to Learn

AC Milan vs Torino

Two newly-minted managers are planning to make their mark in San Siro, as AC Milan will host Torino on Saturday evening for the first matchday of the 2024-25 campaign.

Paulo Fonseca and Paolo Vanoli aren’t exactly new in Serie A, but they will be under much different circumstances this time around.

Fonseca previously coached AS Roma from 2019 to 2021, while Vanoli was once an assistant under Antonio Conte at Inter Milan and the Italian national team. Now, the two of them will go head-to-head as the bosses of AC Milan and Torino, respectively.

AC Milan will look to challenge for the Scudetto anew after finishing second behind Inter Milan last year, while Torino are content with staying within the Top 10, although it’ll be much easier said than done.

 

Talking Points

Morata has big shoes to fill for AC Milan

AC Milan’s attack needed a refresh when Olivier Giroud left for LAFC this summer. The 37-year-old striker led the Rossoneri with 17 goals and nine assists in all competitions last season, so he left a huge void in the final third.

The good news for AC Milan is that Alvaro Morata is capable of filling in for the Frenchman, as he was Atletico Madrid’s second-leading scorer last term with 20 goals and four assists in all competitions. The 31-year-old is no longer a newbie in Serie A, as he previously played and won trophies with Juventus.

Other than Morata, AC Milan have other players capable of creating new Serie A 2024 highlights this season, as Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek combined for 38 goals and 22 assists last season, while Luka Jovic, Noah Okafor, and Samuel Chukwueze are additional options for Paulo Fonseca.

AC Milan also got rid of a lot of deadwood while adding Strahinja Pavlovic and Emerson Royal to fortify their backline and Youssouf Fofana to their midfield.

Paulo Fonseca is off to a good start in his first few games in charge of AC Milan, having beaten high-profile teams in Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Barcelona. During the three-game winning streak, AC Milan averaged 2.0 goals per contest in regulation.

 

Don’t overlook Torino’s attack

With Ivan Juric leaving Turin on bad terms, Paolo Vanoli was appointed to become Torino’s next manager, and he’ll take on the challenge of keeping the team inside the top half of the standings.

The good news for Vanoli is that he has something to work with, particularly in the final third, where the team strengthened during the summer transfer window.

Torino will be led once again by Duvan Zapata, who is now with the team on a permanent basis.

The Colombian hitman notched 12 goals and four assists across all competitions for Il Granata last term. Zapata will be joined by Antonio Sanabria, Che Adams, and Nikola Vlasic in the attacking third.

Torino suffered a huge blow when they lost defencive stalwart Alessandro Buongiorno to Napoli, so Saul Coco will be assigned to take his place in the starting XI.

 

History

AC Milan and Torino split their league matchups last year, as the former won 4-1 in San Siro and the latter bounced back with a 3-1 victory in Turin.

If Torino win again on Saturday, they will have won consecutive matches against AC Milan in the top-flight for the second time ever, after last doing so in 2019.

However, AC Milan are undefeated in 28 Serie A home games against Torino (W20, D8), and Torino’s last league victory against the Rossoneri in San Siro was a 1-0 result in March 1985.

The Rossoneri have also won four consecutive league openers, while Il Granata could draw on the opening matchday of consecutive Serie A seasons for the first time since 2006-07 and 2007-08 after last season’s goalless draw against Cagliari.

 

Betting Tip

The Serie A 2024 odds are partisan toward the hosts this weekend. AC Milan are 1.67 favourites to win, whereas Torino are 4.65 underdogs, and a draw is at 3.48 in the 1X2 market.

SBOTOP bettors can also go for alternatives like Over 2.25 at 1.76, Over 2.75 at 2.28, Total Goal 2-3 at 1.97, or even Total Goal 4-6 at 3.49, based on the trend of their recent meetings.

On the other hand, if you fancy Torino’s chances of winning, then why not go for Correct Score 1-0 at 12.50?

Better yet, if you’re swinging for the fences, then take a look at Correct Score 3-1 – the result of their last league encounter – given its whopping offer of 65.00.

   

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