Sure Prediction For Today, Thursday 8th August 2019

Torino breezed past Debrecen in the last round of qualifiers, hitting seven goals across the tie to book a third-round spot. Given that their eighth-place finish in Serie A looked set to leave them out of Europe once again, they were surprised with a reprieve when AC Milan was taken out of Europe due to FFP breaches. That left El Toro to hastily revise their preseason plans and kick start a European adventure. Having spent the last few years chasing Serie A’s top six, they should make the most of this chance.

Shakhter is experiencing the third round of qualifying for just the second time. They just about made it past Connah’s Quay in 2018, before going out in the second round to Esbjerg. This trip marks a major step up for the club, as they need to meet a strong side from one of Europe’s top leagues. The closest Esbjerg have come to that kind of pressure was a playoff clash with PSVin 2014. They are massively outgunned against Torino, so we expect the Italian side to enjoy this clash.

There was little doubt about Torino after the Debrecen clash. They made short work of another team who just couldn’t match them. The hosts were able to rack up at least three goals in each of their matches, while they should cover similar going here. We have faith that Torino will make it through the tie, with the only concern coming in defence for the Serie A side.

Despite being coached by Walter Mazzarri, Torino have been light defensively in recent weeks. They have seen both teams score in six of their last seven games, so they could well slip up at the back on Thursday. Il Toro have enough going forward to compensate for that, as they’ve got Andrea Belotti up top who has taken to the Europa League with ease, scoring in both games in the last tie.

As a result, we expect a high scoring encounter between these two, we’re backing Torino to win with over 2.5 goals in the match. Our main prediction is a home win for Torino.