Torino vs Wolverhampton Predictions

Either the Premier League or Serie A will lose their seventh representatives in Europe before the end of August. That’s the situation we’re in after Wolves were paired with Torino in the Europa League playoff round. For one of these two sides, the group stage awaits, with just 180 minutes between them and the next round. That’s big for two clubs who don’t have a long track record of making it into European competition, but who will claim a first-leg advantage as these two meet in Turin?

For Torino, the Europa League came as a surprise. Their seventh-place finish got them in once AC Milan dropped out of this tournament, which led to Torino cancelling their summer plans with Europe ahead. Overall it has been a great summer for Il Toro, who have made it to the very last hurdle in the qualifiers. They’ve reached this stage in style with some impressive scorelines, but will they be able to step up against a side from another top league?

Wolves also have an interesting task at hand. Last term they beat the big clubs and struggled at the smaller sides, but now they’re meeting an Italian side on their level. The visitors have started the new Premier League campaign with back to back draws as they juggle it with the Europa League, with the English side seemingly more interested in Europe so far. They’ve had some straightforward ties to make it this far, leading to some huge wins for the visitors.

Wolves have scored four goals in three successive Europa League games, with the visitors hitting 14 goals across their four matches. Wolves have been backed up with Italian firepower, as Patrick Cutrone joined from AC Milan to compliment Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota. That gives Wolves plenty of threat going forward, which has led to them racking up some big wins. However, Torino have pulled off similar results of their own.

The hosts have scored 13 times in four European ties, including eight goals in two home games. They’ve got Andrea Belotti and Simone Zaza working well together in attack, so we can expect goals when these two meet. Torino need to establish themselves in the first leg, while Wolves have the threat to grab a vital away goal. That could lead to a more open game than expected, so we’re backing BTTS in this encounter.