AC Milan coach Pioli under pressure as Torino await

Defending champions AC Milan will hope to rekindle a season that has swerved spectacularly off course when they host Torino in Serie A on Friday, knowing they could suffer a fifth defeat in a row in all competitions for the first time in 93 years.

    The year has started terribly for Milan, who are without a win in their last seven matches and have conceded 13 goals in their last four losses, with the pressure building on coach Stefano Pioli, who knows changes need to be made.

    "This is not throwing away all the work we've achieved, it is realising there are moments when you need to take a different approach to get back to being competitive," he said after the 1-0 loss to derby rivals Inter last weekend.

    "The negative games took away some of our belief, which is natural, because this team is still not that mature. Several players are not in good condition and we struggled to deal with that."

    Milan have struggled with Torino recently, with Ivan Juric's side knocking them out of the Coppa Italia in January and winning 2-1 at home in Serie A back in October.

    The battle for Champions League spots has heated up following Milan's collapse and Juventus's 15-point deduction.

    Lazio and Atalanta, who are fourth and fifth respectively, will meet in Rome on Saturday.

    Lazio will hope that striker Ciro Immobile rediscovers his goalscoring form having failed find the net in his last four Serie A appearances.

    AS Roma are third and coach Jose Mourinho will look to preserve his perfect Serie A record against Lecce on Saturday, having beaten them three times.

    Second-placed Inter Milan face a trip to second-bottom Sampdoria on Monday.

    Napoli are starting to dream about ending their 33-year wait to win the Serie A