Torino v HJK background
Monday, October 6, 2014
Article summary
Torino FC have yet to concede in six European games this season and will look to keep that run going as HJK Helsinki visit in UEFA Europa League Group B.
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Article body
Torino FC will look to extend their six-game clean sheet in the UEFA Europa League when they take on an HJK Helsinki side yet to score against Italian opponents.
Form guide
• Torino have won both their previous matches against Finnish clubs without conceding; HJK have lost all four of their past games against Italian teams without scoring.
• In 18 meetings in UEFA club competition, only once has a Finnish outfit beaten Italian opponents – TPS Turku won 1-0 at FC Internazionale Milano in the UEFA Cup second round on 21 October 1987 – with 15 of those games ending in Italian wins.
• Remarkably, Torino have yet to concede in six European contests this term (W4 D2).
• The four Serie A sides in this season's group stage remain unbeaten so far (W7 D1), scoring 15 goals and conceding just one between them.
Trivia and links
• Torino defender Emiliano Moretti will make his 50th UEFA club competition appearance if he features on matchday three.
• HJK goalkeeper Antonio Doblas played in Serie A last season for SSC Napoli.
• Finland's first UEFA Europa League group stage contenders, HJK are among ten national champions in the group stage along with GNK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia), Legia Warszawa (Poland), FC Steaua Bucureşti (Romania), AC Sparta Praha (Czech Republic), Aalborg BK (Denmark), ŠK Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia), Qarabağ FK (Azerbaijan), FC Salzburg (Austria) and Celtic FC (Scotland).
• Fabio Quagliarella's penalty for Torino against FC København on matchday two was the 2,800th goal in the UEFA Europa League and the 200th for an Italian club in the competition.
The coaches
• HJK coach Mika Lehkosuo was a midfielder for the club when they played in the 1998/99 UEFA Champions League, captaining the side after a brief spell in Italy with AC Perugia. Capped 17 times, he coached FC Honka Espoo before taking over at HJK in April 2014.
• Giampiero Ventura led Torino back to Serie A after taking charge in 2011, and is now enjoying – at the age of 66 – his first season in Europe. Previously a player at UC Sampdoria, he once led US Lecce from Serie C to Serie A, and also oversaw promotion to the top tier with Cagliari Calcio, as well as winning a club record 50 Serie A points with AS Bari in 2009/10.
