Juventus are the favourites to reach the Coppa Italia final after defeating Inter Milan 3-0 in the first leg in Turin. Inter Milan have a huge task at hand against Juventus in the second leg at the San Siro, Wednesday if they are to reach the final of the Coppa Italia. AC Milan, after defeating Alessandria in the other semifinal, have already booked their final slot.
Juventus have played some impressive football in all competitions this season, including the Champions League, where they are still in contention. With Juventus at the top of the table in the Serie A, the Old Lady have a chance of winning the treble this season.
Juventus, who scored three goals past Inter Milan in the first leg, also got the better of Inter in their last Serie A match on Sunday, winning 2-0.
Neutrals are in for an entertaining match. Inter need to score goals, for which they need to play an attacking style of football, taking the attack to the opposition from the first whistle.
Massimiliano Allegri, the Juve coach, believes that they are one goal away from the final.
"We're taking a healthy lead into the match, but anything can happen over the course of 90 minutes of football. They'll come out to attack us, so we'll have to be ready for that. In my view, we need to score at least once in order to increase our chances of reaching the final," Juventus official website quoted Allegri as saying.
Allegri also suggested that he is going to make some changes to the team.
"(Daniele) Rugani is young, but developing well and it's a good thing for him to get some more matches under his belt. (Roberto) Pereyra could feature, depending on which formation I adopt. (Patrick) Evra has been away the last two days due to a family issue. He's due back tonight, so will stay in Vinovo tomorrow to resume training.
"(Claudio) Marchisio is working with the rest of the team today. Whether he plays or not, he'll still be called up. (Andrea) Barzagli might be rested. Up front, I could go with the strike partnership of (Ãlvaro) Morata and (Simone)Zaza. Meanwhile, (Norberto) Neto gets the nod in goal."
Juve, with a healthy 3-0 lead, can afford such luxury, while Inter Milan cannot afford to make too many changes. Inter Milan have to play with their best eleven. However, Inter have some problems in picking their best squad. Forward Stevan Jovetic was injured in training, which has ruled him out of the fixture. Manager, Roberto Mancini will ask his offensive players to up the ante and find the back of the net.
Mauri Icardi, their striker, will be the key for Mancini up front. However, Inter cannot afford to concede a goal either, which only makes their task more difficult.
Defenders Jeison Murillo and Miranda are not available for the match due to suspension. However, another defender, Juan Jesus, wants his team to fight till the final minute of the game.
"It will be a difficult game, but we'll fight to the end," Footbal Itlaia quoted Jesus as saying in Inter Channel.
"Just as they scored three in the first leg, that's what we have to do, even without [Jeison] Murillo and Miranda but we can score the same number. I think we have a group which can do great work. The last two games against the Bianconeri haven't gone well for us, even if on Sunday they didn't create much."
"I think we'll have to take advantage of every chance we get, we have to do everything to take Inter to the final. We'll have to stay focused and not concede, because if we lose a goal it becomes all the more difficult."
Where to watch live
The Coppa Italia semifinal -- Inter Milan vs Juventus -- is scheduled for 8:45 p.m. local time (1:15 a.m. IST, 7:45 p.m. GMT and 2:45 p.m. ET) start. There is no live TV coverage in India.
Viewers in Italy can watch it live on RAI Uno.
Inter Milan vs Juventus can be watched live in the UK on Sky Sports 1/HD and Sky Sports 2/HD, with an option to live stream the match online on Sky Go.
US viewers can watch Inter Milan vs Juventus live on Gol TV USA.
