Meeting for the third time this season, arch-rivals Juventus and Inter Milan will battle it out for a first-leg advantage in their Coppa Italia semi-final tie on Tuesday.
Less than three weeks since Juve sealed a Serie A double over Inter at San Siro, the teams convene again in Turin, with the hosts having just won five times on the spin and their Derby d’Italia opponents continuing to falter.
Closing the gap to Inter down to just six points, Juventus poste their third straight league win at the weekend, when Moise Kean’s second-half strike helped the Old Lady see off relegation-threatened Verona.
Juventus vs. Inter: How to watch Coppa Italia, TV channel, prediction, start time, odds
Brought in from the cold following his dismissal in last month’s defeat to Roma – Juve’s only loss in all competitions since January – Kean finished from close range to keep his club on the coat-tails of Serie A’s top six despite a 15-point penalty imposed for financial indiscretions.
Their once slim hopes of finishing in the European places, then, are growing with each success, and including their Europa League exploits Juventus have won eight of their last nine games all told.
Set to face fellow Champions League drop-outs Sporting in that competition’s quarter-finals, a busy April also features their two-legged Coppa tie with Inter, to whom they lost in last year’s final.
Juventus vs. Inter: How to watch Coppa Italia, TV channel
This term, the Bianconeri’s route to the last four has seen them eliminate Monza and Lazio in previous rounds, and they may now fancy their chances of setting up a return to the final in May, where either Fiorentina or Cremonese will provide the opposition.
Such confidence not only arises from their own resurgent form and Inter’s recent failings, but also from having tasted Derby d’Italia glory twice already this season. After Juve struck twice in the second half to win in Turin last autumn, a stunning finish from Filip Kostic split the sides at San Siro.
Juventus vs. Inter: How to watch Coppa Italia, TV channel, prediction, start time, odds
For all their misfortune of late, Inter have won when it really matters in this clash of Calcio titans over the past couple of years: after beating Juventus to the title in 2021 they have won both a Supercoppa and last year’s Coppa Italia final against their old foes.
While they are clinging on to a top-four place, as several other sides scramble around behind imperious leaders Napoli to secure European qualification, Inzaghi is now under serious pressure to salvage some silverware from a mediocre campaign.
Several big-name managers are out of work and would gladly step into his shoes at San Siro this summer, so cutting out the Nerazzurri’s chronic inconsistency – which has truly kicked in since the winter break – is essential in the coming games.