Coppa Italia preview and tips: Lukaku could be the difference in tight encounter
Romelu Lukaku of FC Inter
The fourth Derby d'Italia of the season between Inter Milan and Juventus will be played on Wednesday as the two sides meet in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
Juventus won both Serie A games against Inter Milan without conceding (2-0 and 1-0), but the first leg of this semi-final in Turin ended 1-1, with the visitors scoring an equaliser very late in the game thanks to a penalty from Romelu Lukaku.
Juventus and Inter are the two teams that have faced each other most often in the Coppa Italia, with 35 games having been played between the two rivals in this competition. The Bianconeri hold the advantage with 15 wins compared to Inter's 11, with nine games having ended in a draw.
Despite their all-time advantage, the Turin team have only won two of their last 13 games against the Nerazzurri in this competition (with six draws and five defeats). However, both of these wins came in the semi-finals - 3-0 at home in January 2016 and 2-1 away in February 2021.
Indeed, Juventus have been victorious every time these two teams have faced each other in the semi-finals of this competition.
Inter come into this game after an excellent week. After the shocking 1-0 defeat to Monza at home, the Milan side reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League after a spectacular 3-3 draw against Benfica. They followed this up on Sunday with their first win in six Serie A games, 3-0 at Empoli.
Simone Inzaghi's team are still outside the top four in Serie A but they can still win two trophies this season. On Wednesday, they will have the opportunity to qualify for the Coppa Italia final for the second consecutive campaign. Last year, they defeated Juventus 4-2 after extra time to win the trophy.
The good news for Inzaghi is that his strikers have rediscovered their form, scoring five of Inter's last six goals. Lukaku's most recent performance was especially impressive as he scored two goals and managed an assist in the game against Empoli.
Third in Serie A and having qualified for the semi-finals of the Europa League, Max Allegri's Juventus are not in good form. They have lost their last three in Serie A and the last two without scoring. They lost further ground to Napoli on Sunday, going down 1-0 to a stoppage time goal against the league leaders.
Despite their poor recent form, Juve shouldn't be underestimated in the Coppa Italia, particularly as they have featured in seven of the last eight finals (including the last three). They have only lost once in this competition since January 2019 - last season's final defeat to Inter.
