Inter Milan v Juventus – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Inter Milan host Juventus in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday night at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Antonio Conte’s side are in excellent form and will hope to beat Andrea Pirlo’s Juventus over two legs to reach the final. These sides met just two weeks ago as Inter Milan ended a run of eight matches without tasting victory over Juventus.

Inter Milan Form

Inter Milan are in excellent form. They have lost just one of their last 16 matches in all competitions. In Serie A, a run of eight consecutive wins has been followed by a dip. They lost 2-1 at Sampdoria, drew 2-2 with Roma and drew 0-0 at Udinese in their last five.

However, they also beat Juventus 2-0 at home during that run. In their last match, they thrashed Benevento 4-0 as Romelu Lukaku scored a brace.

Inter Milan Team News

Antonio Conte is going to stick with a 3-5-2 formation and is expected to play his best XI with only minor rotation. Christian Eriksen has been playing a deep-lying playmaker role and was impressive over the weekend. He will be hoping to start this match but the more aggressive Arturo Vidal may be preferred.

At left wingback, Ashley Young could be set for a recall as Ivan Perisic may be too attacking against a side as strong as Juventus. Marcelo Brozovic and Stefan de Vrij will be hoping for recalls in midfield and centre back respectively. Alexis Sanchez has been linked with a move away and may have to make do with an impact substitute role again.

Inter Milan Motivation

This tie is over two legs so Inter could be quite conservative and strategic. They will want to win the home match but also won’t want to concede. There is no extra time in this semi-final so away goals will be crucial.
Conte may prefer to defend and take a 0-0 in the first leg and then try for a score draw in Turin. That is certainly preferable to attacking in this match and drawing 1-1 or 2-2. If Eriksen does not start, expect him to be a big weapon from set plays off the bench.

Juventus Form

Juventus were on a great run of form with just one defeat in 17 matches under Andrea Pirlo. They then lost 2-0 in Serie A to Juventus which really dented their hopes of retaining the title. Their response has been impressive with a 2-0 win over Napoli in the Italian Super Cup before a 2-0 league win against Bologna.

Their last two matches saw a 4-0 win against SPAL in the Coppa Italia and then a 2-0 win at Sampdoria in Serie A with Federico Chiesa and Aaron Ramsey on the scoresheet.

Juventus Team News

Juve’s options have increased in recent games as Alex Sandro, Matthijs de Ligt and Juan Cuadrado all returned from COVID-19. Cuadrado’s availability has seen a more balanced back four used.

Paulo Dybala is still absent after a knee injury and only a little rotation is likely. Ramsey will hope to be selected after his goal as a substitute in the last match. De Ligt and Gianluigi Buffon will be eager to start too if Pirlo wants to freshen the side.

Juventus Motivation

On the road, in a two legged tie and with Alvaro Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo up front, Juventus are perfectly suited to playing on the counter attack and looking for an away goal. Pirlo may be tempted to match up to Conte’s side with a back three of his own now that De Ligt is fit to start.

A cagey approach is expected and The Old Lady would be delighted with a draw, especially if they can score an away goal too.

Key Stats

Inter have lost 1 of their last 16 matches (W11, D4)

Internazionale have kept 3 clean sheets in their last 4 matches

Inter have won 10 of their last 13 Serie A matches (D2, L1)

Inter have seen under 2.5 goals in 2 of their last 4 matches

Juventus have lost 1 of their last 9 matches against Inter

Juventus have lost 1 of their last 13 away matches

Juve have seen under 2.5 goals in 4 of their last 5 matches

Prediction

This looks certain to be a cagey, tactical match. A draw looks the most likely outcome or perhaps a one goal home win.