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Inter host Juventus at the San Siro on Wednesday for the second leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal after the two teams drew 1-1 in Turin earlier this month. Considering that the teams coached by Simone Inzaghi and Massimiliano Allegri are currently fighting to finish in the top four of the current Serie A season, this is going to be their last chance to win a domestic trophy this campaign. With Napoli close to lifting their first Scudetto title in 33 years, winning the Coppa Italia becomes much more relevant for both teams even if Inter are in the UEFA Champions League semifinals against AC Milan and Juventus will play the UEFA Europa League semifinal against Sevilla.
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, Apr. 26 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: San Siro — Milan, Italy
- TV and live stream: Paramount+
- Tactical Cam: Golazo Network
- Odds: Inter -102; Draw +230; Juventus +275 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
The Lukaku-Lautaro duo is back
The big news of the recent days is that Romelu Lukaku will be available in the second leg at San Siro despite a red card (two yellow cards) in the first leg in Turin. The booking was after celebrating a late game-tying penalty by shushing Juventus fans who had been racially abusing him during the match. Juventus had initially been forced to close the part of the stadium where those chants had originated in, but they were allowed to re-open it after appealing that decision. Lukaku had been issued a one-game ban for that card, his second yellow of the match. On Saturday, the Italian FA president, Gabriele Gravina, decided to lift Romelu Lukaku’s one-game suspension after the worldwide criticism that followed the initial decision with an unprecedented decision.
For this reason, Lukaku will be available for Wednesday’s game right after he scored his first Serie A brace of the season against Empoli. Lukaku’s performances were disappointing this season after he came back on a season-loan from Chelsea. He only scored nine goals so far in all competitions and missed many crucial games due to injuries, especially in the first part of the campaign. Inter and Chelsea will sit down again at the end of the season to discuss a potential new loan or permanent deal for the 2023-24 season, but Lukaku’s presence in the second leg is definitely good news for Simone Inzaghi.
This year Inter wanted to reunite the Lukaku-Lautaro duo that brought the last Scudetto under Antonio Conte in 2021, but due to the injuries of the Belgian striker, the duo barely played together so far. However, the recent performances clearly saw an improvement that can create some hope in finishing the season with the title.
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Juventus struggle with injuries
Juventus come from three Serie A defeats in a row against Lazio, Sassuolo and Napoli, but the Bianconeri are currently third in the table after they partially won the appeal against the 15-point deduction and saw those points restored, pending a new evaluation from the Italian FA in the coming weeks.
On top of that, Allegri’s team are currently struggling with injuries. As the Italian coach underlined before the game during the pre-match press conference, Dusan Vlahovic will likely be unavailable. With Italian striker Moise Kean also out injured, Allegri only has Arek Milik available as a number nine, while Federico Chiesa and Angel Di Maria will fight for one spot.
Chiesa is the player that Juventus needs more right now. The Italian winger is having a strange season that started off slowly due to his ACL injury recovery. With only two goals scored so far in all competitions, Chiesa needs to be back at his best as he’s struggling to make it to the starting eleven frequently. He’s definitely the most talented attacking player Juventus have on the roster as of now, but his performances have been poor. This is the kind of game where he can make the difference and where he usually has his best performances. Juventus fans, and Allegri of course, hope that on Wednesday he can make a difference and change the overall outlook on his current season.
Projected lineups
Inter XI: Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Dzeko, Lautaro Martinez.
Juventus XI: Perin; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; De Sciglio, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Di Maria, Milik.
