When AC Milan takes on Inter in the 'away' leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final on Tuesday night, they will be guests in their own stadium.
Inter and Milan face off in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final encounter, with a place in the Coppa Italia grand final on the line. Following an uninspiring goalless draw in the first leg back in March, everything is on the line at the Giuseppe Meazza.
Both teams will be in great spirits when they take the field. Inter swept aside relegation-threatened Spezia 3-1 away in Serie A on Friday, while Milan cruised past relegation-threatened Genoa 2-0 at home.
The two teams are locked in a tight Serie A title race, with only one point separating them entering into the season finale. The thrilling Scudetto finale, on the other hand, will take a back seat to bragging rights over the midweek period.
Inter and Milan are both two victories away from claiming Italy's second most important trophy. For the 27th time in the Coppa Italia, arch-rivals will face off, and it's time to prepare for the match.
Inter Match Preview
Inter have won three Serie A games in a row, with an aggregate score of 6-1, after a pair of 1-1 draws in mid-March. The Nerazzurri will feel entitled to a place in the grand final after a fantastic nine-game unbeaten streak in all competitions (W5, D4) leading up to this match.
All of this may be forgiven if Simone Inzaghi's side could just break their three-game losing streak in H2H games as nominal hosts (W1, L2). The theme of a blank slate could be essential. Indeed, one team has failed to score in five of Inter's last six competitive home encounters.
Inter also bemoans the fact that their overall H2H stakes in the Coppa Italia are negative (W8, D8, L10). They've won five of their eight knockout matches against Milan (L5), with two of those three victories coming in the last two two-legged ties.
Milan
Milan has won three straight games against Inter in all competitions (W1, D2), their longest such stretch against Inter since 2005. Stefano Pioli's side enters this match on a roll, having gone undefeated in their last 13 competitive appearances (W7, D6), mostly due to a rock-solid backline.
The Rossoneri have preserved a clean sheet in each of their previous seven competitive matches, conceding only four times during the preceding 13-game run. Even if they've been difficult to break down, Milan's scoring problems could become a real problem.
Milan had scored one goal or fewer in seven consecutive games until scoring unanswered goals against Genoa last time out. However, they've been nothing short of outstanding in the Coppa Italia recently, with a number of stunning performances. However, they've been nothing short of spectacular in the Coppa Italia recently, going undefeated in their previous eight games (W4, D4).
Despite the fact that Milan will merely be guests in this match, they can draw encouragement from their recent high-flying away play. To find their most recent away from home, including all competitions, you must go back to November. Indeed, they've gone eleven games without losing on the road (W7, D3).
Milan against Inter News from the team
Inzaghi, Inter's head coach, has virtually few injury concerns. The only injury question in the Nerazzurri camp is indispensable centre-back Alessandro Bastoni, who should be fine to play in another highly anticipated Derby della Madonnina.
Meanwhile, Alessandro Florenzi, Simon Kjaer, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be missing from Milan's first-team lineup. Alessio Romagnoli is a doubt, although he would not have made Pioli's starting XI anyhow, with Pierre Kalulu and Fikayo Tomori set to start again.
Samir Handanovic; Stefan de Vrij, Milan Skriniar, Alessandro Bastoni; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic, Hakan Calhanoglu, Ivan Perisic; Lautaro Martinez, Edin Dzeko; Lautaro Martinez, Edin Dzeko
Mike Maignan; Davide Calabria, Pierre Kalulu, Fikayo Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Sandro Tonali, Ismael Bennacer; Junior Messias, Franck Kessie, Rafael Leao; Olivier Giroud; Milan Potential Starting XI (4-2-3-1)
Tuesday, April 19th is the date of the game. Time of kick-off: 21:00 (CEST) San Siro is the location for this event.
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