Inter face their neighbours AC Milan in the Coppa Italia semi final

(Football news) Inter take on their noisy neighbours AC Milan in the Coppa Italia semi final as they look to avenge their loss from earlier this year. With thoughts of the Scudetto race momentarily on hold, both the Milan giants now turn their attention towards winning the Coppa Italia. Inter have not lifted the cup for over a decade, ever since they won the historic treble under Jose Mourinho while Milan's domestic trophy drought goes back 2003, when Andriy Shevchenko and Rivaldo scored in the final win over Roma. Ahead of the 26th derby in the Coppa Italia, where the Rossoneri are in front by 10 wins to Inter’s eight following a quarter-final victory for the Nerazzurri last year. 

Both the clubs will be desperate to put their hand on the domestic trophy as AC Milan, the five-times cup winners have lost only two of their last 18 home games in all the competition but in this derby home advantage counts for nothing. On the other hand, Inter are going through a rough patch themselves as they haven’t won a match in their previous 5 encounters, and if they bow out of the Coppa Italia semi final then suddenly their good first half of the season will not count for anything. For AC Milan, Sandro Tonali will be missing from Milan's lineup as long term absentees Zlatan and Simone Kjaer will miss out on this fixture. For Inter, only Joaquin Correa is not expected to complete his return from injury until the weekend as the rest of the squad is fit.

Juventus take on Fiorentina as Dusan Vlahovic who is in top form will face his former team. The Serbia international has already represented Fiorentina in this competition and subsequently helped them reach the semi finals courtesy his goals, but such are the rules that the forward is not cup-tied and now will play for Juventus who are looking to retain the trophy. Juventus will be looking to extend their recent unbeaten run into 10 matches unbeaten in all competitions. The concern for Massimiliano Allegri’s side is that they have witnessed his team concede at least one goal in the most recent five fixtures but Saturday's 3-2 victory over Empoli has kept Juventus in the Serie A title race. Juve will be hoping that their league form transcends into a trophy after a terrible start to the season. For Juve, Denis Zakaria sustained an injury over the weekend which means he's out for the tie. For Fiorentina, they have a fully fit squad to face Juve. 

Also read: Napoli beat Lazio to reclaim the lead in the Serie A standings

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