A two-legged Derby della Madonnina will decide which Milan side will go through the Coppa Italia final, as AC Milan play hosts to Inter Milan in the opening game.
AC Milan continued their inconsistent form as Sergio Conceicao’s position compounded further, and the club might decide on the Portuguese manager at the end of the campaign; before that, there is the small matter of taking on Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia.
The Rossoneri lost out to title-challengers Napoli in their most recent Serie A game, and now they embark on a two-legged Derby della Madonnina to get to a final spot in the Coppa Italia. The Coppa Italia remains the only other competition that can yield a trophy for AC Milan, although they did beat their cross-city rivals Inter Milan in this season’s Supercoppa Italiana earlier in Saudi Arabia.
Winning the competition will ensure the club has a healthy trophy count for the campaign, although the primary objective is still qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, which now seems extremely difficult.
Meanwhile, Inter Milan continued their march at the very top of the Serie A standings as they secured a comfortable victory over mid-table opponents Udinese to stay on top. That was also their fifth win on the bounce across all competitions, which sets them up for a stellar finish to the season.
In theory, Inter Milan are well on course to win the ‘treble’ as they are seen as one of the strong contenders for the UEFA Champions League too. Now, Simone Inzaghi will want to assert his dominance in the Coppa Italia early on as they are the visitors at San Siro for this first-leg semi-final clash.
Team News & Tactics
AC Milan
Sergio Conceicao’s changes to his lineup over the weekend barely worked, and there will be calls to reinstate Rafael Leao in the main setup over Joao Felix. There might be a recall for Santiago Gimenez over Tammy Abraham in the leading role, and the AC Milan manager must show what his main team is ahead of the final run-in this season.
Emerson Royal remains sidelined, and while Ruben Loftus-Cheek made a return following a lengthy layoff, the midfielder was rushed to the hospital with an appendix issue at the weekend, so he will miss out. Alessandro Florenzi is back into contention once again, although there are doubts whether he will be chosen to start ahead of Kyle Walker.
Conceicao is expected to name a strong AC Milan lineup to take on rivals Inter Milan in the first leg, as Strahinja Pavlovic and Matteo Gabbia are penciled in to start at the heart of the defence, with Walker and Theo Hernandez reprising the full-back roles.
Christian Pulisic will have a place in the lineup, and the returning Yunus Musah might take up a midfield role alongside Youssouf Fofana. Tijjani Reijnders will continue in the attacking midfield role, which could potentially keep Felix out of the starting lineup, as Leao and Gimenez return in the attacking third.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1) – Maignan; Walker, Pavlovic, Gabbia, Hernandez; Fofana, Musah; Pulisic, Reijnders, Leao; Gimenez
Inter Milan
There are some key injury issues that Simone Inzaghi has to contend with, as Denzel Dumfries, Piotr Zielinski, and skipper Lautaro Martinez are all absent. The latter has a hamstring problem, and as the issue goes, it might take a few weeks at the very least before he returns, which does mark him as a doubt for the UEFA Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.
While Inter Milan have Alessandro Bastoni back after a domestic ban, they have lost Kristjan Asllani to a suspension ahead of the game against AC Milan. The former could come straight into the starting lineup as Yann Bisseck could move to the right side of the back three, with Francesco Acerbi stationed in a central role.
Inzaghi is unlikely to change his midfield setup, with Hakan Calhanoglu, Nicolo Barella and Henrikh Mkhitaryan the preferred options in the middle. With Martinez absent, there is the unwanted risk with Marcus Thuram. The manager could potentially keep the Frenchman on the bench, as the weekend’s goalscorer Marko Arnautovic could have one of Joaquin Correa or Mehdi Taremi as his strike partner.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Sommer; Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni; Zalewski, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Taremi, Arnautovic
Key Stats
- AC Milan last won the Coppa Italia 22 years ago.
- AC Milan have only two wins in their last seven games across all competitions.
- Inter Milan have won their last five games across all competitions.
- Inter Milan are yet to beat AC Milan after three meetings this season in all competitions.
Player to Watch
Rafael Leao
It took one half of football for Sergio Conceicao to throw Leao into the team following the decision to keep the winger on the bench against Napoli last weekend. There are some concerns around the Portuguese forward’s future at the club, and while his numbers have been consistent, there must be a reason why the manager deemed it necessary to keep him on the bench.
In any case, AC Milan will be eyeing a strong end to their season, and on home soil, they will not want to take any chances against Inter Milan. Leao will be key to their chances of taking an advantage into the second leg, as the winger has to put in his best display against the Nerazzurri.
Prediction
AC Milan 1-2 Inter Milan
AC Milan’s inconsistent displays will see their fans express concerns over their chances in this Coppa Italia semi-final first leg. While the Rossoneri have had a decent run of results against Inter Milan this season, the current form of both teams might dictate which way the result of this upcoming match will flow.
While AC Milan continue to show their inconsistency, Inter Milan have stitched a five-game winning run across all competitions as they target a stellar end to their campaign on all fronts. Hence, for Simone Inzaghi, an advantage in this first leg will be imperative. The Nerazzurri are expected to take a slender aggregate lead into the reverse leg, and Inter Milan are expected to beat AC Milan.
