On Wednesday night, Inter Milan and Juventus are scheduled to take the field at San Siro, where they will battle for a spot in the final of Coppa Italia, Italy’s flagship domestic cup.
Both teams are strongly incentivized to knock out one of their fiercest rivals and access the final at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, where they can lift prestigious silverware while benefiting from the perks of being crowned Coppa Italia champions.
When Inter Milan and Juventus face off, an event that is known in Italy as the Derby d’Italia, there are always strong feelings at play. And the last meeting between these two sides was no exception.
The first leg, which took place three weeks ago at Turin’s Allianz Stadium, featured provocatory celebrations and a post-match brawl involving players and staff members that forced the referee to show three red cards.
It was a hard-fought game in which neither side wanted to concede space to the opponent, which made many soccer fans believe the game would remain scoreless. It was Juventus, however, that managed to break the deadlock in the final minutes of the match, as Juan Cuadrado hit the target with a powerful, right-footed diagonal shot.
The Nerazzurri had the strength to react and equalized the score thanks to a stoppage-time goal by Romelu Lukaku, who converted from the penalty-kick spot and celebrated by silencing the Bianconeri supporters, who had made him the target of racist chants in the game’s final stages.
In the return leg, Inter Milan, the Coppa Italia defending champions, can count on the home-field advantage, as over 60,000 Nerazzurri fans are expected to turn up at San Siro and support their favorite team in such a decisive game.
The two sides will line up in similar 3-5-2 formations. Inter Milan’s head coach Simone Inzaghi will opt for Andre Onana in goal following Samir Handanovic’s suspension, while Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez will form the attacking duo.
Juventus’s manager Massimiliano Allegri will likely start Mattia De Sciglio in the right wing-back position due to Cuadrado’s suspension, with 2022 FIFA World Cup champion Angel Di Maria roaming beneath Serbia international Dusan Vlahovic.
The match will start on a 1-1 aggregate score. To keep with UEFA's latest change on two-legged knockout ties, Italy’s Coppa Italia has abolished the away-goal rule.
If the two teams have the same amount of goals at the end of the two legs, the game will stretch into extra time. If necessary, a penalty-kick shootout will break the tie after 120 minutes of play.
Inter Milan and Juventus have so far racked up about €3 million ($3.3m) in prize money across the different Coppa Italia knockout stages, per Calcio e Finanza estimates.
Accessing the May 24 final at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico generates further revenue in the form of qualification bonus: The gold medalists will pocket about €4.5 million ($5m), while the runners-up will cash in €2 million ($2.2m).
As importantly, lifting the trophy guarantees access to two competitions, namely the Supercoppa Italiana and next year’s UEFA Europa League, which represents a remarkable incentive considering that both Inter Milan and Juventus are facing harsh competition in the race for a UEFA Champions League spot in Serie A this season.