AC Milan vs Inter Milan

Stadio San Siro is the venue as AC Milan and Inter Milan go head-to-head in the first leg of a heavyweight Coppa Italia semi-final tie. 

Milan’s hope to secure a fifth consecutive top-four finish in Serie A took a fatal blow last weekend as a missed penalty saw them lose 2-1 at Napoli, falling nine points behind fourth-placed Bologna. As the pressure mounts on head coach Sergio Conceicao, ‘I Rossoneri’ return to the Coppa Italia, where they overcame Roma in the quarter-finals to come within striking distance of reaching the grand final for the first time since 2018. Despite their illustrious history, Milan have only won five Coppa Italia titles, but a three-game unbeaten H2H run against Inter (W2, D1) puts them in the driver’s seat to contest another final. Worryingly, they bowed out to Inter at this stage of the competition the last time these sides faced off in the 2021/22 season.

In the meantime, Inter Milan squeezed past Udinese 2-1 last weekend to maintain a three-point lead over second-placed Napoli in Serie A, inching closer to becoming the first reigning champions to defend the Scudetto in five years. However, Inter will have revenge on their minds here after Milan denied them Supercoppa Italiana glory in January. Simone Inzaghi’s men have notably scored 2+ goals in their last five outings across all competitions (W5) to set themselves up nicely for this blockbuster fixture as they aim to become the outright second-best performing club in the Coppa Italia. Yet, just one clean sheet from their last four outings suggests their attack will have to shoulder the burden despite lacking the services of the injured Lautaro Martinez.