For the second time this week, Juventus will take on Inter Milan, travelling the short distance east to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Wednesday evening for the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final.

The San Siro clash comes just three days after the Bianconeri notched a 2-0 league win over the same opponents, a result that was analysed in further detail in this previous post. They also hold a three-goal advantage in this tie, having handily despatched Roberto Mancini’s men in Turin back in January.

Juventus are looking to retain the trophy they won last season, that triumph ending a decade-long drought in the knockout competition.

Leonardo Bonucci was the hero at the weekend as he notched the opening goal of the game, but by the final whistle he was already looking ahead.

“Now we just have to keep marching forward and our heads are already on Wednesday because, despite winning the first leg 3-0, Inter will get off to a strong start,” he told Mediaset Premium (h/t Football Italia). “We, however, will start even stronger.”

Both sides are expected to be heavily rotated from their Serie A meeting, but Felipe Melo—himself a former Juventus player—believes his team-mates must stop talking and begin to take action out on the field.

“No time to cry, we have to shut up and work harder,” he told Inter Channel (h/t SempreInter.com) after Sunday’s defeat, and the Bianconeri must surely expect a strong reaction from their bitter rivals in the next instalment of a fixture commonly referred to as “the derby of Italy.”

The prospect of a final at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico against AC Milan awaits the winner of this tie, an encounter both Juventus and Inter would relish and an occasion which should see the 2015/16 campaign end in the best possible fashion.

 

Date: Wednesday, 2 March

Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET

Venue: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan

TV Info: Sky Sports 2 (UK), Gol TV (USA)

Live Stream: Sky Go Extra (UK), beIN Sports Connect (USA)

 

Form Lines

Last five domestic results:

Inter 1-0 Chievo	Juventus 1-0 Genoa
Hellas Verona 3-3 Inter	Frosinone 0-2 Juventus
Fiorentina 2-1 Inter	Juventus 1-0 Napoli
Inter 3-1 Sampdoria	Bologna 0-0 Juventus
Juventus 2-0 Inter	Juventus 2-0 Inter

 

Probable Formations

Inter: (4-3-3): Samir Handanovic; Yuto Nagatomo, Juan Jesus, Gary Medel, Danilo D’ Ambrosio; Assane Demoya Gnoukouri, Felipe Melo, Marcelo Brozovic; Adem Ljajic, Stevan Joveitc, Eder.

Unavailable: Jeison Murillo and Joao Miranda (both suspended).

Juventus (4-3-3): Neto; Simone Padoin, Leonardo Bonucci, Daniele Rugani, Patrice Evra; Stefano Sturaro, Hernanes, Kwadwo Asamoah; Juan Cuadrado, Simone Zaza, Alvaro Morata.

Unavailable: Martin Caceres, Giorgio Chiellini and Claudio Marchisio (all injured).

 

Odds (via Odds Checker)

Away win: 7-4

Home win: 7-4

Draw: 12-5

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