The two iconic Italian clubs lock horns for the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia as AC Milan play hosts to Juventus at the San Siro. Both sides will be eager to get one foot in the door by securing a positive result in the first leg. Milan is fresh from a 4-2 defeat by the hands of their city rivals Inter Milan in the league, while, Juventus has also been going through a slump and have slipped to the second spot after getting beat by Hellas Verona. With the title race intensifying, Juventus will be eager to bag the cup, whereas, AC Milan are in desperate need of some glory.
Match Details
Date- Friday, February 14
Kick-Off- 1:15 AM (IST)
Venue- San Siro
AC Milan
Mateo Musacchio and Davide Calabria will be expected to get starts and could be the only changes after Sunday night’s encounter. Ante Rebic and Zlatan Ibrahimovic should be leading the line of attack for the hosts. Calhanoglu, Bennacer, Kessie and Castilejo should accommodate the midfield region. Hernandez, Romagnoli, Musacchio and Calabria could fit in as the defensive backline.
Juventus
Gianluigi Buffon should be starting between the sticks to add rotation to the lineup. Whereas, Aaron Ramsey and Paulo Dybala are in contention of getting the nod in place of Douglas Costa and Gonzalo Higuain. Rodrigo Bentancur, Miralem Pjanic and Adrien Rabiot could form the midfield, while Juan Cuadrado, De Ligt, Bonucci and Alex Sandro to occupy the line of defence.
AC Milan (Expected Playing 11)- Donarumma; Hernandez, Romagnoli, Musacchio, Calabria; Calhanoglu, Bennacer, Kessie, Castillejo; Rebic, Ibrahimovic
JUV (Expected Playing 11)- Buffon; Cuadrado, de Ligt, Bonucci, Sandro; Bentacur, Pjanic, Rabiot; Ramsey, Dybala, Ronaldo
Ante Rebic has impressed in the limited appearances that he’s got for AC Milan. Rebic has four goals and a pass accuracy of 68.6% from 431 minutes in the league this season.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been his brilliant best for Juventus while playing uptop. The Portuguese talisman has 20 goals, two assists and a pass accuracy of 84% from 20 appearances in Serie A this season.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been a central figure ever since his transfer in January. The 38-year-old has two goals, an assist and a pass accuracy of 70.5% from 395 minutes in Serie A this season for Milan.
Paulo Dybala could pack a punch in the final third for Juventus. The Argentine international has five goals, three assists and a pass accuracy of 87.6% from 21 appearances this season.
It’s Juventus that has dominated in the last six encounters with Milan by winning all six.
Considering the recent form of Juventus, they might have to share the spoils with AC Milan.
(Disclaimer: Cup competitions can lead to unconventional starting lineups. It is advisable to go through the teams once they’ve been announced)
Team 1
Goalkeeper- G Donnarumma
Defenders-J Cuadrado, L Bonucci, T Hernandez
Midfielders- M Pjanic, A Ramsey, R Bentancur, I Bennacer
Forwards- C Ronaldo (C), A Rebic, Z Ibrahimovic (VC)
Team 2
Goalkeeper- G Donarumma
Defenders- A Sandro, L Bonucci, M Musacchio
Midfielders- R Bentacur, M Pjanic, I Bennacer, H Calhanoglu
Forwards- P Dybala (C), C Ronaldo (VC), Z Ibrahimovic
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