The second legs of the Coppa Italia semi-finals take place this week and on Wednesday night Lazio welcome AC Milan to the Stadio Olimpico for the most evenly contested tie of the two.
Lazio have won the Coppa Italia six times in their history, with their latest victory coming in 2012/13, when they defeated local rivals Roma in the final.
AC Milan have won the Coppa Italia five times and they last lifted the trophy in the 2002/03 campaign. Therefore, it has been a long time since the Rossoneri have won this competition and Gennaro Gattuso would love to change that this season.
Simone Inzaghi’s Lazio started their Coppa Italia campaign with a 4-1 win over Cittadella at home, followed by a 1-0 win over Fiorentina, also on home soil. The first leg of this tie, which finished 0-0 in the San Siro, was Lazio’s first away fixture in the tournament this season.
Having gone five matches without a win in all competitions, including a 2-1 defeat at AC Milan in Serie A, Lazio have responded with three successive victories. There have been two wins in Serie A, 2-0 at Hellas Verona and 3-0 over Sassuolo, the latter of which came on the weekend.
Between those two league fixtures, Lazio also defeated Steaua Bucharest 5-1 at home to book their place in the Europa League Round of 16. Lazio have won seven of their last eight home games in all competitions and have scored in each of their last seventeen at the Stadio Olimpico.
AC Milan also played two matches in the Coppa Italia prior to the 0-0 draw in the first leg of this semi-final. The Rossoneri defeated Hellas Verona followed by a thrilling 1-0 extra-time win over Inter Milan, a result which has breathed some life into AC Milan’s season.
In fact, since the win over Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia, AC Milan have gone on an eleven-match unbeaten run under the guidance of Gattuso. They have won each of their last five games in all competitions including Serie A victories over SPAL, Sampdoria and Roma, the latter of which was an excellent 2-0 win away from home on Sunday night.
Recent away form has seen AC Milan win four and draw two of their last six games in all competitions, with three wins from their last three games on the road. In those three games, AC Milan have scored 9 goals and conceded none.
Looking ahead to the team news and Lazio will be without the injured trio of Bruno Jordao, Pedro Neto and Martin Caceres. Midfielder Davide Di Gennaro is doubtful but Inzaghi is set to pick his strongest possible team.
AC Milan will be without Marco Storari and Luca Antonelli who are both injured. Andrea Conti is making a comeback from injury but this match is probably too soon for the full-back, with Davide Calabaria and Ricardo Rodriguez continuing in those positions.
This is going to be a great game between two in-form teams who would love to win some silverware this season. Lazio have the home advantage but AC Milan’s recent results on the road suggest they could come away with the score draw or better, which is required to make the final.