This time it matters more. Because when referee Orsato blows his whistle for the end of the match, only one between Juventus and Milan will be able to aspire to the Coppa Italia, which won't be the most important trophy of the season, but remains an ambitious goal. All the more if it is the enemy-friends of all time who are at stake, who this year have returned to compete on all fronts.
Being a second leg, it is clear that the result of the first leg will weigh, as we will only know at the end of the game. Juve's victory in the match on 8 February (1-2 at San Siro) is worth a lot and means that the "Old Lady" starts as a favourite, but Milan still have some chances to play. Juve are very keen on it, aiming for the final in Rome against Naples or Siena, but the challenge is also felt by the Rossoneri side, who do not want to leave anything to their Juventus rival. Regardless of the final result, we hope that the "Juventus Stadium" will stage a beautiful and vibrant match, but above all fair, on and off the pitch. Because referee errors and hysterical scenes seen in the last championship match must be canceled as soon as possible.
HERE JUVE
Since he coached Juventus, Antonio Conte has never hidden behind sentences of circumstance. He didn't even do it in the usual pre-match press conference, in which he presented the challenge of the "Juventus Stadium": "This will be the most important match of the year, because it can give us the chance to play for a trophy after a long time . It's inevitable that there will be others in the league, but the one against Milan is really very important for us." It starts from the victory in the first leg, which will force the Rossoneri to immediately push hard on the accelerator. The possibility of controlling the match could be a great advantage for Juventus, but Conte doesn't even want to take this hypothesis into consideration: "Thinking like this is not part of my mentality, if I asked the boys to speculate on the first leg result, I would deny everything what I profess from day one. Also I would send a negative message to the whole team. We will play the match as we always have, trying to win it while respecting the opponent”. Despite the importance of the stakes, the Juventus coach will do some turnover, confirming a large part of the line-up lined up in the Coppa Italia up to now: “I'll start by saying that Storari will play, as it should be. From the beginning I had decided that, whatever our path, he would play the cup games. And since the challenge is very important, Del Piero will also be there. He is Juve, it's only right that he plays a match like this from the beginning”. There is also curiosity about the game system that Conte will choose: 4-3-3, as in the last few games or 3-5-2 as at San Siro? The coach played mysterious, so we'll only find out close to the match.
HERE MILAN
We need a business, there's no denying it. Because no one has so far managed to violate the "Juventus Stadium", let alone with a two-goal difference. If there's one team that can do it, however, it's Milan, provided they put in a great performance, in the style of the first leg against Arsenal, so to speak. In this sense, Massimiliano Allegri seemed confident: “We will try to overturn the result to go to the final and with the awareness of the difficulty of the match. I am serene and convinced that the team will play a good game despite the absences that there will be. The boys are fine, we are aware that we can turn everything around, the Coppa Italia is an important goal for us and we will try to go to the final”. However, the Rossoneri are not doing well. There are still many injured players, and it's understandable that Allegri, just a few days away from Barcelona, doesn't want to rush anyone's recovery: “Robinho and Van Bommel won't be there. Pato is training but at the moment we don't know when he will be available again. I will also evaluate Boateng, but it is likely that he will be available for the match against Roma ”. The formation will therefore be rather remodeled and even an untouchable like Zlatan Ibrahimovic risks starting from the bench. In the end, however, Zlatan should be there from the first minute: the desire to play this Juventus – Milan game is too strong. After the controversy of recent times, the cameras will be focused on the two coaches, who have "caught" each other several times. But in Turin they won't film anything in particular, at least listening to Allegri's words: “I will greet Conte and Marotta normally, I expect them too. Despite the controversies of the last few days, I am an educated person". In this regard, the Rossoneri coach sent a soothing message to the referee Orsato, who will have the task of re-evaluating the referee class after the disasters of Tagliavento and Romagnoli: "The trio will have to stay calm, but we will have to help them" '.
POSSIBLE FORMATIONS
Juventus (4-3-3): Storaries; Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Chiellini, De Ceglie; Vidal, Pirlo, Blazers; Pepe, Del Piero, Vucinic.
Trainer: Antonio Conte
On the bench: Manninger, Caceres, Marchisio, Padoin, Estigarribia, Quagliarella, Borriello.
Disqualified: no
Unavailable: Barzagli
Beware: Barzagli, Bonucci, Estigarribia, Krasic, Quagliarella.
Milan (4-3-1-2): Amelia; Antonini, Mexes, Thiago Silva, Mesbah; Aquilani, Muntari, Nocerino; Emmanuelson; El Shaarawy, Ibrahimovic.
Coach: Massimiliano Allegri
On the bench: Abbiati, Bonera, Yepes, Gattuso, Seedorf, Maxi Lopez, Inzaghi.
Disqualified: no
Unavailable: Abate, Cassano, Robinho, Van Bommel, Merkel, Pato, Strasser, Boateng.
Beware: Ambrosini, Bonera, Robinho, Merkel, Mexes, Van Bommel.
Referee: Daniele Orsato (Schio)
Assistants: By Liberatore – Ghiandai
Fourth man: Damato
