Sixteen days after their last meeting, Inter and Juventus are set to lock horns once again at the Guiseppe Meazza stadium.
In the first Derby d’Italia of the season, the Nerazzurri shrugged aside the Old Lady in a dominating display, as they sealed a 2-0 victory over their hated rivals in courtesy of Arturo Vidal and Nicolò Barella.
Thankfully for the Bianconeri supporters, their club quickly bounced back from the humbling defeat with four wins in a row in all competitions, including a 4-0 thrashing against Spal in the Coppa Italia quarter finals which sealed their place in the tournament’s semi final round.
Their foes tonight will once again be Antonio Conte’s Inter, who locked their place after an intense victory against their city rivals Milan in the previous round.
Whilst the Beneamata’s starting formation will be packed with stars on all lines, we will only focus on three of them.
The first leg encounter on Tuesday should once again turn into a tactical battle between Conte and his former player Andrea Pirlo, but the single battles all over the pitch should be the decisive element.
Milan Skriniar
Although Stefan De Vrij is the recognized leader of the back-three, and Alessandro Bastoni was behind Inter’s second goal against Juve two weeks ago, Milan Skriniar had a key role to play.
The Slovakian won his battle against Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata with ease, and if the Bianconeri want to exit the Coppa Italia match with a better outcome, then they must find their way around the 25-year-old.
Marcelo Brozovic
The Croatian regista is one of the most important players in Conte’s tactical scheme.
Nonetheless, with Christian Eriksen’s recent resurgence in the deep-lying playmaker role, Brozovic will be looking to put on a solid performance to reaffirm himself as the undeniable starter in the role.
Weston Mckennie could be set to battle him in the middle of the park.
Lautaro Martinez
In the absence of the suspended Romelu Lukaku, Inter’s frontline will be made up of Lautaro Martinez and Alexis Sanchez.
Therefore, the Argentine will be expected to play in a more central role than usual, as he’ll try to use his pace and smart movement to punish the Bianconeri backline.
