Serie A title rivals Milan and Juventus are set to square off in Coppa Italia semi-final first leg and everything suggests we will see a very interesting game at San Siro. Both sides failed to win their weekend games in Serie A, meaning that they will now have a lot to prove in the Coppa Italia clash.

Milan in problems

After winning the Serie A title last season, Milan have experienced big problems at the start of the new campaign as the team struggled to cope with numerous absentees. The injury situation did not improve, but the results and performances did, as the Rossoneri learned to cope with all the problems and soon started climbing the Serie A standings. Thanks to the impressive run of results, Milan returned to the title race and currently sit in second place in the standings, although they appeared to have suffered a small dip in form of late. Maxi Allegri’s side recovered well from the derby defeat to Inter and went on to win next four games in all competitions, but 2-0 defeat to Lazio and goalless draw against Napoli are threatening to hurt their title bid. With the Serie A campaign still the priority and derby clash against Udinese due just three days after the Juventus game, Allegri’s side are set to try and record a good result against the Bianconeri but without giving their absolute best, which is why I expect to see a low-tempo game at San Siro.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is likely to start as he is suspended for next three Serie A games, but Cassano, Flamini, Yepes, Boateng, Pato, Merkel, Muntari, Aquilani and Gattuso are still unavailable.

Juventus remain unbeaten

Juventus just missed a great chance to extend their lead in Serie A to three points, as the Bianconeri could only muster a goalless draw at home to Siena. That was team’s fourth home draw against bottom-table sides this season and that is something that should worry boss Antonio Conte. The Old Lady are still the only unbeaten side in Serie A and they boast by far the best defensive record with just 13 conceded goals in 21 games, but the attacking department is still not in perfect working order, partly due to the fact that boss Antonio Conte likes to have at least five players defending Gianluigi Buffon’s goal at all times. The Bianconeri have no reason to risk anything in the Coppa Italia clash with Milan and they will probably play not to lose this game rather than going for a win, which is perfectly normal considering the return leg will be played at their Juventus Arena.

Antonio Conte is expected to make some changes to the starting line-up, so we should see Giaccherini, Borriello, Del Piero and Marrone in the starting line-up.

Verdict

Both Milan and Juventus will try to play it safe and keep their energy levels high for their Serie A games, and the odds are that we will see a pretty uneventful game. With both managers likely to adopt cautious approach, the chances will be few and far between.

Our prediction: Under 2.5 goals

Odds: 1.70 (7/10)

Bookmaker: bet365