Seeking to complete the second leg of a potential cup treble, holders Inter Milan meet six-time winners Fiorentina in Wednesday’s Coppa Italia final at Stadio Olimpico.
Soon to aim for Champions League glory, Inter won their eighth national cup last year and have claimed the Supercoppa Italia already this term; meanwhile, the Viola are also preparing for a European final and want to end a 22-year trophy drought.
Team News
Inter Milan
- After a much-changed team started when Inter’s winning run came to its end in Naples, Simone Inzaghi is set to select a side similar to that which saw off Milan last week.
- Therefore, Joaquin Correa and Romelu Lukaku should be replaced by Lautaro Martinez and Edin Dzeko up front, while several other first-choice picks return to the lineup.
- Only long-term absentee Milan Skriniar (back) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (thigh) will miss out due to injury, and the latter’s absence in midfield should be covered by Marcelo Brozovic.
- Club captain Samir Handanovic is expected to start in goal – ahead of Andre Onana, who will instead play in the Champions League final. Handanovic started in the semi-final first leg against Juventus but was then suspended for the return due to receiving a red card after the final whistle in Turin.
Fiorentina
- Fiorentina, meanwhile, are a more unpredictable proposition, as while Inzaghi rarely strays from his favoured personnel in a classic 3-5-2, Vincenzo Italiano tends to tinker more.
- Several key players were rested in Sunday’s draw with Torino, so Sofyan Amrabat, captain Cristiano Biraghi and top scorer Arthur Cabral will be among those brought back into the Viola’s starting XI in midweek.
- Giacomo Bonaventura returns from a Serie A suspension and is set to feature in midfield, but Salvatore Sirigu has seen his season ended by an Achilles injury and will watch on from the sidelines.
Possible Lineup
Fiorentina : Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Igor, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Amrabat, Mandragora; Gonzalez, Jovic, Ikone
Inter Milan: Handanovic; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Martinez, Dzeko
Prediction Analysis
Even accounting for their second-string’s weekend defeat, Inter have won seven of their last eight matches – and by an aggregate score of 23-6.
While Fiorentina also seem to be peaking at the right time, such firepower will be tough to contain at a sold-out Olimpico, and the Nerazzurri can complete the second part of what they hope is a trophy-winning trilogy.
Our prediction is Fiorentina 1-2 Inter Milan