Ten times Coppa Italia champions “Juventus” lock horns with 5 times champions and harsh rival “AC Milan” at the Stadio Olimpico in the 2015/16 edition of the competition on Saturday evening.
Juventus will love to defend the title in their 16th Coppa Italia final appearance. The Old Lady won last season Coppa Italia, after a hard fought 2-1 win over Lazio last season, which also ended their 18 years wait since last won the tournament. The already league champions stand a chance of winning a double at the Stadio Olimpico.
Ac Milan makes their first Coppa Italia final appearance in 13 years. The Rossoneri last won this tittle in 2003, which was also the last time they appeared in a Coppa Italia final. The struggling Italian giant has won this title five times and they did this in the space of 36 years (i.e between 1967 to 2003)
Form Comparison
Juventus’ 24 games unbeaten run was curtailed with 2-1 defeat from the hand of Verona. However, the old lady had a comfortable ride to the Coppa Italia final. AC Milan have also pulled a better performance in the competition compared to their one game on-off performance in the league (Serie A).
Copp Italia Stat for Both teams (2015/2016)
- Juventus won all games (3) on their journey to the 2nd leg of the Coppa Italia Semi Final clash with Inter, where they loss 3-0 to Inter but scaled through on Penalty. They played four(4) games in total on their way to the final
- Juventus scored 8 goals on their way to the final, and conceded 3 goals.
- Ac Milan won all games on their way to the final
- Ac Milan scored 13 goals on their way to the final and conceded once.
AC Milan
Predicted Line-Up(4-4-2)
Lopez– Alex, Mexes, De Scligio, Romagnoli- Kucka, Montolivo, Bertolacci, Prince Boateng: Bacca, Balotelli
Key Players
Juventus
Predicted Line-Up (3-5-2)
Buffon- Chellini, Barzagli, Bonucci – Evra, Pogba, Lemina, Hernanes, Lichtsteiner – Mandzukic, Dybala.
Key Players
AC Milan vs Juventus: Head-to-Head
Both teams are meeting in the Coppa Italia final for the time in 46 years. Milan and Juventus lock horns at the 1973 edition of Coppa Italia final, The Rossoneri edged past the Old lady 5-2 on penalty kicks on that occasion.
In recent meeting between the two sides, Juventus has won 4 consecutive matches. AC Milan’s last victory over the Old Lady in a competitive game happened in 2012/2013 season.
AC Milan vs Juventus: Prediction
Milan squandered yet another chance to play in Europe’s top competition next season, after they finished 7th on the standings in just concluded Serie A. Therefore, the Rossoneri hope for a win here and progress into the qualification stages of Europa League.
The hope for a double is much alive for Juventus. The old Lady will be looking to defend the title and make it back-to-back Coppa Italia wins, a fit that as only been attained by Internazionale Milan (2005,2006 & 2010,2011) and Roma (2007,2008) in the 21st century.
However, I will give both side a 50:50 chance of lifting the trophy. They have been both great on their way to the final, even though we might argue Juventus had more tougher opponents on the way to Stadio Olimpico as compared to Milan. The finals of cup games are always tough to predict regardless of the form and head-to-head stats.
The game promises an exciting prospect for both fans and neutrals alike. I expect both teams to have a go at the title and we may even see penalty shoot-outs.
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