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Inter will hope to take advantage of the Coppa Italia’s two-legged semifinal system when it travels to Juventus Tuesday. The Old Lady was victorious in leg one, taking a 2-1 victory from the San Siro thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo brace. But if Inter can come out on top this week (as long as it scores 2+ goals), it will be the Nerazzurri heading to the Coppa Italia finale in May.
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Juve’s weekend fixture was also a 2-0 victory, though they were up against AS Roma rather than Fiorentina. A Roger Ibanez own goal coupled with Cristiano Ronaldo’s strike were enough to see the Old Lady stay within five points of Inter and stretch its winning run to six, with only one loss in its last eleven. That’s also three straight league shutouts thanks to a newfound defensive solidity. Roma for example outshot Juve 14-3 but found clear-cut opportunities very hard to come by. With Romelu Lukaku scoring just twice in his last six, a big performance is past due for the Belgian and it couldn’t come at a better time than now. Lukaku, along with Achraf Hakimi, will be available for selection after serving out yellow card suspensions in the first leg.
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Previous Results
2-0 (A) - 8/3/2020
2-0 (H) - 17/1/2021
1-2 (H) - 2/2/2021
Predicted Starting XIs
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Antonio Conte decided not to rotate when Inter visited Florence, and though a first-choice eleven is expected Tuesday, there could be some surprises with a clash with Lazio looming on Sunday. Hakimi and Lukaku will slot back in, while Christian Eriksen also is an option after resting in both the first leg and against Fiorentina. Juve made seven changes to the lineup over the weekend, so Andrea Pirlo may return to the same team that won the first leg.
Prediction: Juventus 1-3 Inter Milan
Inter is going to need a spot-less outing to advance, and my heart says one will come. A brace from Lukaku and a Lautaro goal will be too much for Ronaldo and Juventus in a end-to-end affair.
Forza Inter!