Coppa Italia semi-finals preview: Could Atalanta knock out Juventus?
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And will AC Milan or Lazio come out on top?
The two Coppa Italia semi-finals are finely poised ahead of Wednesday’s second legs.
Juventus have a 1-0 lead over Atalanta. And AC Milan and Lazio drew 0-0 at San Siro last time out.
The Coral News Team have all the info ahead of the action…
Juventus v Atalanta
Juventus are big 8/15 favourites here to win the second leg and make the final. They shouldn’t underestimate Atalanta though. The away side are 11/2, but they’ve beaten Napoli, Roma and Milan on the road this season.
Atalanta will be fully motivated too. This competition is their main target this season now, following their elimination from the Europa League. However, Gian Piero Gasperini will be without key men Andrea Petagna and Rafael Toloi.
Max Allegri may have wanted to rest some key men with games against Lazio and Tottenham Hotspur approaching. Injuries to Gonzalo Higuain, Juan Cuadrado and Federico Bernardeschi limit his options.
Paulo Dybala is fit and the Argentine ace is 3/1 to open the scoring.
Andreas Cornelius is set to start up front for the visitors in Petagna’s absence. He’s 3/1 to score anytime.
Juventus’ quality and big-game experience should see them through but it’s likely to be a hard-fought victory. Juventus and Under 2.5 Goals is 2/1.
Lazio v AC Milan
It’s all to play for at the Stadio Olimpico. AC Milan are on their best run of form this term with five straight wins to nil. But home advantage could give Lazio the edge.
They’re 5/6 favourites to win, having only lost one of their last eight encounters at home against Milan. The Rossoneri are 29/10, with the draw at 23/10.
Both managers are expected to name strong starting XIs, but with the tie on a knife-edge, there may not be too many goals on show. Both Teams to Score – No could be a smart pick at even-money.
Ciro Immobile is the most likely Lazio scorer. He bagged a hat-trick when Milan visited in league action in September. The Italy striker is 3/1 to score first.
Patrick Cutrone is Milan’s biggest threat as an 11/5 anytime scorer.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
