Juventus on Course for the Double in Coppa Italia Final

With the 2017/18 Serie A title race as good as over, the Italian football season now turns to its biggest cup competition and the final of the Coppa Italia.

The match is between Juventus, who are hoping to clinch the double this season and AC Milan, who are searching for their first trophy since winning the league in 2010/11.  The match will take place on Wednesday 9th May at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Juventus come into the match full of confidence having come back from a goal down to defeat Bologna 3-1 on the weekend as move within just a point of the Serie A title. Having lost 1-0 at home to Napoli, the league looked like it could be slipping out of the hands of Juventus but they responded with an excellent win at Inter Milan before beating Bologna.

Trends show Juventus have lost two of their last thirty-three games in all competitions, which is a fantastic record.  The defeats have come against top opposition, including the home loss to Napoli and the 3-0 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Juventus have defeated Genoa, Torino and Atalanta in the Coppa Italia this season.  The Round of 16 and Quarter-final matches were both at home and ended in 2-0 wins for Juventus.  The Semi-final was played over two legs and Juventus won them both 1-0, meaning they are yet to concede a goal in the tournament this season.

AC Milan are hoping to seal a place in the Europa League through their league position this season but Gennaro Gattuso will be determined to land a trophy.

Having slumped to a very disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to relegated Benevento, Milan have responded with wins over Bologna and Hellas Verona in Serie A.  However, they have been the only two wins AC Milan have mustered in their last eight games in all competitions and they fell to a 3-1 defeat at Juventus on the 31st March.

Milan have faced a tougher path to the Coppa Italia final, starting with a 3-0 win over Hellas Verona at the San Siro.  The Quarter-final saw a Milan derby, which AC Milan won 1-0 after extra-time and the Semi-final was played over two legs against Lazio.  Both matches finished 0-0 and AC Milan won through 5-4 on penalties.

Looking ahead to the team news and Juventus welcomed Mario Mandzukic, Stefano Sturaro and Mattia De Sciglio back to training this week.  Douglas Costa will be hoping to start the match following his performance on the weekend against Bologna.

Milan could welcome back midfielder Lucas Biglia for the final as he and Suso made a return to training this week.  Patrick Cutrone will be hoping his goal at the weekend was enough to secure a place in the starting XI.

Juventus have enjoyed success both home and away over AC Milan this season and there is no reason why they cannot win again on neutral soil.  Milan will be fully geared up for this game but Juventus have the superior quality throughout the pitch.  Expect to see Juventus win the Coppa Italia in normal time.