Quarter-finals – Lazio’s San Siro curse
By David, BettingExpert.com | Published
Many will expect Totti and Del Piero to line up against each other for what should be the last time. The two Italian football greats will not be meeting again on the football pitch as of next year since Juventus have already announced that Del Piero’s expiring contract will not be renewed. He is not expected to sign for any other Italian club either and an offshore destination should be his next one, perhaps a rich Arab league.
Juventus – Roma
Roma captain Francesco Totti has scored more goals for the same team than any other player in the history of the Serie A after the two against Cesena. Arguments about whether he was ever any better than Del Piero will go on forever but we still should consider ourselves lucky to have had two star players to enjoy watching in such a short span of time.
They should line up against each other for the Coppa Italia clash which Roma. The Giallorossi can boast two successive qualifications the last time they met Juventus in this competition. Both in Turin. This will be another game up north and Luis Enrique will be hoping for that run and the excellent victorious streak in the league to keep going.
My opinion is that it won’t though. Conte will surely make a few rotations including the insertion of Del Piero in the starting lineup alongside newcomer Borriello. Estigarribia will be playing in attack too on one of the flanks. Giaccherini should replace the injured Marchisio in midfield whilst the defence should be back to the old one with Chiellini on the left and Bonucci partnering Barzagli as centre-back.
It is a strong starting eleven by Conte and Luis Enrique will not want to snub the cup, as in the Spanish tradition. Therefore Totti, Lamela and Bojan should be the attacking trio.
Verdict: Juventus 0:0
Roma still have too many key injuries and against A Juventus side which does not seem to want to take this fixture lightly I do not think they will be as lucky as in the first meeting this season. I expect Juventus to emerge victorious, this time probably earlier than extra time as happened against Bologna. Yet it is a cup match so I will not risk a straight win.
Napoli – Inter
With the Lazio win Ranieri has matched Mourinho’s record of eight victories in a row for the club. It was not a pretty three-pointer though despite playing at home against a side notoriously weak in its visits to the San Siro. The match could have easily gone the other way but a few refereeing decisions which favoured the Nerazzurri salvaged the points.
Ranieri should have understood that there are a number of players in need of a rest and with the midweek Serie A fixtures planned for next week fatigue will get worse if something is not done soon enough.
Lecce line up next for Inter but after the troubles they went through to recover from one goal down against them a month ago the manager knows he would be playing with fire if he shifted his players for that match rather than this unimportant cup fixture. After all the main target for them is the third place that would take the to Champions League football next season.
Mazzarri is a fan of player rotation when it comes to games that he considers as counting less. This should be one of those on the list. Nonetheless, after a poor run of form I don’t think he will be sacrificing most of key men here. Some may even benefit the team if they sit the game out. Inler, who has cost the club a whole lot of money but delivered relatively little should be replaced by Dzemaili. Lavezzi played only for a half after he returned from injury. He should play along with Pandev and perhaps Edu Vargas. Cavani may start instead of the latter but he too has been performing poorly. If the manager decides to make changes in his defence that would be helpful too given that most of the slip ups the team has suffered have been due to poor judgment by a defence that does not belong to a team with big ambitions like those of Napoli.
Verdict: Napoli 0:0
Last year Napoli were knocked out unjustly by Inter in the Coppa Italia. This season they won at the San Siro in an equally unfair manner via some dubious refereeing decisions. That’s football though but both will be looking to take this seriously. I suspect Napoli, after their recent results, are more in need of a good result than Inter however so I will gamble on Ranieri’s changes costing them more dearly than will Mazzarri’s.
Milan – Lazio
As Milan fans await whether they will be greeting the arrival of Tevez, Maxi Lopez or both now that Paris Saint Germain have pulled off from the deal there’s a midweek cup clash which is probably a fastidious one for the Rossoneri. Winning here will mean more fixture to slot in their already tight calendar and they know they would only welcome more Champions League fixture there rather than semifinal games for the domestic cup.
As such Allegri will make changes to his line-up and give space to players who have not been utilized much. Bonera, Zambrotta, Inzaghi and newcomer Mesbah. Nesta should be back playing alongside Mexes. Maybe De Sciglio in defence, who did not impress me much when fielded. In midfield there should be Merkel, van Bommel and Nocerino.
Reya should change a few things too but he does have less players to choose from. What can be a key change is the inclusion of Cisse. He scored his first goal at the San Siro against Milan but has not netted again since. His has become a nightmare but I will be backing him to wake up to a brighter Lazio future with at least a goal in this match.
Verdict: Lazio +0.25
Lazio’s tradition at the San Siro is bad. They have had a wonderful display against Inter at that stadium on Sunday night, however, and with Cisse eager to get back to scoring I think he can lead the line for Lazio to register a rare win in Milan.
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