Don’t look now, but pro soccer is back in Italy! Serie A is set to resume the 2019-20 season next weekend, but for now Italian fans get to watch the last three matches of the Coppa Italia. The second legs of the semifinals will take place Friday and Saturday, and the final will take place in Rome on June 17. In one semifinal, AC Milan and Juventus will finish their second leg on Friday. The teams drew in Milan, 1-1, as Juventus picked up a key away goal. Now AC Milan has to at least draw 2-2 or win outright to advance. Juventus must win outright or play to a 0-0 draw to advance; a 1-1 draw would send the series to penalties. The winner would play the winner of Napoli and Inter Milan in the final. Napoli returns home having won the first leg in Milan, 1-0. This article focuses on the matchup between Juventus and the resurgent AC Milan. Take a look at the Italy Cup betting odds and our thoughts for the match.
Coppa Italia Semifinal: Juventus vs AC Milan (June 12)
- When: Friday, June 12, 2020, 3:45 pm ET
- Where: Stadio San Paolo, Napoli, Italy
- TV: ESPN+
- Radio: None
- Live Stream: ESPN App
- Coppa Italia Odds: Juventus -189 / Draw +295 / AC Milan +480
Why should you put your money on AC Milan?
AC Milan has five Coppa Italia titles in their storied history, but they have not won one since 2003. Since then, they have made it to the final twice, but lost both of those shots at the championship — both times to Juventus. AC Milan did roll to the semifinals a year ago, where they lost to Lazio. To get to the semifinals, AC Milan knocked off SPAL and Torino. However, Serie A play has been a mixed bag for this side as they are in seventh place in the table.
Heading into the COVID-19 shutdown, AC Milan had won just once in their last six matches across all competitions. They had put together a five-match winning streak in January, but ath momentum appeared to have faded. Against Juventus, they have dropped nine of their last ten, scoring just five goals. What a shame that the team had to concede that equalizer in injury time to Ronaldo — the story might be quite different. It’s hard to argue that an AC Milan team that was ice cold before the hiatus will somehow come out firing on all cylinders.
Why should you bet on Juventus?
Juventus is not having their usually dominant season. They have already won the Coppa Italia 13 times, and they are a perennial favorite in Serie A as well. They have plenty of motivation to make up for last year, when they lost to Atalanta in the quarterfinals and had to look on as Lazio took the title. However, Serie A has not been a piece of cake either, as Juventus was just atop the standings by a single point. Juventus had won three of their last four Serie A matches before play was stopped for the COVID-19 pandemic, which should give fans some encouragement.
If you like Juventus here, then you remember that they picked up that away goal in Milan in the first leg. They also have an offense that can score in bunches, headlined by Cristiano Ronaldo but buttressed by a number of other superior talents as well. The match in Milan was a largely conservative one, but having that away goal means that AC Milan must score to advance, which means that they will have to take risks — and open the door for counters that could prove deadly.
Juventus vs Milan Final Score Prediction
It’s good to see AC Milan working to regain their historical status as one of Italy’s great soccer clubs. However, having to head to Juventus and deal with the away goal that is already on the board for the hosts is too much to ask. I predict that Juventus will win, 2-1.
