The last four are ready to face off in the next round of the Coppa Italia and this weekend the first-leg of both semi-finals will commence.
AS Roma vs Juventus – Saturday 11:30am
Embed from Getty ImagesAfter taking a giant step towards the league title last weekend, Juventus are still on course for the double this season.
Supercoppa Showdown
Roma have lost all five previous meetings with Juventus although they did push them close in their most recent meeting. In January, the sides met in the Supercoppa semi-final, and it took extra-time for Juve to get past their opponents. The game stood at 1-1 at the end of normal time, and Roma would go into extra-time a player down.
Camelia Ceasar, their goalkeeper was shown the red card in the 89th minute. Just as it looked like the tie would need to be decided on penalties, Cristiana Girelli grabbed the winner with four minutes remaining.
When the sides met in Turin in their league meeting, Roma were on the end of a 4-1 defeat. Girelli again on the scoresheet with a brace that day. This season’s top scorer, the Juve striker has scored 19 goals in 20 games in all competitions.
Goals
While Paloma Lázaro and Annamaria Serturini have been Roma’s top scorers in Serie A this season, in the Coppa it’s Andressa Alves who has shone brightest. The Brazilian has bagged five goals in her four games in this competition so far.
To get to this stage, Roma had a much easier than expected quarter-final win over Florentia San Gimignano. A 10-1 aggregate win showed a team very much in form. They have also recently moved up to fourth place in the league. Their most recent outing however, saw them slip to a surprise defeat at Verona.
Juventus on the other hand come into this on the back of a massive win last weekend. Their 4-0 defeat of AC Milan has left them six points clear at the top of Serie A, and well on course for another Scudetto.
The away side have already won the Supercoppa this campaign, and their only two losses all season have come in the Champions League against Lyon. To get to the semi-final stage of the Coppa Italia, they needed to see off Empoli. The first leg was a hard fought 5-4 win away, but back in Turin they strolled to a 5-0 win.
While Cristiana Girelli is the top scorer in the league, in this competition it’s Andrea Stašková who has led the way. Girelli has only appeared in two games of the tournament, leaving the Czech striker to score five goals in her four games.
Sara Gama has not been included in the squad to travel to Rome.
Inter Milan vs AC Milan – Sunday 11:30am
It’s a Milan derby in the second semi-final. This will be the sixth time that the sides have met in all competitions and Milan have won in all five previous meetings.
Embed from Getty ImagesGetting Here
To reach this stage, Inter needed to get past Fiorentina, which they managed despite losing the second leg. Milan meanwhile, played out two draws with Sassuolo, and made it through thanks to the away goal scored by Valentina Giacinti.
Giacinti has been in fine form in both league and cup, top scorer for the club in both competitions. In the Coppa Italia, the striker has put away four goals in the four games to date. For Inter, it’s Gloria Marinelli who has been getting most of their goals. Three goals in four Coppa games to add to her six in the league.
Coppa Italia History
Marinelli also scored when the sides met in Serie A back in October. Milan went on to win that game 4-1. This is the third season in a row where the two teams have faced each other in the cup. On both previous occasions, Milan won away from home, including another 4-1 win last season.
Milan will be looking to bounce back from last week’s disappointing 4-0 loss at Juventus. With that result giving Juve the upper hand in the title race, Milan will now focus their attention on another trophy possibility in this competition. They have never won the Coppa Italia, the semi-final stage is the furthest they have reached. In the 2018/19 edition, they lost out to Juventus over two legs at this stage.
For Inter, this is their debut appearance at the semi-final stage. They currently lie in eight place in the league, a full 21 points behind their city rivals. Having suffered four consecutive league defeats, they have recently managed to steady the ship somewhat. A win over Verona was followed up last week by a scoreless draw at home to Napoli.
