24 January 2017
Bianconeri vs. Rossoneri
Despite coming into Wednesday's quarter-final clash on the back of consecutive defeats against Milan, Juventus hold a positive record over their visitors when it comes to the Coppa Italia.
The Bianconeri have won nine times to the Rossoneri's seven in the past 23 cup clashes between the pair so far. You would have to go back 32 years to find the last Milan Coppa success, at the same stage of the competition in 1985.
Juve's most recent victory meanwhile came of course just a matter of months ago at the Stadio Olimpico in May, Alvaro Morata's extra-time winner handing the Old Lady a record-breaking 11th Coppa Italia crown.
As it happens, last season's showpiece event in the capital was the only meeting between the pair that didn't produced goals for each side since March 1992. Their last quarter-final clash saw the Bianconeri prevail thanks to strikes from Sebastian Giovinco and Mirko Vucinic.
RECENT FORM
Cup kings of recent years, it should not come as any surprise that Juventus have won seven of their last eight matches in Italy's premier knockout competition. On home turf - ever the key weapon in the Old Lady's armoury - the reigning champions have lost just one cup tie since the 2011/12 season.
In all competitions this campaign, Massimiliano Allegri's men have triumphed 13 times from a possible 15 so far, draws against Lyon and Sevilla the only blots on their copybook. The goalless stalemate with the latter was one of just two games this term that hasn't featured at least one Juve goal.
Finalists last year and buoyed by December's penalty-shootout success in Doha, Vincenzo Montella's Milan will head to Turin with the belief that another cup coup could be on the cards. The Rossoneri are on a run of seven wins from eight in the Coppa Italia, their most recent a rousing comeback victory over Torino at the San Siro.
Key men
All eyes will naturally fall on frontmen Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic, together with Miralem Pjanic the only players to have found the net in all three competitions for Juventus this season, particularly after Sunday's eye-catching disposal of Lazio.
The latter of the trio Pjanic, has either scored or assisted seven times in his last nine outings while fellow forward schemer Dybala will be looking for a fourth home goal in a row in 2017.
Although yet to feature in the Coppa Italia so far, Gonzalo Higuain remains far and way the Bianconeri's top dog in front of goal: Sunday's near-post strike his eighth in seven games.
In the red and black corner, Giacomo Bonaventura, the scorer of Milan's equaliser in the Super Cup final in Doha, was the standout star in the previous round, the winger completing a quickfire second-half turn around after Juraj Kucka had cancelled out Andrea Belotti's opener.
Spanish wideman Suso will look to provide a threat from the opposite flank, the former Liverpool man digging out 10 crosses against Torino, more than any other player across all last 16 ties. There could be a debut for Gerard Deulofeu, a recent arrival on loan from Everton.
Massimiliano Allegri holds the advantage down in the dugout; the Tuscan eliminated Montella's Fiorentina in the semi-finals two years ago before seeing off Milan in the final just over a year later, his first encounter with the Rossoneri in the Coppa Italia as a coach.
