01 November 1897
Cup Pedigree
When it comes to Coppa Italia pedigree, Juventus are the undisputed top dogs in Italy. Alvaro Morata’s 110th-minute winner in Rome last May secured not only a second consecutive domestic double but also the club’s 11th triumph in the country’s premier knockout competition, an all-time record.
It should not come as a surprise then that the Bianconeri have an imperious past in the early rounds of the cup, advancing to at least the quarter-finals in all of their last ten appearances in the round of 16.
As it happens, the last time they were eliminated at this point of the Coppa was way back in 2004/05 at the hands of Wednesday’s visitors Atalanta following a 2-0 defeat in Bergamo and a 3-3 draw at the Stadio delle Alpi.
La Dea last tasted cup success themselves in 1963, defeating Como, Catania, Padova, Bari on their way to a 3-1 final victory over Torino, World Cup winner Antonio Domenghini the hero with a blistering hat-trick either side of half-time at the San Siro.
The Nerazzurri* *have not been quite so fortunate in more recent editions of the trophy and have failed to advance to the quarters in all of their last four attempts.
An impending away trip to Juventus Stadium would suggest a continuation of that run, particularly given the fact that Serie A’s fifth-placed side have lost seven times in eight away ties and the Bianconeri are ten from ten at this stage of the competition.
The Old Lady and the Goddess
When the Old Lady meets La Dea in the Coppa Italia the end product is invariably goals, and plenty of them. In the four previous encounters between the pair in Turin, the Bianconeri have found the net a staggering 16 times at a rate of four per game, with the same number of strikes shared between the teams home and away in the past three matches.
As touched on above, the last three strikes on home turf against Atalanta were ultimately in vain as the Bianconeri crashed out on aggregate after a 3-3 second-leg draw, but with Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic all approaching top form, this goalscoring certainly looks to be extented into Wednesday night’s meeting.
While the two teams have enjoyed three victories apiece in the previous 12 cup ties, Atalanta’s trio of successes all came in Bergamo and are yet to defeat to Juventus away from home in the competition (three defeats, one draw).
A repeat then of the pair’s last competitive meeting, a 3-1 win for Juve just over a month ago, is well within the realms of possibility.
Since we last met...
Having arrived at Juventus Stadium on the crest of a wave, Atalanta have since recovered from back to back reverses at the hands of Juve and Udinese to collect seven points from their last three league matches against Milan (0-0), Empoli (2-1) and Chievo (1-4).
With 35 points from 19 games, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men have ensured that La Dea has never enjoyed a more fruitful first half of a top-flight season so although beaten with relative ease in Turin in December, the veteran coach’s young charges will be chomping at the bit for a second attempt at defeating the 11-time champions.
The Bianconeri meanwhile have collected victories ictories over Dinamo Zagreb, Torino, Roma and Bologna in the interim, a penalty shootout loss to Milan in Doha the only blot on the Old Lady’s copy book in the past month.
For the record, only Juve (eight) have conceded fewer goals away from home so far this term than the Bergamo-based outfit (10); just under a third of which came in one evening thanks to our very own Alex Sandro, Daniele Rugani and Mandzukic.
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