Fiorentina vs Inter Milan

Coppa Italia glory is on the line as Fiorentina and Inter Milan face each other in the grand final at the Stadio Olimpico.

It’s been 22 years since Fiorentina last had a taste of continental success, highlighting Vincenzo Italiano’s ambition to get ‘La Viola’ over the finishing line against the odds. The Florence outfit eased past Serie A whipping boys Cremonese 2-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals to set up one of the two title-deciding fixtures awaiting them in the next fortnight. Despite an underwhelming Serie A season, Fiorentina could still claim a European and domestic double this term after reaching the Europa Conference League final. However, Italiano’s men have blown hot and cold across their six competitive outings in April (W2, D2, L2), most recently drawing 1-1 at Torino over the weekend. That will hardly inspire their bid to defy an underwhelming 14-game H2H form against Inter (W1, D5, L8).

However, Inter cannot take anything for granted, knowing their only defeat in that 14-game run came last month (0-1). On top of that, ‘I Nerazzurri’ boast a narrow advantage in the overall Coppa Italia H2H stakes (W4, L3), though those four victories came in their last four encounters in the competition. After an impressive nine-game undefeated run in all competitions (W8, D1), Simone Inzaghi’s second-string line-up slipped to a 3-1 loss at Napoli last time out, conceding two more goals in that fixture than in their previous eight outings combined. Still, back-to-back Coppa Italia winners head into proceedings as clear-cut favorites to win the crown for a third time on the trot. A low-scoring theme could be in store, with one of their four games en route to the final producing over 2.5 goals in regulation time.