Massimiliano Allegri’s side can claim the unprecedented honour of being the best team in Europe as they look to achieve the treble. This rather difficult task begins tonight as they come face-to-face with a confident and hungry Lazio side at the Stadio Olimpico. 

 

Despite a defeat to Lazio’s arch-rivals Roma on Sunday, Juventus are still well on course to have Serie A success for a sixth successive year. The Old Lady looks set to be the team to beat once again. Whereas, Simone Inzaghi saw his Lazio team taste defeat away to Fiorentina last Saturday evening.

 

Despite this, both sides go into this game in good form with I Biancocelesti losing just one of their last five games domestically and Juventus losing just once in six matches in all competitions.

 

These two sides firmly deserve their place in this year’s final. Lazio overcome arch-rivals Roma in the semis whilst Allegri’s men overcame Napoli. Juve already have the better over Lazio domestically, winning both matches 0-1 and 2-0 in August and January respectively. This psychological advantage should give them the edge, however, when it comes to a cup final, anything can happen.

 

Lazio will be hoping that Immobile can add to his scoring tally in the competition, he has 3 games in 4 appearances and has been in lethal form for them all season. It does not end there, winger Keita, will be looking to show any potential suitors his worth in this game. The Senegalese has netted 15 goals in 30 domestic matches. His form will be vital in getting the Roman side’s hands on the trophy.

 

However, in Turin, Juve have been outstanding in all departments. Despite the summer sale of Paul Pogba to Manchester United, they have not looked back. Their £75 million capture of Gonzalo Higuain gave them an even bigger advantage over their rivals, and he has certainly paid them back with goals galore this campaign. On top of this, Bosnian Miralem Pjanic has been a very good acquisition and their extremely mean defence of Chiellini and Bonucci have only conceded 26 goals. Brazilian left-back Alex Sandro has been outstanding too, combining together to create one of the best Juventus teams of all time.

 

This will be a very close game in which both teams possess fantastic attacking talent which will cause troubles for both sets of defenders. However, Juve’s performances this season have been superb. Their destruction of both Barcelona and Monaco in the Champions League was not particularly surprising. Their solidity at the back and the lethal strikers they have should prove too much for Inzaghi and his men.

 

With a combined total of 17 Coppa Italia wins between them, their rich history in the competition should provide an exciting encounter nonetheless. 

 

Despite many backing Juventus to claim the trophy for a 12th time, Lazio’s appearance should not be disregarded. This could prove to be a good learning curve for them. Something they can later build on. If they can keep their squad intact in the summer, they will continue to grow under Inzaghi and will be hoping to challenge for greater things in the near future.

PROBABLE STARTING LINE-UPS:

Juventus (4-2-3-1) Buffon; Sandro, Chiellini, Bonucci, Barzagli; Lemina, Marchisio; Mandzukic, Dybala, Alves; Higuain

Lazio (4-3-3) Strakosha; Radu, Hoedt, Vrij, Basta; Milinkovic-Savic, Biglia, Lulic; Keita, Immobile, Felipe-Anderson