Stadio Olimpico is the venue as Fiorentina and Inter go head-to-head in a highly-anticipated Coppa Italia grand final on Wednesday. A potential European and domestic cup double is at stake for both sides, with their respective continental title-deciding fixtures waiting in the wings.
While last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Torino left Fiorentina in the lower reaches in Serie A, this could prove an unprecedented season for La Viola in the 21st century. In addition to setting up a Coppa Italia final date, courtesy of a 2-0 aggregate win over top-flight whipping boys Cremonese in the semi-finals, Vincenzo Italiano’s men are in contention for European silverware for the first time since lifting the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1960/61.
After a 2-1 home loss to Basel in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final tie, Fiorentina pulled off a second-leg comeback to book tickets for a handsomely-looking final against Premier League outfit West Ham United. But since their last domestic title dates back to 2000/01, when they incidentally conquered the Coppa Italia, La Viola will be keen to come out on top on Wednesday and arrest a 22-year title drought.
Unfortunately for the Florence side, they couldn’t have encountered a worse enemy in the competition’s climax. Back-to-back Coppa Italia winners Inter squeezed past arch-rivals Juventus 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals and have a chance to make history by winning the prize three times on the spin for the first time. However, Simone Inzaghi’s team dealt a significant psychological blow at the weekend as newly-crowned Serie A champions Napoli thumped them 3-1 at the Diego Maradona Stadium.
There’s no time to moan, with a mouth-watering Champions League final against unrelenting Premier League champions Manchester City on the horizon. Sunday’s defeat in southern Italy halted Inter’s eye-catching run of nine competitive games without losing (W8, D1), suggesting the Nerazzurri could still take the field in high spirits. Adding to this sentiment, Juventus’ point deduction has likely removed all doubts regarding their top-four finish in Serie A.
Match Preview
Fiorentina
Consistency hasn’t been Fiorentina’s ally in May, given that they’ve only won two of their six competitive outings this month (D2, L2). Playing outside Stadio Artemio Franchi could further complicate things for Italiano’s side, considering they’ve gone winless on their last four domestic travels (D2, L2), conceding precisely three goals twice in this sequence.
It gets worse. Fiorentina’s 14-game form against Inter spells more trouble (W1, D5, L8), though they can draw some confidence from the fact their only win in this stretch came in their most recent showdown only last month. But La Viola must address their ever-growing defensive woes to stand a chance against Inter’s free-flowing attack after failing to keep a clean sheet in five of their last six games.
Player to Watch: Giacomo Bonaventura
Bonaventura’s second-half winner at Giuseppe Meazza in April halted Fiorentina’s tormenting six-year wait for a win over Inter, while he also scored in his side’s last domestic victory during a 2-0 thumping of Udinese a fortnight ago.
Inter
After averaging 3.2 goals per game across five consecutive wins in all competitions, Inzaghi’s lads have netted precisely once in their last two outings (W1, L1). But goals have been at a premium for Inter in their recent meetings with Fiorentina. They’ve bagged under 1.5 goals in two of their previous three H2Hs, including the abovementioned scoreless showing in April.
Having never crossed paths in this ultimate encounter, it remains arduous to determine a clear victor. However, Inter hold the upper hand in the overall head-to-head record in this competition, with four victories to Fiorentina’s three. It is worth noting that all four of Inter’s triumphs were achieved in the last four encounters, each by a narrow one-goal margin.
Player to Watch: Lautaro Martinez
Martinez will likely miss out on the Capocannoniere award to Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, but he’ll undoubtedly be under the spotlight on Wednesday. The Argentine notched up a brace and an assist in Inter’s enthralling 4-3 win over Fiorentina earlier this season.
Team News
Fiorentina will be without long-term absentee Salvatore Sirigu, but other than the veteran goalkeeper, Italiano will have the remainder of his squad fit for this season-defining assignment.
As for Inter, Henrikh Mkhitaryan has recently joined Dalbert and Milan Skriniar on the sidelines. Nonetheless, Inzaghi will have all his heavy hitters ready to defend the crown this midweek.
Fiorentina vs Inter Potential Lineups
Fiorentina (4-3-3): Pietro Terracciano; Dodo, Nikola Milenkovic, Igor, Cristiano Biraghi; Giacomo Bonaventura, Sofyan Amrabat, Rolando Mandragora; Nicolas Gonzalez, Luka Jovic, Jonathan Ikone.
Inter (3-5-2): Samir Handanovic; Matteo Darmian, Francesco Acerbi, Alessandro Bastoni; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic, Hakan Calhanoglu, Federico Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez, Edin Dzeko.
Fiorentina vs Inter Prediction
Even though Inzaghi’s second-string lineup fell apart at Napoli last time out, Inter should still have momentum on their side, not to mention hard-to-contain firepower. The Nerazzurri’s experience in title-deciding high-octane moments should give them a further edge.
Prediction: Inter Win
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