Juventus will face Serie A rivals Atalanta in the 2021 Coppa Italia final on May 18th. Juventus held Inter Milan to a 0-0 draw earlier this week to progress to the final. I Bianconeri previously defeated Internazionale 2-1 in the first leg of the semi-final thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo double. Andrea Pirlo now has the opportunity to lead Juve to a 14th Coppa title in May.
Previous Opponents
Juventus entered the final stages of this year’s Coppa Italia in January and faced a tough test from Serie A side Genoa, who took Pirlo’s side to extra time following a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes in their last 16 tie. However, Hamza Rafia was on hand in the 103rd minute to send Juve into the quarter finals. The quarter finals were more straightforward for Juventus. The Serie A giants faced Serie B side SPAL at the Allianz Stadium and comfortably defeated the visitors 4-0.
The result set up a clash of giants in the semi-final as Juventus took on Inter Milan over two legs in early February. Inter took an early lead in the first leg in Milan, as Lautaro Martinez scored within nine minutes. But Cristiano Ronaldo responded with a quick double later in the first half. The two goals from the Portuguese striker were enough to see his side through to the final as Juventus held out for a 0-0 draw at home in the second leg.
Form
Despite reaching the final of the Coppa Italia, Juventus are third in Serie A and seven points behind league leaders AC Milan. However, Pirlo’s side have only lost three games this season in all competitions and they extended their unbeaten run to seven games in a row following the 0-0 draw with Inter in the Coppa semi-final recently.
Juventus have also reached the Coppa final in seven of the last eight seasons. But the Old Lady have not won the domestic cup since 2018, when they defeated AC Milan 4-0. Last year, in the 2019/20 tournament, Juventus held Napoli to a 0-0 draw but eventually lost the tie-on penalties.
key Players
Cristiano Ronaldo remains a key player for Juventus this season. In addition to his two match winning goals in the Coppa Italia semi-final, Ronaldo has scored 20 goals in Serie A and Champions League fixtures this season. Whilst there will always be a debate about who the best player currently in world football is, Ronaldo is still performing at the highest level and always turns up on the biggest of stages. Punters looking to back CR7 can look at the current odds and read more on sportsbetting24 to see if bookmarkers back the veteran to be a top goal scorer for the Italians, to add to his already impressive trophy cabinet.
Alvaro Morata is another dangerous player for Juventus. The striker has scored two goals in the Coppa Italia this year, six in the Champions League and four in Serie A.
20-year-old Swedish midfielder Dejan Kulusevski has also been on form in the cup competitions for Juventus this year. Kulusevski is Juventus’ joint top-scorer in the Coppa, finding the net twice in four appearances. The Swede has also provided two assists in the tournament.
Odds of Winning
Juventus will come into this year’s Coppa final as clear favourites. I bianconeri are in good form and are a tough team to beat. They also proved their excellent balance between defence and attack with a comfortable semi-final victory over Inter Milan.
The Old Lady will also be desperate to overcome last season’s disappointing final loss to Napoli and Pirlo will be eager to add a 14th Coppa to Juventus’ trophy cabinet.
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