Inter Milan vs Lazio

Inter Milan will host Lazio on Tuesday night in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals in an attempt to set up a thrilling semi-final matchup with their local rivals.

If Inter wants to meet AC Milan in the last four and eventually win the cup for the tenth time, they must first defeat the Biancocelesti.

at an exciting February thus far, Inter has defeated both Fiorentina and Genoa at San Siro, drawn the Milan derby, lost the Derby d'Italia to Juventus, and lost 3-0 at Florence.

The Nerazzurri took the lead in Serie A after a late goal from captain Lautaro Martinez against Genoa. Napoli's following defeat to Como gave them a one-point advantage ahead of their crucial matchup in Naples on Saturday.

Amid their best run of form this season, Lazio were abruptly stopped in their tracks by Inter midway through December, when they slumped to a 6-0 defeat at Stadio Olimpico. The heavy loss marked a significant setback for the capital club, which had been building momentum prior to the encounter.

The capital club have won just two of the last nine league meetings with their second-city counterparts, who have held the upper hand since snaring Inzaghi. This historical dominance by Inter adds an extra layer of challenge for Lazio as they prepare to face the Nerazzurri once again.

Like their quarter-final hosts, Lazio were also handed a bye to the last 16, before beating Napoli 3-1 via a Tijjani Noslin hat-trick. This impressive victory showcased their potential to compete against top-tier opposition, providing a boost in confidence ahead of their upcoming fixtures.

The seven-time Coppa Italia winners have since strolled through to the Europa League knockout phase, and they will soon vie with Viktoria Plzen for a last-eight place in that competition. Their European campaign has been a bright spot this season, offering a chance to make a deep run in the tournament.

First, Marco Baroni's men aim to conquer Inter and book a return to San Siro in April, when they would meet Milan in a two-legged semi-final. This crucial Coppa Italia clash represents an opportunity for Lazio to redeem themselves after their earlier humiliation and keep their silverware hopes alive.

Top-four contenders in Serie A, the Biancocelesti come into this tie after back-to-back league draws - with Napoli and Venezia - so they must now step up a gear to beat the Italian champions. With their league form showing signs of inconsistency, Lazio will need to elevate their performance to overcome Inter and keep their season on track.

Despite losing to their city rivals in the Supercoppa Italiana final last month, Simone Inzaghi's team still has a chance to win a triple this season.

In addition to leading the Scudetto race, Inter will face Milan's rivals Feyenoord in the Champions League's round of 16, and the nine-time champions will now continue their most recent Coppa Italia campaign.

Due to European obligations, they arrived at the round of 16 stage as normal. They defeated Udinese thanks to goals from Kristjan Asllani and Marko Arnautovic in the first half.

After overseeing an amazing six-goal victory in their most recent meeting, Inzaghi now takes on his former team, for whom he played before going on to manage a club record 197 times in Serie A, achieving 108 victories in the process.