Inter Milan look to increase their six win streak to seven tonight in the Coppa Italia’s first round of 16 when they play a Genoa side that has been struggling in away games this season. There is a little history to this match; last year at the same stadium and in the same tournament Inter defeated Genoa with a score of 3-2. Inter are coming off of a derby win against their cross town rivals AC Milan, and they smashed opponents Parma six to nil in the game prior to that one. To say the least, Inter should be somewhat confident right now even though they started the season with a rough streak of games. And to make troubles even worse for Genoa, Inter has won the past two Coppa Italia’s in a row.

Genoa is also coming off a 3-2 win this past weekend against the Northern Italian team Udinese, and they hope to continue their momentum into the match versus Inter. Genoa came back from being two points down to score all three points and take the win. Genoa’s manager Pasquale Marino has stated that if his team can play at the same level against Inter as they did over the weekend playing Udinese, than they are likely to advance in the Coppa Italia to the quarterfinals.

Both teams are without some of their starting players though. Inter midfielders Coutinho and Stankovic are both on the bench due to injuries, and several players will be rested as well because of an approaching league game with Lazio in a couple of days. The players that are most likely to get a rest are goalkeeper Julio Cesar, defender Walter Samuel, and attacker Giamaolo Pazzini. Inter’s manager Claudio Ranieri is expecting to play Diego Milito and Forlan up front with support for the two strikers being provided in the midfield by Wesley Sneijder. Genoa will be without some of their defenders; Kaladze, Dainelli, and Bovoall are all going to miss the upcoming match.

written by Marcus \\ tags: Coppa Italia, Football, Genoa, Inter Milan, Predictions, Preview