Wobbling Juventus, Inter aim for cup glory amid coronavirus chaos

Juventus and Inter Milan can get ir seasons back on track with Italian Cup semi-final return-legs midweek, which take place amid Serie A fixture chaos caused by coronavirus. Locked in a battle for league title pair have been overtaken by surprise pack Lazio as city of Rome remains relatively untouched by COVID-19, which has caused havoc in rth of country, killing 52 people. Inter, who travel to Napoli on Thursday hoping to overturn a 1-0 deficit from first leg at San Siro, haven't played in Italy since being beaten at Lazio on February 16 as virus concentrated in Lombardy and Veneto regions.

ir home match against Sampdoria and weekend's schedule title clash with Juve were both postponed, provoking a furious reaction from club's CEO Beppe Marotta, who wanted match played behind closed doors. Two Europa League last 32 matches against Ludogorets is all Inter have had for preparation in that time, and ir disrupted schedule comes in midst of a dip in domestic form that has left former league leaders third behind Lazio and traditional rivals Juve.

Gattuso cracks Napoli whip

y face stiff opposition in Napoli, who look a side reborn since Gennaro Gattuso replaced Carlo Ancelotti as a coach in December. y have surged up Serie A table into sixth and impressed when y held Barcelona to a draw at Stadio San Paolo in midweek. reigning league champions meanwhile host AC Milan in or semi-final on Wednesday in a match that will be open to public, or at least a portion of it.

Italian government decreed a halt to sports events in regions of Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia Romagna and provinces in Liguria and Le Marche badly hit by virus until March 8, unless event is held behind closed doors. decree also bans fans from those areas from making away trips. Juventus anunced that only fans from areas t named by government would be able to travel to Turin (in Piedmont) to watch match.

y face a Milan side whose only defeat in 2020 so far came against Inter in a thrilling derby last month and who were unlucky to come away from first leg with only a 1-1 draw. However, Maurizio Sarri's side will be favourites despite ropey recent form that has seen m lose to Napoli and Hellas Verona and scrape past relegation fodder Brescia and SPAL. ir 1-0 defeat to Lyon in Champions League led to questions over Sarri's future on Juve bench, and should Milan reach final with a first-ever win at Allianz Stadium calls for his dismissal will only become louder.

Im credits: AP