Internazionale vs Roma Preview

Roma will be hoping to use their slight advantage to get past Inter and set-up what would be a mouth-watering Coppa Italia final with arch-rivals Lazio.

Inter Milan and Roma, two of Italy's biggest clubs, face-off in what promises to be a hotly-contested Coppa Italia semi-final second leg at the San Siro on Wednesday.

Roma head into the clash with a 2-1 advantage from the opening leg at the Stadio Olimpico, and will be totally focused on securing passage into the final of the competition.

If Roma manage to overcome Inter, they will meet city rivals Lazio in the Coppa Italia final. Lazio advanced to the final in late January, with a heroic 3-2 aggregate victory over Italian champions Juventus.

Inter, who have been woeful in the Serie A in recent weeks, will be desperate to advance to the title decider, as a possible title triumph would perhaps be the only highlight of what has been a horrible season.

But Andrea Stramaccioni's preparations for the clash haven't been the best, as Walter Gargano and Yuto Nagatomo have been totally discarded after picking up injuries in the 2-0 loss to Cagliari on the weekend.

They add their names to Inter's extensive injury list, which also includes strikers Diego Milito, Antonio Cassano, Rodrigo Palacio and defender Cristian Chivu.

Stramaccioni, who is unlikely to remain in his post at the conclusion of the season, will also be without the suspended South American pair of Alvaro Pereira and Fredy Guarin.

Inter's mission will be to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg, and despite the number of absences, Stramaccioni has confidence in his attack, which comprises of Tommaso Rocchi, formerly of Lazio, Ricky Alvarez and Ezequiel Schelotto.

Unlike Inter, rivals Roma have a full-strength squad available, which includes Daniele De Rossi, who could make his much-awaited comeback from the kick-off.

Argentine-born attackers Erik Lamela and Pablo Osvaldo have knocks, but have made progress during the week and are expected to take the field on Wednesday.

Legendary attacking midfielder Francesco Totti has lifted the Coppa Italia twice with Roma, and will be hoping to lead the Giallorossi to another final where he could possibly have the opportunity to capture his third title.