Snow hampering Juve and Milan Cup preparations

SNOW permitting, holders Juventus will take on Atalanta in the Italian Cup semifinal second leg today with AC Milan looking to complete their Roman conquest against Lazio.

Italy has been gripped by snow and icy weather in recent days.

Juventus and Atalanta’s Serie A game in Turin on Sunday was postponed because of the conditions, with more snowfall predicted in northern Italy during the week.

The capital was not spared either with rare snowfall paralysing Rome yesterday, a day after AC Milan beat Roma 2-0 in Serie A.

Gennaro Gattuso’s Milan remained in the capital ahead of the midweek game against Lazio – if they win, they will be back in Rome for the final on May 9.

“Lazio are a difficult side to tackle, they are set-up well with quality players, we have to be careful,” said Gattuso.

Five-time winners Milan – who last held aloft the Cup in 2003 – were held 0-0 by Lazio in the first leg in the San Siro but have been boosted by Sunday night’s win in the Stadio Olimpico.

Three-in-a-row holders Juventus are pushing for a 13th title and have a 1-0 lead from the first-leg thanks to Gonzalo Higuain’s third-minute goal in Bergamo.

Atalanta knocked out Serie A leaders Napoli en route to the semifinals.

Milan are on a 12-match unbeaten run, including five wins on the trot in all competitions, and are now back in contention for a Champions League spot.

Lazio have won the Cup six times, most recently in 2013, and are also riding high after moving up to third in Serie A with a 3-0 win over Sassuolo on Sunday. – AFP