Milan bring a 1-0 lead back to San Siro for their second leg tie against third division side Alessandria, with a trip to Rome on the cards if they can finish the job.
The first leg was a scrappy affair that did Alessandria no disgrace whatsoever, as Milan struggled to get a firm hold on the game and only gained an advantage through a Mario Balotelli penalty.
Mihajlovic’s side sit in sixth position in the league, with 47 points from 27 games after their most recent 1-0 victory against Torino. The Rossoneri are now ten unbeaten in all competitions, having only tasted home defeat twice in 2015-16.
The visitors have struggled for form, winning just once in the six games they have played since the first leg.
As a consequence, Angelo Gergucci’s side have slipped to fifth in the league, with 40 points from 24 games. This has somewhat dented their promotion hopes, though doing the impossible in Milan on Tuesday night would propel them once again.
The Rossoneri will still have to keep an eye on Riccardo Bocalon. The 26-year-old former Inter man has 12 goals this season, including a brace in the last round to knock out Spezia.
With tickets on sale from a lower price than usual, there is reason to expect San Siro to be fuller than usual for this tie, with Milan having the possibility of reaching their first Coppa Italia final since 2003.
For Alessandria, the wait is slightly longer: they haven’t been in a major final since 1936 when l’Orso were beaten 5-1 by Torino in front of a crowd of about 10,000 people.
Sinisa Mihajlovic has already stated that he will be using a rotated squad, and has everyone to pick from but for Diego Lopez, Alex and Philippe Mexes.
Alessio Romagnoli should recover from fever to feature, with Giacomo Bonaventura and Juraj Kucka back from injury. Riccardo Montolivo returns from suspension.
M’Baye Niang will not feature as the club confirmed the Frenchman was involved in a car accident, suffering ankle ligament damage, meaning Mario Balotelli is in line for a start.
For Alessandria, they will be without suspended central defender Alex Sirri for their first San Siro visit in 8 years.
