The two teams had clearly approached this match with very different levels of seriousness!
Inter Milan had changed their formation, switching from 4-3-1-2 to 4-2-3-1.
However, their lone striker was the younger Bonazzoli, who had been promoted to the starting lineup. Icardi, the regular center-forward who had started every match before this, was on the bench.
Tang Long took up the starting attacking-midfielder position.
On either side of him were Shaqiri and Podolski.
The two defensive midfielders had also been rotated: Kuzmanovic and Obi.
There had been some changes in the back line as well. Ranocchia and Juan Jesus started in the middle, new signing Santon played on the left, and Dodo returned to the starting lineup for the first time in five rounds.
Third-choice goalkeeper Berni started in goal.
Even head coach Mancini was absent. Assistant coach Herrera would take charge of the team for this match.
Where had Mancini gone? He'd taken leave from the club's management and returned to Manchester to handle some personal business.
As for the home side, Napoli had fielded their full-strength lineup!
Stars such as Higuain, Callejon, Hamsik, Koulibaly, and Albiol were all in the starting eleven.
"You can tell from the starting lineups that the two teams have completely different attitudes toward this match!"
"Exactly. Napoli rotated their squad to some extent in the Serie A match at the weekend. Their top scorer, Higuain, didn't even play. It seems they were saving their strength for this showdown with Inter Milan!"
"Napoli won the Coppa Italia last season, and they're determined to defend the title this year. They're taking this domestic cup seriously."
"There's another interesting angle to this match!"
"Napoli's current manager, Benitez, used to coach Inter Milan!"
"His time at Inter was deeply unpleasant. A lot of Inter fans say he