The 71th edition of the Italian Cup (Coppa Italia) will begin in July. 78 teams will battle in different knock-out rounds to lift the trophy on May 9 (2018). The winner, as in other cups, will qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
In a country dominated by one team, with Juventus winning the league in every season since 2012, most of their opponents looks for the Cup as a place to dispute that leadership. But desires might not be enough. Juventus has the strongest team in the country and is always the main candidate for winning the league and the cup. Massimiliano Allegri improved an already established squad, and led it to the finals in the Champions League. The team is rock solid in defense, with Bonucci and Chiellini being two of the best center backs in the world. Pjanic replaced Pirlo and it's doing a great job so far in the midfield. Although defensive, the team is also powerful in attack, with Higuaín, Dybala and Mandzukic as the main three forwards. They might lose some important players this transfer window, such as Dani Alves and Cuadrado, but Allegri has the means to replace them and not lose quality in the local tournaments.
Roma and Napoli are the current contendants for Juventus in Italy. Both teams are having consistent performances in the past seasons and are the ones that can dispute the leadership from the Turin's team. Roma will lose some important players this season, such as Mohamed Salah who will be playing in Liverpool. But is also thinking on some quality signings, such as Xherdan Shaqiri. The team is also trying to keep Edin Dzeko, who in the past season was the top scorer of the Serie A and had a tremendous performance. For Napoli, it was though to replace Higuain after his departure. But the team managed to overcome it and other important players started to shine, such as Callejón and Insigne. But the key-man in the team is Dries Mertens, and he will be playing the next season. If they retain these players and add some quality signings (something probable, given that they will be playing the UCL), they might reach the next level as a team.
Lazio was the other finalist in the past cup, but the Rome based team under-performed in the Serie A. Now Simone Inzaghi will have to think in some important transfers if they want to have a good season. The team lacked offensive power, with Ciro Immobile having some important matches but not being enough some times. Lazio has a lot of young players, and some experienced and proved ones can bring some hierarchy to the squad.
Finally, the two giants from the north, AC Milan and Internazionale, are looking to wake up again. After some bad seasons for the standard they set-up over the years, both teams are trying to get back to where they belong. Under new management, Internazionale will have a big budget to reshape the squad if they want. However, these kind of experiments sometimes take some time to settle. Milan will need some important signings, especially since some important players from the past season such as the young goalkeeper Donnarumma won't be playing for them the next season.