AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli says they must take the Coppa Italia seriously.

Milan meet SPAL on Wednesday night in the round of 16.

“The Coppa Italia is an important competition," Pioli said. “It has always been and is even more now that it helps you qualify for the Europa League.

“All the big clubs focus on this competition. We are a great club, we have a great history, so the Coppa Italia should be an important objective to achieve. But it's useless to look too far ahead, if you don't look at the hurdle tomorrow night.

“We will have a tough match against SPAL, a normal battle in Italy and we must be prepared."

Pioli has admitted that Milan's home form has been poor this term and hope to turn things around with a win in the cup.

“We haven't collected enough wins in front of our own fans," Pioli said at a press conference. “Games that had to be unlocked and perhaps we should have won, I won't say easily, but situations where we should have brought home the win.

“For now, we have to focus on the present, our future and what tomorrow's game is, which is an important game that we care about."