Osaguona injured in freak accident

Raja Casablanca striker, Osaguona Ighodaro, could be out of his team's match against Algerian side, ES Setif, in the Caf Champions League due to injury.

The Moroccan club announced that their Nigerian player picked up an injury when he fell in his bathroom on Wednesday before they took him to the hospital for treatment.

The former Enugu Rangers forward will miss Saturday's league match against Marrakech.

"Osaguona picked up a serious injury and he will not play our match against Kawkab Marrakech on Saturday and we are still not sure if he can play our African Champions League against ESS of Algeria," Rajaa announced.

The Nigerian striker is one of Raja's key players as he has scored five goals for his team in the current version of the Caf Champions League.

The 24-year-old started his career in 2011 with Buffles Parakou before he moved to 3SC and then to Enugu Rangers.

Osaguona joined Raja Casablanca in January this year.

Barca face Bayern, Juve get Real

Barcelona will have the chance to avenge their 2013 humbling by Bayern Munich after being paired with the Germans again in the Champions League semifinal draw on Friday which also pitted holders Real Madrid against Juventus.

Bayern thrashed Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate two years ago before going on to beat Borussia Dortmund to win their fifth European Cup.

Former Barca coach Pep Guardiola was on a year's sabbatical at the time but will doubtless enjoy the challenge of trying to repeat that achievement on his first return to the Nou Camp since taking over at Bayern.

Bayern, who play the second leg at home, will go into the tie on a high after their 6-1 quarter-final second-leg demolition of Porto but Barcelona were similarly impressive in dispatching a powerful Paris St Germain side 5-1 on aggregate.

"On Tuesday we played one of the best halves in the history of the Champions League [when they scored five against Porto to wipe out a 3-1 first-leg deficit]," said Paul Breitner, Bayern's representative at the draw.

"We have to do that over the entire two games against Barcelona."

Jordi Mestre, Barcelona vice-president, said: "Guardiola obviously knows us well but we also know him and his way of playing, while Luis Enrique and Guardiola know each other very well and it is another element to the game."

Real, seeking a record-extending 11th title, will be at home in the second leg against a Juventus side making their first appearance in the semis since 2003 when they beat the Spaniards en route to losing the final to AC Milan on penalties.

Juventus are flying on all fronts as they are firmly on course to win the Serie A title and have reached the Italian Cup final.

"It will be a very tough semi," former Real striker and current club ambassador Emilio Butragueno said of the repeat of the 1998 final in Amsterdam which Real won 1-0.

"Congratulations to Juventus and it will be an honour for Madrid as well. If we get some players back from injury it will be better but it will be a tough semi-final nevertheless."

The semi-finals will take place on May 5/6 and 12/13 with the final in Berlin on June 6.

Italian clubs kept apart in Europa semis

The draw for the semifinals of the Europa League on Friday kept alive the possibility of an all-Italian final as Serie A sides Napoli and Fiorentina avoided each other.

Rafa Benitez's Napoli will take on Dnipro of Ukraine while Fiorentina will face holders Sevilla in the semi-finals, with the first legs to be played on Thursday, May 7 and the second legs on Thursday, May 14.

Napoli, who are through to their first European semi-final since the side captained by Diego Maradona won the Uefa Cup in 1989, will be favourites to beat a Dnipro outfit appearing in their first ever continental semifinal.

Coach Rafa Benitez is looking to win yet another European trophy having led Valencia to the Uefa Cup in 2004 before winning the Champions League with Liverpool a year later and then the Europa League with Chelsea in 2013.

Meanwhile, Fiorentina's reward for beating Dynamo Kiev and reaching their first semi-final since the 2008 Uefa Cup is a clash with the holders, with the first leg to come in Spain.

Having beaten Benfica on penalties in last year's final in Turin, Sevilla remain on course to repeat their achievement of 2006 and 2007, when they won the Uefa Cup in consecutive years.

There has not been an all-Italian European final since AC Milan beat Juventus on penalties to win the Champions League in 2003. However, there were four all-Italian finals in the Uefa Cup in the 1990s.

The final will be played in the Polish capital Warsaw on May 27.

For the first time, the winners of the Europa League will qualify for next season's Champions League.

'Hull players could pay the price of relegation'

Hull City's players can expect to have their wages cut by up to 50 percent if they are relegated from the Premier League, manager Steve Bruce said on Friday.

Seventeenth-placed Hull are level on 28 points from 32 matches with Leicester City in 18th, but Bruce's side are outside the drop zone on goal difference with six games remaining.

"Everybody concerned takes a huge reduction in salary," Bruce told a news conference.

"The club has had a really, really stringent policy so that if we do get relegated the club doesn't fall into drastic times which a lot of clubs do.

"Most players take a 40 and 50 percent reduction in their salary which is key throughout it all.

"We are all realistic enough to know that yes we want to avoid going into the Championship but we have made sensible provisions.

"If you get relegated it's a major overhaul and you basically start over again on your journey, but you want to remain positive."

Hull travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday and they have four tricky home fixtures to come against Liverpool, Arsenal, Burnley and Manchester United.

With the bottom five -- Sunderland, Hull, Leicester, Queens Park Rangers and Burnley -- separated by three points, Bruce is aware his side must pick up points sooner rather than later.

"There is a certain level points you need to get to whether it's 34, 35 or 36," Bruce said. "There is no doubt at all, we could do with a result to get us started again.

"We have got six games to play. They are tough fixtures but our home form is pretty decent. A couple of weeks ago there was six, seven or eight teams involved. It was terrific.

"I think it's between the five clubs that are at the bottom. We have got to make sure we are not one of those three that unfortunately slips out of the league."

Johnson warns Stars are not safe yet

Platinum Stars coach Cavin Johnson feels his side are still not safe from the threat of relegation even though he has racked up a four-match unbeaten run since arriving at the distressed club.

Johnson’s side gained another valuable point in their battle against the drop on Wednesday, holding outgoing champions Mamelodi Sundowns to a 1-1 draw at Atteridgeville, but Johnson is warning against any complacency creeping in.

“I honestly think there is a little more still to do. I feel that we had a hard fought game against Sundowns and we were happy to come away with a point. We might even have snatched all three points near the death. But we are not clear just yet.”

Since Johnson replaced Allan Fresse, and returned to Stars for a second spell in charge, the club have beaten Ajax Cape Town and drawn with Orlando Pirates (3-3), SuperSport United (0-0) and Sundowns in midweek.

It has seen them move to 12th place on 30 points, seven above the drop zone, with four games to go.

Stars are next at relegation-haunted AmaZulu in Durban next Wednesday, followed by another meeting with Sundowns and then their last two matches of the season against Polokwane City and Bidvest Wits.

Sundowns, Pelembe in deadlock

Negotiations with Elias Pelembe over a new contract are stalled, admitted Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane, with the likelihood one of the country’s highest paid players is headed out of the door at the end of the season.

“They are still stalling. I think they’ve reached a stalemate with Pelembe,” said Mosimane of his club’s dealings with the Mozambican international over a new contract.

“He’s a good player, a very good footballer but this is about more than that. It’s about business. He is asking for what he feels he deserves but if the club doesn’t meet his demands, what are we going to do.

“There are other good players at Sundowns. We love Pelembe but if he is not going to stay, we’ll miss him but we have to continue.”

Media reports had Pelembe’s last contract valued at R3 million annually, effectively guaranteeing him a monthly salary of R250 000. But this has never been confirmed by either the club or the player.

The dilemma now for Pelembe, known as Dominguez in his home country, is that he is unlikely to get anything approaching the same salary package from another Premier Soccer League clubs, especially after spending most of the season out of favour and on the sidelines.

This campaign, he has started only nine league matches and three in cup competition and scored a single goal.

His chances of similar money in Portugal, which is an attractive alternative for Pelembe, are also slim as he is now 30 years old.

Pep expects 'special' game against Barca

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola said on Friday he was happy to have drawn his former club Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals and expected the clash to be a special experience for him.

The Spaniard, a long-time Barca player, won 14 trophies in a four-year spell as head coach at the Nou Camp from 2008, including two Champions League titles.

Bayern midfielder Thiago Alcantara, lured to Bayern by Guardiola last season, is also a Barcelona youth product.

"Everyone understands how special this game is for me, for Thiago and my staff," Guardiola, who joined Bayern in 2013 after taking a year out, told reporters.

"Barcelona was our life. When you are in a semi-final then you will always face a big team. What can I say? Barcelona is my home."

Bayern, who are chasing a repeat of their 2013 treble, are closing in on the Bundesliga title and are through to the last four of the German Cup as well.

Guardiola has said a domestic double this season would not be enough for the Bavarians.

"It will be a special game. We have to analyse Barcelona," he said, heaping praise on coach Luis Enrique, a former team mate.

"Barcelona are the best team at the moment. I am not surprised. He (Luis Enrique) has a lot of quality. He is a great guy and I am happy I will be facing him."

Barcelona last won the Champions League in 2011 under Guardiola, while Bayern claimed their fifth European crown in 2013, before the Spanish coach took charge, after crushing the Spaniards 7-0 in the semifinals.

"Now they have brought in Neymar, (Luis) Suarez. They have a new coach," said Guardiola. "Other than that they play still the same, with the same mentality."