Underdogs Sampdoria and Lazio will be looking to continue their good first leg work when they play Inter Milan and Juventus respectively in the Coppa Italia semi-final, second legs on Wednesday and Thursday.

Werder Bremen are Hamburg´s main obstacle in their quest for a rare treble of titles as the German sides prepare to meet each other in the first of four key clashes starting on Wednesday.

Japan remains firmly on track to have four teams in the last 16 of the AFC Champions League after decisive victories Wednesday for Kashima Antlers and Nagoya Grampus.

Sivasspor only have the Turkish league left to focus on, as the current leaders were eliminated from the domestic Cup tournament by Fenerbahce.

KV Mechelen are the first finalist of the Belgian Cup, beating Cercle Brugge on penalties in Tuesday's semi final clash.

Stade Rennes are through to the final of the Coupe de France following a narrow victory at Grenoble on Tuesday.

FC Twente reached the final of the Dutch Cup for the third time this decade, beating NAC Breda 3-1 on Tuesday's semi final clash.

Football is proving to be a valuable barometer of the serious impact of racism and xenophobia in society, the UN´s expert on racism has told AFP after a rash of incidents at stadiums.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez admitted Manchester United were in the driving seat for the title after watching his side drop two crucial points at Anfield.

Germany defender Arne Friedrich has been involved in a police sting after a thief attempted to bribe 5,000 euros (6,475 US dollars) from him for his Euro 2008 watch, it was reported on Wednesday.

Parma look to be heading back to Serie A following Tuesday´s 2-0 home win over Ascoli that left them with a six point lead over third placed Livorno with seven Serie B games to play.

Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri insisted he would order his players off the pitch if there is a repeat of the racist chanting that was directed at Inter Milan´s Mario Balotelli last weekend.

Barry Ferguson may have played his last game for Rangers after being ruled out for the rest of this season with a torn calf muscle.

Germany coach Joachim Loew admitted Wednesday around a dozen stars - including captain Michael Ballack - are set to miss the national team´s summer tour with a virtual B team likely to travel.

Iranian-American Afshin Qotbi became Iran´s third coach in a month on Wednesday when he was named as successor to Mohammad Mayelikohan whose reign lasted just two weeks, the ISNA news agency reported.

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani said on Wednesday that he is still hopeful David Beckham will return to the Italians next season despite reported interest from Tottenham.

Lazio beat Juventus 2-1 at Turin´s Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday to reach their first Coppa Italia final since 2004 with a 4-2 aggregate victory.

Jose Mourinho hit out at Italian football once again on Wednesday, insisting that the English league is a paradise for coaches in comparison.

Barcelona turned on the style again at Camp Nou on Wednesday, crushing Sevilla 4-0 to restore their six-point lead at the La Liga summit.

Guus Hiddink admits Chelsea´s title challenge is over after the Blues were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Everton.