BERLIN, April 23: Bayern Munich, with one trophy in the bag and a second almost sewn up, turn their attentions to a possible treble when they face Zenit St Petersburg in Thursday’s UEFA Cup semi-finals.

Having won the German Cup on Saturday and holding a 10-point Bundesliga lead with five matches remaining, the 1996 UEFA Cup winners are favourites to go through to the May 14 final in Manchester against Fiorentina or Rangers.

Champions Zenit are struggling at the start of the new Russian season, lying 10th in the league with one win and seven points from six matches.

Bayern, who made winning the treble their aim after failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in a decade, will be without suspended top scorer Luca Toni for the first leg in the Allianz Arena.

The Italy striker, who has scored eight goals in four games, was booked in the thrilling 3-3 quarter-final draw at Getafe when he netted twice in the final five minutes of extra-time to put Bayern through on away goals.

“We won the Cup and now we want the league championship and the UEFA Cup for the treble,” Toni told reporters after scoring twice in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund.

“We’ve still got two titles to go. I hope by the end of May we’ll have all three.”

Zenit crushed Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-finals, winning 4-1 in Germany before losing the return leg 1-0.Ukraine midfielder Anatoliy Tymoschuk, who sat out Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Saturn, is expected to return to coach Dick Advocaat’s team.

One Bayern player who will not look elegant is midfielder Mark van Bommel.

He broke his nose in the German Cup final after colliding with Dortmund’s Mladen Petric and refused to comply with doctor’s orders for an immediate operation.

“We’ve reached the critical moment in the season with the UEFA Cup semi-final,” said van Bommel. “I’ve got to play. Having a crooked nose for a few weeks isn’t so bad.”

Meanwhile, Rangers have been hit by a series of injuries and suspensions for Thursday’s UEFA Cup semi-final first leg at home to Fiorentina.

Captain Barry Ferguson and fellow midfielder Kevin Thomson are banned while in-form goalkeeper Allan McGregor is among a long list of casualties for the Scottish Premier League title chasers.

Striker Lee McCulloch and midfielder Charlie Adam are out and Steven Naismith and Chris Burke are likely to miss both legs after picking up knee and ankle injuries respectively in Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final win over St Johnstone.

“Naismith and Burke have no chance of playing on Thursday and I think they will miss our next three games at least,” manager Walter Smith told reporters.

The second leg in Florence is on May 1 with the final at the City of Manchester Stadium on May 14.

Fiorentina, fourth in Serie ‘A’ and gunning for a Champions League place next season, have been luckier with injuries with Czech defender Tomas Ujfalusi the only notable absentee because of a thigh problem.

Midfielder Marco Donadel is suspended but Cesare Prandelli’s side are otherwise in good shape.

Romania striker Adrian Mutu was again the inspiration in the quarter-final win over PSV Eindhoven, scoring twice in the away second leg after a lacklustre 1-1 home draw in the first.Winning 2-0 in Eindhoven was a good achievement but defender Dario Dainelli said the Italians could not take it easier in the semi-final just because they were at home second.

“I don’t think it changes anything playing away first and at home second. We always go on the field with the same attitude,” he said. “We are already very focused.”

The two sides met in the final of the 1961 European Cup Winners’ Cup with Fiorentina winning 4-1 over two legs.—Reuters