Slomka shows no mercy

Schalke coach Mirko Slomka has dropped his two top scorers for the team's Uefa Cup semi-final clash with Sevilla.

Striker Kevin Kuranyi (pictured) and attacking midfielder Lincoln, who have scored 24 goals in the Bundesliga between them, are out of the starting XI for the first leg at Arena AufSchalke.

Brazilian Lincoln even scored in the club's last Uefa Cup outing against Levski Sofia, to secure their progression in the competition.

He scored in the 1-1 draw at home, which saw them win 4-2 on aggregate, but Slomka is not happy with the form of the two attackers.

"We will start the match against Sevilla without Kuranyi and Lincoln," he told Bild.

"It's a question of what is best for Schalke and the pair are completely out of sorts at the moment," he said.

The decision comes as a further blow to Kuranyi, who was also dropped from Germany's squad for their World Cup warm-up matches against Italy and the USA.

"At the moment it looks as if I will be lucky to make the World Cup at all," the 24-year-old commented. "But I'm going to keep fighting."