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London. Manchester United is out to become the first club in 20 years to win the League Cup two years in a row when it faces Aston Villa at Wembley on Sunday, and also hopes that neighbor Manchester City will do it a big favor by beating Chelsea in the Premier League.

The worst-case scenario for manager Alex Ferguson and his team, however, is that they lose the final at Wembley and Manchester City loses at Chelsea to leave United four points behind in the league title race.

United is coming off a 3-0 victory over West Ham in the league on Tuesday with striker Wayne Rooney taking his goal tally for the season to 27 including 11 in his last eight games.

But Ferguson has announced two more injury problems, with centerback Rio Ferdinand out of Sunday’s game with a recurrence of his nagging back injury and midfielder Anderson ruled out for six months with a ruptured cruciate-ligament.

Ferguson is likely to make several changes from the lineup that beat West Ham, with experienced goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar expected to return along with defenders Rafael da Silva and Jonny Evans, and midfielder Michael Carrick.

“The final itself has a great attraction,” Ferguson said. “We recognize very seriously the challenge from Aston Villa. When you think of the team Martin O’Neill inherited and compare it with the team he has got now, it’s completely different in every department.

“He has brought consistency to them. He doesn’t make many changes and it could be a successful season. They are also in the FA Cup quarterfinal now.”

Villa beat second tier Crystal Palace in a fifth-round replay on Wednesday and faces another League Championship club, Reading, in the last eight.

O’Neill is likely to start with England strikers Gabriel Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey against United, even though the tall Norwegian forward John Carew scored twice against Palace.

While United hopes that Manchester City beats Chelsea on Saturday, Villa is likely to cheer on the Premier League leader to shore up its own position.

Villa and Manchester City — along with Tottenham and Liverpool — are battling it out for a fourth-place finish in the Premier League table, which would mean a shot at playing in next season’s Champions League.

A Chelsea victory at Stamford Bridge will give Carlo Ancelotti’s team a four-point cushion. It would also mean Villa remains only a point behind Manchester City but with a game in hand.

Going into the weekend’s league games, Chelsea has 61 points from 27 games, Manchester United has 60 from 28 and third-placed Arsenal, which goes to Stoke, has 55 from 27.

With games running out, the three appear to be the only realistic contenders for the title, while the four teams behind them are more concerned with fourth place and are tightly bunched.



Associated Press