LONDON — While Manchester United and title rival Manchesater City resume their slugfest for Premier League silverware, Aston Villa and Newcastle United meet Tuesday in a relegation dogfight that neither would have expected to be embroiled in. Both are mired in deep trouble and staring anxiously downwards at the clubs behind them. For beleaguered managers Paul Lambert and Alan Pardew, a victory cannot come soon enough. Villa languishes one place above the drop zone, a point ahead of Reading, after one win from its last nine league games. Newcastle sits one spot above Villa and has managed just two wins in their last 14. Two Cup exits to lower division opponents in the space of a week has left Villa's already shredded confidence in tatters. Newcastle also had high expectations after an unexpected fifth place last season. But the northeast club, hindered by injuries to key players like Hatem Ben Arfa, has struggled. Top scorer Demba Ba's departure for Chelsea earlier this month has also left a shortage of firepower, with the onus now on Papiss Cisse to deliver. Pardew's remedy has been to look across the English Channel to France, adding to the Gallic flavor at Newcastle by signing Mathieu Debuchy, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Yoan Gouffran, Massadio Haïdara and Moussa Sissoko. Manchester City has the chance to narrow the gap on United to two points, albeit for 24 hours, when it travels south to face bottom side Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. Roberto Mancini's side has hit top form, taking 18 points out of 21. United hosts 15th-placed Southampton at Old Trafford Wednesday. — Reuters
