While Manchester United and title rivals Manchester City resume their slugfest for Premier League silverware, Aston Villa and Newcastle meet on Tuesday in a relegation dogfight that neither would have expected to be embroiled in.
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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.
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Aston Villa languish one place above the drop zone, a point ahead of Reading, after one win from their last nine league games. Newcastle sit one spot above Villa and have managed just 2 wins in their last 14.
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Two Cup exits to lower division opponents in the space of a week has left Villa's already shredded confidence in tatters.