Arsenal's Kolo Toure (right) is out for three weeks with thigh injury. - file
LONDON (AP)
Manchester United and Arsenal resume the Premier League title race this weekend, while Chelsea bid for the season's first trophy when they play Tottenham in the League Cup final.
Arsenal travel to Birmingham while United are at Newcastle tomorrow after both teams had to settle for draws in Champions League second-round matches Wednesday.
The Gunners were held 0-0 by defending champions AC Milan despite dominating the scoring chances, but seemed to have bounced back from a 4-0 loss to the Red Devils in the fifth round of the FA Cup last Saturday.
United, who trail Arsenal by five points in the league standings, needed a late goal from Carlos Tevez to draw 1-1 at Lyon in the first leg of their round-of-16 matchup.
''Time and time again, we rescue games or score late winners and it's purely down to the players' determination to do something about it,'' Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said.
That's bad news for Newcastle who are still searching for their first win in Kevin Keegan's second stint at the club.
Since Keegan's return on January 19, Newcastle have lost three matches - including elimination from the FA Cup - and drawn twice, leaving them in 13th place, just six points from the relegation zone.
And the last time they played Manchester United on January 12, Newcastle lost 6-0.
''We are in a bit of trouble at the moment, so us as players are expected to get points on the board,'' Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given said. ''It's all about everybody sticking together and working hard to get results to get us away from the bottom half of the table.''
Arsenal lead the standings with 63 points, followed by United with 58 and Chelsea with 55. Arsenal will be without defender Kolo Toure for at least three weeks after he injured his thigh in Wednesday's match.
The Blues, which played a drab 0-0 draw at Olympiakos in the Champions League on Tuesday, will defend their League Cup title at Wembley on Sunday.
It would be the first silverware for Chelsea manager Avram Grant, who replaced Jose Mourinho in September. Chelsea also won the 2005 League Cup under the Portuguese coach.
''It is important because it's the first cup of the season and if you win that, you have a little more confidence for the run-in,'' Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho said. ''It's always important to win titles, if you can get one in February, it's very good.''
Chelsea are also in contention for the FA Cup.
Tottenham last won the League Cup in 1999 when they beat Leicester 1-0 - their last trophy.
''It's possible,'' said Woodgate, who joined from Middlesbrough in January. ''I'd like to think so and that's why I joined the club.''
Also tomorrow it's Liverpool vs Middlesbrough; Portsmouth vs Sunderland; Wigan vs Derby; and Fulham vs West Ham. On Sunday, Reading host Aston Villa and Bolton travel to Blackburn.
On Monday, Manchester City host Everton.
Liverpool's 2-0 win over 10-man Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday relieved some of the pressure on manager Rafa Benitez.
Europe is the best place for Liverpool to win a trophy after they fell 19 points behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race and exited the FA Cup with an embarrassing 2-1 loss to lower-league club Barnsley.
''If you can beat teams like that (Inter Milan) and play well, it gives us a high level of confidence in the squad,'' Benitez said. ''Now we have another important league game at the weekend at home to Middlesbrough. What we need to be is more consistent now.''
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