United out to bury holders jinx

The League Cup final, between holders Manchester United and Aston Villa, will be played at

Wembley tomorrow. In last year's final, United beat Tottenham 4-1 on penalties after a goalless draw in normal time.

The Spurs had won the League Cup in 2008 so Villa will be hoping to maintain the trend of having the cup holders beaten tomorrow. But United will be keen to end this jinx after reaching back-to-back League Cup finals for the second time in their history.

In 1990-91, the Red Devils lost to Ron Atkinson's Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 (Sheridan) in the final but the following season they bounced back in style when they edged Nottingham Forest 1-0.

Aston Villa have shown great progress this season and are regarded among the contenders for a Champions League berth. Yet, their excursion in Europe this season was a very short one, having been eliminated on away-goals by Rapid Vienna in the Europa League first round. They lost 0-1 in Austria and only won the return leg at Villa Park 2-1.

Villa, however, are still in the FA Cup and through to the quarter-finals after beating Crystal Palace 3-1 in a replay in midweek.

Villa manager Martin O'Neill appears to have an affair going on with the League Cup... on both sides of the border.

As a player he won the competition with Nottingham Forest. Two years after he took over at Leicester as manager, in 1997, he steered the Foxes to the first of three League Cup finals in four years. He lifted the silverpiece in 1997 and 2000, and in between lost in the final of the same tournament to Tottenham.

He then moved to Celtic and claimed his first honour as manager by winning the League Cup, defeating Kilmarnock 3-0 in 2001. Can his romance continue?

Wayne Rooney could dash O'Neill's dream. The United striker is in hot form lately as Milan found out at the San Siro when two goals bearing his mark left the Italians breathless.

England boss Fabio Capello hailed Rooney's performance in the Champions League as world class. The Italian coach is keeping his fingers crossed that Rooney will be in the same vein for the World Cup finals in summer.

Villa's main striker is Gabriel Agbonlahor, who will probably be in the World Cup squad as well.

Agbonlahor, who has just gone into double figures as the club's top marksman, is a product of the Villa Park academy. In his early years, he was on loan at Watford and Sheffield Wednesday before becoming a fixture in the Midlanders' side in 2005.

This season, Agbonlahor netted the goal that mattered in the 1-0 league victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford. In the return match at Villa Park, the spoils were shared in a 1-1 draw.

Head to Head

In past League Cup clashes, Villa lead United 4-1, including the triumph in the final of 1993-94 where the Clarets won 3-1.
Other direct clashes: 1999-2000 (third round) Villa-United 3-0; 1992-93 (third round) Villa-United 1-0; 1975-76 (third round) Villa-United 1-2; 1970-71 (semi-finals) Old Trafford: 1-1; Villa Park: 2-1.

Cup Winners

Aston Villa are behind Liverpool in the all-time League Cup winners' list with five honours (Reds on seven). United have won the League Cup on three occasions.
2009: United-Tottenham 4-1 on penalties.
2006: United-Wigan 4-0.
1996: Villa-Leeds 3-0.
1994: Villa-United 3-1.
1992: United-N. Forest 1-0.
1977: Villa-Everton 3-2 after two replays (0-0, 1-1).
1975: Villa-Norwich 1-0.
1961: Villa-Rotherham 3-2 on aggregate (0-2, 3-0).

Way to Wembley

Aston Villa
Third round: Home vs Cardiff 1-0 (Agbonlahor).
Fourth round: Away vs Sunderland 0-0, won 3-1 on penalties.
Quarter-final: Away vs Portsmouth 4-2 (Heskey, Milner, Downing, Young).
Semi-final: Away vs Blackburn 1-0 (Milner). Return leg: Home vs Blackburn 6-4 (Warnock, Milner pen, Nzonzi og, Agbonlahor, Heskey, Young).

Manchester United

Third round: Home vs Wolves 1-0 (Welbeck).
Fourth round: Away vs Barnsley 2-0 (Welbeck, Owen).
Quarter-final: Home vs Tottenham 2-0 (Gibson 2).
Semi-final: Away vs Manchester City 1-2 (Giggs). Return leg: Home vs Manchester City 3-1 (Scholes, Carrick, Rooney).

Tevez Leads

Manchester City's Carlos Tevez is the tournament's top marksman so far with six goals.
Five players are behind him with four each. These are: Harris (Millwall), Crouch (Tottenham), Routledge (QPR), Chris Brown (Preston), Kalinic (Portsmouth).