Football News
Birmingham v Aston Villa: Match Preview
Birmingham City host fierce rivals Aston Villa on Sunday in what promises to be a typical high octane Midlands derby.Blues boss Alex McLeish knows that bragging rights are very important and will be looking to get one over on counterpart Martin O'Neill at St Andrew's.
Unfortunately for McLeish, he has several injury problems ahead of the game with Cameron Jerome (ankle), Gregory Vignal (hip), Marcus Bent (hamstring), Martin Taylor (foot), Scott Dann (thigh) and Liam Ridgewell (broken leg) all notable absentees.
City have made an indifferent start to their Premier League campaign after their one-season stay in the Championship.
Their home form is solid with a 1-0 win against Portsmouth and a 0-0 draw with Stoke City. On the road though they have lost both games, but with home advantage, they will be looking to further consolidate their place in mid-table.
The Villains will not want to fall at their near rivals' feet and the shrewd O'Neill will be pulling out all the stops to come away with a win.
He has to choose from a squad that is without Curtis Davies (dislocated shoulder), Luke Young (thigh) and Stewart Downing (foot) who are all missing for the foreseeable future. The game may also come too soon for defender Wilfred Bouma (ankle).
The two foes last met in the Premier League during the 2007-08 season and, at St Andrew's, Villa walked away with a 2-1 victory.
Former Villa defender Liam Ridgewell scored an own goal to put his former employers in front before Mikael Forssell equalised on the hour.
However, with the game heading towards a draw, livewire centre-forward Gabriel Agbonlahor turned the screw in the 87th minute to cash in and take the three points to Villa Park.
In the return clash, Villa resoundingly beat Birmingham 5-1 with Ashley Young scoring twice in between a John Carew brace before Forssell pulled one back.
Agbonlahor added a fifth late on to prove a thorn in City's side once again.
Villa would be more than happy to take any winning scoreline while their city rivals will be out to send their faithful home happy.