Tim Sherwood: Aston Villa honeymoon truly is over – but derby victory can

As for Villa, they’d managed an average of one goal per game in their last five league outings, and have Scott Sinclair and Rudy Gestede to thank for three of those goals. Gestede is in line to make his starting debut against Birmingham and is the 6/4 favourite to score anytime via bet365.

He told a press conference: “I can guarantee every single player wants to play, we certainly won’t be rotating players or keeping anyone fresh so will put out our strongest team we have available that I think can win the game”.

Ahead of Tuesday night’s Capital One Cup third round meeting between the Midlands rivals at Villa Park, Rowett spoke of his counterpart and how his job has been, especially since key men Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph left for Liverpool and Manchester city respectively in the summer.

The Blues now sit seventh in the Championship after a productive start has seen them lose just once, while Villa’s new boys are still adapting under Sherwood, and he’ll have to get them properly prepared.

“It is going to be intense”. “We are in a hard period results-wise but we will fight to get ourselves out of it by doing what we believe in”. It means an terrible lot to the fans and an bad lot to us in the dressing room because we need to experience that winning feeling again.

And Birmingham skipper Michael Morrison has called for calm among the player as they look to shock Villa.

“The biggest thing for me is that I hope we’re talking about the football at the end of the game”.

“You need to keep focused and keep to your plan and make sure you impose yourself on a very organised Birmingham side”. We haven’t had the rub of the green this season and we haven’t got what we’ve deserved. “It’s time our luck changed and something went for us”.

“There was nothing in the game like every match we’ve played this season”, he reflected.

“We know what this game means to supporters”.

Birmingham manager Gary Rowett expects nothing less than a scrap from the side from across the city.