Aston Villa and Birmingham City will face each other at Villa Park in the Championship this afternoon.
Aston Villa will return to action this afternoon when they take on Birmingham City at Villa Park in the Championship.
Villa will head into the Second City derby against Birmingham high on confidence and on the back of a 3-2 victory over Burton Albion at Villa Park.
The Blues are struggling at the moment and are in danger of getting relegated to League One at the end of the season.
Steve Cotterill’s side are currently only two points above the Championship relegation zone.
Ahead of match, Villa central defender James Chester seems to have taken a dig at Birmingham fans.
The 29-year-old former Hull City centre-back has stated that the Villa fans do not need clappers to make noise at Villa Park, referring to Birmingham’s decision to hand out thousands of pieces of cardboard during the two sides’ game earlier in the season.
Chester told The Daily Mail regarding clappers: “The games I’ve played at Villa Park in front of a full house have been really special.
“The derby, a full house, and the run we’re on, I’m not sure our fans will need any second invitation to create a really good atmosphere.”
“I’m not sure the decision to hand out clappers on derby day was the greatest,” added Chester. “I thought they might have got fed up after five or minutes. But it was still carrying on.”
Easy win for Aston Villa?
Villa have won their last six Championship matches, and it is hard to see Steve Bruce’s side lose this afternoon.
True, anything is possible in a derby, but given the difference in quality between the two teams, it will come as a surprise if Birmingham win at Villa Park.
Chester joined Villa from West Bromwich Albion in the summer of 2016 for an initial transfer fee reported by Express & Star to be worth £6 million.
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