Birmingham City and Aston Villa renew historically hostile derby

Tuesday marks Birmingham City's return to Villa Park where they will play hated rivals Aston Villa in the Capital One Cup, reviving one of England's most storied derbies.

The two sides last met during the 2010-11 Premier League season at City's St. Andrew's ground, where the two sides shared the points in a 1-1 draw. It was a contentious affair, especially for then-Birmingham manager Alex McLeish - who later that year switched allegiances from the Blues to the Claret and Blue Army to the surprise of the footballing world.

Since City was relegated from the Premier League following a 2010-11 campaign under the watch of the freckled McLeish, the Blues have flirted with promotion in the same manner their rivals have had brushes with dropping down a division.

Few people know better than McLeish when it comes to the nature of the rivalry coined the "Second City Derby," especially after having bossed a Rangers side that had their share of contentious derbies with fellow Glaswegians Celtic.

"It’s a nasty derby isn’t it?" the Glasgow-born gaffer said. "These guys really don’t like each other. You’ve got friendly derbies like Everton vs. Liverpool, this definitely doesn’t come under that banner."

The match should be of great importance to a Blues side desperate to beat a top-flight team regardless of opponent, but even more so because it's Villa - the side Birmingham beat in the League Cup final in 1963 to snatch their first major trophy.

"You only appreciate how big it is when you’re involved in it," McLeish said. "I remember the scenes when big Nikola Zigic scored the winner (in December 2010), it was pretty unsavoury."

The towering Zigic's goal cemented a critical result for Birmingham, beating Villa 2-1 to advance to the League Cup semifinals on their way to besting Arsenal in a dramatic final not short of talking points.

Coincidentally, Aston Villa played in the League Cup final the previous year, but things went differently for the Villans, losing to Manchester United 2-1 on a Wayne Rooney winner.

The always-fierce rivalry has gained momentum in the last 15 years, notably after City won both matches during the 2002-03 campaign, 15 years since their last league meeting - the first of which will go down in the lore of the acrimonious fixtures.

Birmingham took the three points in a 3-0 victory memorable for a momentary lapse of judgment from Villa shot-stopper Peter Enckelman, who completely bottled a simple throw-in from teammate Olof Mellberg as City fans went into hysterics.

The return fixture at Villa Park did its best to emulate the excitement of the first, and thanks to Dion Dublin and Robbie Savage, the fans in attendance did not leave disappointed.

Violence outside the park was preceded by some on the pitch, as Villa striker Dublin took umbrage with notorious pretty-boy Savage during a 2-0 Birmingham victory, headbutting the Welshman square on the nose before being brandished a red card.

"These games are all about who keeps their cool and, in that game, it was me who didn’t," Dublin told The Telegraph. "I completely regret it, I embarrassed myself, my team-mates and the whole club. The occasion got to me and I let my team down. It was out of character for me.

"Robbie and I can laugh about it now. We’re colleagues on BBC Five Live and it was a long time ago. It’s a huge game for the city and this is all about the bragging rights for the week and who’s going to feel smug and proud of their team on Tuesday evening."

Pressure will be on Villa gaffer Tim Sherwood, whose side is experiencing their worst start since the 1986-87 campaign and enter this game coming off another Midlands derby match, a 1-0 loss to West Bromwich Albion on a Saido Berahino finish. Sherwood and his squad were serenaded with a chorus of boos as they headed down the Villa Park tunnel.

Birmingham are unbeaten in the last three encounters with their Premiership rivals, and will carry more of the momentum into a heated affair that Sherwood appears to understand the magnitude of.

"We are in a difficult period but we will fight to get ourselves out of it by doing what we believe in," Sherwood said. "I am telling them it means an awful lot to the fans and it means an awful lot to the dressing room. It will be tough. We will show them a lot of respect – but not too much."