Birmingham City vs Aston Villa. Sky Bet Championship.
St. Andrew's StadiumAttendance26,631.
Watch live on Sky Sports Football from 11.30am on Sunday
Sunday 10 March 2019 10:53, UK
Birmingham will be without Maxime Colin and Gary Gardner against city rivals Aston Villa for the Championship clash at St Andrew's on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Football from 11.30am.
Colin had to come off with a tight hamstring during the defeat at Hull. The French defender may also miss the home game with Millwall on Wednesday.
Wes Harding is expected to replace Colin at right-back as Blues look for their first league win against Villa since March 2005. On-loan Villa midfielder Gardner is ineligible to play against his parent club under the terms of his season-long transfer.
Villa will make the short trip without defender Tommy Elphick. The 31-year-old ruptured a tendon in his foot during the impressive 4-0 home win over Derby and he is set for a spell on the sidelines.
In Elphick's absence, Neil Taylor is expected to be recalled at left-back, with Kortney Hause potentially moving across to play alongside Tyrone Mings in central defence. John McGinn is available again after suspension and Villa boss Dean Smith must decide whether he goes straight back into the team. Should McGinn be restored to the starting line up, Glenn Whelan is the man most likely to make way.
Birmingham have won just one of their last 15 matches in all competitions against Aston Villa (D4 L10).
Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last six league visits to St. Andrew's against Birmingham (W3 D3) - each of the last three have been draws.
Birmingham have only kept one clean sheet in their last 10 Championship games (W3 D3 L4), with that coming in a 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest at the start of February.
Aston Villa are looking to win back-to-back Championship games for the first time since November 2018, when they won three in a row in a run that included the reverse fixture against Birmingham (4-2 at Villa Park).
Garry Monk has won more matches against Aston Villa during his managerial career than he has against any other club (six).
Dean Smith has won four of his last five Championship meetings with Birmingham (D1).
This is a Second City derby with plenty at stake! Both sides still have a shout at the play-offs and three points would go a long way to achieving that for either.
Jack Grealish was brilliant when these teams met at Villa Park earlier in the season and you can see how important he is to the side with his performance against Derby last week. This is a close call, though, and I can't split the pair. Score draw.
David Prutton predicts: 2-2 (14/1 with Sky Bet)
