Aston Villa vs Birmingham City predictions and match preview

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The return of the Championship following the international break brings a tasty tie with Aston Villa and Birmingham City facing off on Sunday.

The Second City derby has produced some exciting, and tough, matches in the past and Sunday’s game is expected to be no different.

Read on for Aston Villa v Birmingham City live stream options, team news, predicted XIs, stats and TV channel info.

When is Aston Villa vs Birmingham City?

Competition: Championship

Venue: Villa Park

Date: Sunday, 25 November

Kick-off: 12:00 PM GMT

Match preview

For fans in the Midlands, games don’t get much bigger than the Second City derby and this Sunday sees the rivalry return for the first time this season.

Aston Villa fans may fancy themselves as being the better of the two sides, historically and recently, but so far both are fairly equal in the Championship.

A solitary goal separates Villa and Birmingham in the table, with both currently sitting on 24 points, with Villa having the slight edge in 11th place.

But Birmingham have lost two fewer games than their bitter rivals, suffering due to their tendency to draw, with nine so far the joint-most in the Championship after 17 games this season.

Under Garry Monk, the Blues have some stability which had been absent in the past few seasons, and they already look to be on a different level to the Birmingham side which narrowly escaped relegation last season.

Meanwhile, Villa have only just arrested their own slump which saw Steve Bruce lose his job as manager, with Dean Smith replacing him and last season’s captain, John Terry, joining as assistant manager.

But all the past successes and failures will go out of the window on Sunday as the Second City derby brings the biggest game of the season so far for both teams and sets of fans.

Where can I watch live?

Villa’s game against Birmingham can be viewed by UK residents on Sky Sports Football, channel 403 on Sky, Sky HD channel 439 and channel 503, for Virgin Media users.

Is Jack Grealish ready to step up?

In the summer, it appeared Grealish’s time at Aston Villa was up with Tottenham Hotspur heavy favourites to sign the midfielder.

But the Englishman stayed and, under Dean Smith, has rediscovered his form to become a key part of this Villa side and looks a level above at times. In Villa’s recent 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers, Grealish ran the show with a goal and assist playing just behind Tammy Abraham, with an interesting partnership brewing between the pair.

Should Grealish continue in this form, this could be his last season at Villa, despite the new contract in September.

Has Garry Monk got Birmingham on the up?

Birmingham narrowly avoided relegation to League One last season and, after a poor start to the new campaign, had looked like they would be fighting the drop yet again.

But something eventually clicked for Garry Monk and after getting their first win of the season near the end of September, the Blues have won four of their past eight games.

This may not be promotion-fighting form, including losing a two-goal lead against Hull City last time out and having to rescue a draw, but the Blues are building good foundations for the future.

Will Villa return to promotion race?

Despite sitting 11th in the table after 17 games, Villa are only four points off the final play-off spot as things stand. Last season, under Steve Bruce, they came agonisingly close to returning to the Premier League, losing in the play-off final to Fulham. This season did not start great, but Smith looks to have turned things around at Villa Park and they should be back up fighting for promotion after Christmas.

Head-to-head

Sunday’s game will bring the 127th Second City derby, with Aston Villa currently boasting the better record with 55 wins to Birmingham’s 38. The Villans are currently unbeaten in the past six meetings between the two sides, with City’s last win against Villa coming in the 2010 League Cup.

Aston Villa wins: 55 Draws: 33 Birmingham City wins: 38

Team news

Aston Villa captain James Chester is a doubt for Sunday’s clash having missed Wales’ two games in the recent international break due to a knee injury. Birkir Bjarnason and John McGinn are also doubts with groin and calf injuries respectively, but Neil Taylor is expected to be fit after recently returning to training.

Meanwhile, Birmingham have no fresh injury problems with David Davis and Isaac Vassell to only guaranteed absentees with long-term injuries. However, Gary Gardner will be unable to play against his parent club while Jota and Jacques Maghoma are in contention.

Predicted Aston Villa XI: Nyland; Elmohamady, Tuanzebe, Hutton, Taylor; Hourihane, Jedinak; Adomah, Grealish, Kodjia; Abraham.

Predicted Birmingham City XI:  Camp; Colin, Morrison, Dean, Pedersen; Jota, Kieftenbeld, Lakin, Mahoney; Jutkiewicz, Adams.

Squawka Prediction

Aston Villa have had the upper hand against their rivals in recent years and should edge what will be a tight affair. 2-1.

Predictions & Betting Tips

Get the BetBull sign-up offer HERE – Ts&Cs apply. +18 only. BeGambleAware.org

1. Lukas Jutkiewicz to score anytime @ 2/1

Birmingham City have two in-form strikers going into Sunday’s game with both Lukas Jutkiewicz and Che Adams finding the net often recently.

Adams got a hat-trick last time out against Hull City, but it is Jutkiewicz who leads the way for Birmingham with nine goals in the Championship including three in the past four games.

League-wide, only Neal Maupay (12) of Brentford and Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp (10) have scored more than Jutkiewicz, who has averaged a goal every 166 minutes in the Championship.

Key Stat: Lukas Jutkiewicz has eight Championship goals in his last eight appearances.

Tip: Lukas Jutkiewicz to score anytime @ 2/1 with BetBull – bet here

Odds correct at time of publishing (23/11/2018, 16:00)

18+ only. Ts&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org

2. Both teams to score YES @ 4/5

Despite their mid-table standing, Aston Villa have been fairly free-scoring in the Championship with only three teams having scored more than the Villans after 17 games.

Only once have Villa failed to score in the Championship this season, in a 1-0 defeat at the hands of QPR in October, ending a run of 14 games in a row.

At the same time, Birmingham have been fairly regular scorings, netting in each of their past nine games having failed to score in five of their opening eight.

Key Stat: Birmingham have kept just four clean sheets in their 17 Championship games this season.

Tip: Both teams to score NO @ 10/11 with BetBull – bet here

Odds correct at time of publishing (23/11/2018, 16:00)

18+ only. Ts&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org

3. Aston Villa to win @ 5/6

Having won their past two games in the league, Villa go into Sunday’s game in some form and will feel confident going up against their bitter rivals.

Villa are currently unbeaten in 12 league games against Birmingham with the Blues’ last league win against the Villans coming back in 2005 in the Premier League.

In addition, Villa have won three of the past six Second City derbies across all competitions, with the other three ending in draw.

Key Stat: Aston Villa have won nine of the past 14 Second City derbies across all competitions.

Tip: Aston Villa to win @ 5/6 with BetBull – bet here

Odds correct at time of publishing (23/11/2018, 16:00)

18+ only. Ts&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org

Search squawkagaming on BetBull to follow all our tips for Aston Villa vs Birmingham City and more.

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