Birmingham City vs Aston Villa. Sky Bet Championship.
St. Andrew's StadiumAttendance29,656.
Sunday 30 October 2016 12:01, UK
Birmingham boss Gary Rowett will be without left-back Jonathan Grounds for the derby clash with Aston Villa on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
Grounds picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Burton last weekend and must serve a one-match suspension.
Grounds' absence is likely to mean a chance for Bournemouth loanee Rhoys Wiggins, who is yet to start a game for the Blues.
Paul Caddis (shoulder) and Robert Tesche (foot/ankle) are Birmingham's other absentees, with the latter now expected to be sidelined until after the international break.
Tommy Elphick and Micah Richards will sit out the match for Villa.
The pair are both struggling with calf problems and have not recovered in time for the hotly-anticipated clash.
Winger Albert Adomah is pushing for a place in the starting line-up after coming off the bench to set up the winner for Jonathan Kodjia against Fulham last time out.
Playmaker Jack Grealish completes his three-match ban for a stamp on Wolves' Conor Coady.
I wish I was going to this one with Steve Bruce going back to his old stomping ground. I think it will be too tight to call but it will be a really exciting game with goals.
Bruce's start has been brilliant. It is exactly what they needed. I don't know why the players didn't respond to Roberto Di Matteo but it just proves that Bruce and Neil Warnock know what they're doing. Some of us managers are pretty good!
OLLIE PREDICTS: 2-2 with Lukas Jutkiewicz to score first (Sky Bet odds 70/1)
