It’s a derby, you expect these things.”So yes, Elmohamady feels ready to compete in his first Second City derby. Villa’s manager, Steve Bruce, put an emphasis on recruiting experience in the summer and hopes that the wisdom of bringing in players such as Elmohamady, John Terry and Glenn Whelan will be apparent on Sunday, in particular. Bruce, having also managed Birmingham, will be taking charge of a team for the 12th time in what he considers to be a distinctive derby. “He’d never head-butted anyone in his life but he stuck the nut on [Robbie] Savage, didn’t he?” says Bruce. I thoroughly enjoyed watching us last week.”Steve Cotterill’s task, meanwhile, is to ensure Bruce does not enjoy what he sees.

Source: The Guardian October 28, 2017 21:22 UTC