Football: Blues v Villa - How the sides measure up.

PAUL Devlin, a born-and-bred Brummie, played for Blues in both derby games last season and knows just what it takes to win in the Battle of Brum.

The 31-year-old is currently playing for Watford after his recent pounds 150,000 transfer from St Andrew's and has given us his verdict on how he thinks today's game will pan out as well as offering a tongue-in-cheek look at his team-mates.

To set the ball rolling Devlin cast his mind back to last season's encounter at St Andrew's where underdogs Blues turned the form book upside down.

'It was an unbelievable atmosphere,' he said. 'We were up for the game more than Villa in every department and even though Blues are strong favourites this year I am still backing them to win. The pressure is off Villa this season, but with the start we have made and Villa's away form I would expect Blues to win again.'

IAN BENNETT 

I AM really pleased for Benno that he is going to play against the Villa. He is the longest serving player at the club and you would do well to find anyone who doesn't like him. He is a genuinely nice bloke and a first-class keeper who has never let Blues down. However, he likes to give a bit of stick so I can now reveal that he used to drive down from Worksop every day in an old Ford Focus with no air-conditioning. He thought air re-circulation was the same and used to crank it up full pelt in the summer and couldn't work out why he was always roasting hot!

DAMIEN JOHNSON 

JONTY is without doubt the silent assassin. He doesn't say much, but that is because, when he does, not a lot of people can understand his accent! He is the fittest man at the club and whenever we went for a run he was always going strong when everyone else was struggling. You can play Damien in lots of positions and he will do a great job in all of them.

JAMIE CLAPHAM 

CLAPS is probably the second fittest man at the club behind Jonty. He is a fairly quiet lad, but when he does joins in with the banter he dishes out some of the best cutting remarks I have heard. He is exceptionally quick, which makes it difficult to get past him as a winger. Some of the lads have likened him to one of the characters with big foreheads from the old Tefal advert!

KENNY

CUNNINGHAM

KENNY is without doubt the shop steward of our team. If there are any issues to be discussed Kenny will be right there at the front. He also happens to be an excellent player who reads the game better than nearly every other centre-half I know.

MATTHEW UPSON 

MATT and Kenny are probably the two best signings Steve Bruce has made. People probably don't realise how quick he is. It came as no surprise when he was called up for England and will relish the battle against his England team-mate, Vassell. If you look closely there is more than a passing resemblance to Will Young!

ROBBIE SAVAGE 

WHERE do I start? Sav was fantastic for Blues last season and deservedly won the Player of the Year award by a mile. He is also a nice lad despite being one of the most hated men in soccer by the opposition fans. They would all want him in their team, though, as you know exactly what you are going to get with Sav. We used to think he looked like the male version of Liz McColgan, but she has got a better build than him!

STEPHEN

CLEMENCE

CLEM didn't arrive as one of the big-money signings, but has played regularly and done very well. He forms a good partnership with Sav as they are both competitive and Clem is a master at nicking the ball off the opposition. Their duel with McCann and Barry could be crucial to the outcome and I don't think there is any love lost there so it should be very interesting. I always gave him stick about Kenny Dalglish nutmegging his dad during the 70s for Scotland, but he always told me that his old man was too busy concentrating on his European Cup medals!

STAN LAZARIDIS 

STAN is the financial advisor of the squad. If you want to know about property or stocks and shares Stan is the man to ask. On the pitch when he is in full flight he is virtually unstopp- able and the last six months at the club have been his best since he arrived. He is capable of producing a superb cross out of nothing.

MIKAEL

FORSSELL

I WAS only there for a day with Mikael so I can't give you any juicy gossip on him. I have spoken to a couple of the lads, though, and they are really impressed with him. He is very strong, looks like a good finisher and could well be the man to score us 15 to 20 goals a season.

CHRISTOPHE DUGARRY 

HE is the coolest man in the team without a shadow of doubt. He strolls in, does his training and strolls out again all with considerable panache. He always has a smile on his face and he is a very down-to-earth bloke. He has more ability than anyone I have ever worked with during my whole career.

STERN JOHN 

YOU could describe Stern as typically Caribbean. Nothing ever seems to bother him, but he has fantastic ability and is great at holding the ball up. He hasn't figured much this season, but for natural ability I would say he is second only to Christophe.

OLIVIER TEBILY

I KNEW Ollie when he was training at Sheffield United before he signed for Celtic. He is possibly the nicest man in the world as well as being a ringer for the boxer, Thomas Hearns! He has awesome strength and is the sort of bloke who will kick you all over the place, but pick you up with a smile on his face.

... AND THE STAR MEN

DAVID DUNN

'I DON'T know Dunny (left) too well,' says Devlin. 'I only played with him for around a month. However, he has got fantastic ability and is the sort of player who can turn a game and in local derbies that can be crucial. He has the ability to unlock the door of any defence as well as liking a soap star bird!'

JUAN PABLO ANGEL

'HE might miss some chances, but he scores goals as well,' Taylor says of the Villa striker. 'I know Angel (above) took some stick for the chances that went begging against Chelsea, but he always comes back for more and it isn't normally long before he finds the net again.

'He's another player with a new lease of life and now that he seems to have sorted out the problems in his private life, Villa should see the best of him.'

IAN Taylor is planning to be at St Andrew's today to watch the derby clash - but if Blues win he could be out of pocket.

Taylor was released by Villa at the end of last season but he has always been a supporter of the club.

Now Taylor is skipper at Pride Park after his summer move to Derby County.

And that puts him in the same side as former Blues player Michael Johnson.

'The pair of us have had a wager on the game,' explained Taylor. 'I've gone with Villa and he's gone with Blues. So if Villa lose then I could have been hit in the pocket by Sunday evening!'

THOMAS SORENSEN

I'VE played against Thomas a few times, but he came in after I'd left so I haven't worked with him.

He's obviously a big, strong goalkeeper and an international. But I do feel that Peter Enckelman's had a raw deal at Villa this season. He made the mistake at Blues last season of course, but no-one ever seems to talk about all the good games he had when he was on top form for Villa.

He's out of the picture now but Sorensen was being watched by a lot of clubs so I can see why David O'Leary wanted him.

MARK DELANEY

WHAT can you say about Mark other than the fact that he is Villa's Mr Dependable?

I have to say that he is one of the best defenders around and you know what you're getting with him. Mark will always do a job, even in the centre of defence, and I think he is one of the club's unsung heroes.

OLOF MELLBERG

I GOT on OK with Olly although he was never the most talkative of people at Villa. But he is ice-cool on the field as well as off it.

Now that he is club captain, he has taken on extra responsibility and probably needs to make sure he gets his message across. But it is rare to see him make a mistake and his influence could be crucial at St Andrew's today.

RONNY

JOHNSEN

ANOTHER guy who lets his football do the talking and I think his partnership with Olof is one of the best in the Premiership so it will be good to see him back if he is fit again.

Ronny's injury worries have often left him sidelined and disrupted his career but, on his day, he's an incredible asset.

The thing with Ronny is that he's been there and done it... I don't think there'll be too many players out on the field today who have won the treble.

JLLOYD SAMUEL

I'M sure no-one's been able to shut him up since he scored his first goal for Villa against Charlton last month. But seriously, that will only help him to turn into someone who I think will step up and win an England senior cap one day. There's lots more to come from Jlloyd yet. He has plenty of potential which people have yet to see - he's probably too skilful to be a left-back. In a nation where the England team are crying out for left-sided players, step forward Jlloyd.

LEE HENDRIE

I KNOW for a fact that Lee, below, was gutted not to play in Villa's game at Blues last season.

He was left out of a match that probably would have suited him and that hurt, so he will be looking to make up for that today.

I know Lee gets a lot of stick from the fans sometimes, but he's a terrific attacking player, capable of scoring goals and creating them.

What Lee would love to do against Blues is get his first goal of the season.

GAVIN McCANN

GAVIN'S another new face to have joined Villa since I left the club - but I reckon this game will suit him down to the ground.

McCann certainly likes a tackle and that could be just what Villa need in a derby clash like this.

I can't see him shirking a challenge and you can bet he'll be getting stuck in with the midfield battle bound to be a key factor in the final result.

GARETH BARRY

ONE of the things I predicted last season was that Gareth would become a regular in the centre of midfield for Villa - so it's nice to know I get some things right.

He has the vision and range of passing to make a real success of this position. Ironically, moving in from the left flank might damage his future England hopes.

He always looked good out on the left and teamed up well with Jlloyd, but at club level he can make a real impact in the middle of the park.

PETER

WHITTINGHAM

TODAY'S match will be a real acid test for Peter and one I hope he can respond to well if he plays.

So far he's looked the part and, if he can get in the sort of crosses that he has been doing, the strikers may have some joy in front of goal.

Whittingham has been providing great service all season, but this kind of match is going to be an entirely different experience for him.

DARIUS VASSELL

DARIUS is another player I would expect to go from strength to strength now that his contract worries have been settled.

He's also back in the England set-up after being injured and playing matches again so there can only be a big improvement from Darius.

I felt his partnership with Juan Pablo Angel was best under John Gregory so maybe we'll see that pairing flourish again.

DION DUBLIN

OBVIOUSLY, Dion had his problems in the match against Blues at Villa Park last season but he's still around to do a job for O'Leary.

It looks as though he'll be on standby as a defender for this match, yet wherever he's asked to play, he'll be there to do it. Basically, you can always rely on him.

MARCUS

ALLBACK

LIFE at Villa has never been that easy for Marcus because he never really got a settled place in the side in his first season.

To his credit, he's never been one to complain or moan publicly about his situation, and when he does play, he often gets goals.