O'Neill positive on Young

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill is hopeful winger Ashley Young will be fit for the second city derby with Birmingham at St Andrews.

Young limped out of the 2-0 win over Derby with a groin strain last weekend and was unable to train on Friday, but O’Neill remains optimistic he will be available to face City.

Striker John Carew could come into the equation after missing six games with knee ligament damage, although he did not feature in Villa’s mid-week reserve game with Tottenham.

Team (from): Carson, Taylor, Sorsensen, Mellberg, Laursen, Knight, Davies, Bouma, Barry, Reo-Coker, Petrov, Young, Agbonlahor, Moore, Carew, Harewood, Berger, Gardner, Maloney, Osbourne.