Villa blog: Cup final - for Blues

So here it is, the biggest game of the season, for Birmingham City, writes blogger Gregg Williams.

To be fair, given the situation they are in, every one of their remaining games should be treated like a cup final by their fans.

The trouble is every Villa fan knows at least one bluenose who will gladly take relegation if they can muster one victory against the boys in claret and blue, which is of course ridiculous. I’d happily take two defeats to them in exchange for Champions League qualification, after all the derbies only make up two out of 38 league games.

Sure there is local pride at stake, but far more important will be how the league table looks at the end of May.

It looks like a win would put us right back in the hunt for the UEFA cup spot. Everton’s loss to Chelsea has opened up a great opportunity. Beating the Blues and then heading to Goodison Park full of confidence, well anything could happen. I’m sure that Martin O’Neill will have warned the players against complacency on Sunday.

Winning our last two games so comfortably will count for nothing if we can’t pick up a third in a row. I really hope that our more experienced lads, like Barry, Laursen and Carew, can help the younger players through the added pressure on them in this game.

This would also be a great opportunity for Scott Carson to show that he can regain the composure he showed at the start of the season. Villa goalkeepers have let us down in recent derby games, Scott needs to avoid a slip up in this game if he wants to prove he can do a job for us in the future.

I notice that the national media are widely reporting that Portsmouth could now catch Everton, without us getting a mention.

I think that is exactly how Martin O’Neill and the players would prefer it to be, under the radar and ready to sneak it on the final day of the season. Its very strange that our progress can be so easily ignored, especially at a time when our national team is struggling and our core of English players could be viewed as an example to other clubs.

If we can sneak 5th place it would represent progress at a faster rate than most realistic Villa fans could have hoped for. We must win on Sunday, not because its the Blues, but because 3 points is the only option if we want European football next season.