Express & Star

Police to speak to Villa and Blues before cup derby

Police chiefs will speak to officials from Aston Villa and Birmingham City in a bid to avoid any ugly scenes after the sides were drawn to face each other in the Capital One Cup.

Published

The mouth-watering tie has set pulses racing among supporters for what will be the first Second City derby since 2011.

But the tie presents a potential headache for West Midlands Police who will be desperate to avoid a repeat of scenes that marred Villa's meeting with West Bromwich Albion earlier this year.

It has been confirmed the derby will take place on Tuesday, September 22, just days after Albion visit Villa Park for a Premier League fixture.

Blues are also likely to be granted a larger ticket allocation than usual as it is a cup fixture, meaning up to six thousand travelling fans could be heading to Villa Park for the derby.

And while thousands of Villa and Blues fans will be travelling on the roads and railway network, Chelsea supporters will also be heading to the West Midlands after Walsall landed a dream tie with Jose Mourinho's Premier League champions in the third round of the competition.

Police may order the games to be kept apart and at least one, if not both, are likely to be selected for television coverage, but the games are currently scheduled to take place on the same night.

It comes after Wolves, West Brom, Walsall, Aston Villa and Birmingham all played at home on Tuesday night.

West Midlands Police said it was currently too early to comment on plans for policing the games but said both Villa and Blues would be contacted regarding the policing of the fixture.

Villa's meeting with Albion in the FA Cup quarter final in March was overshadowed by violence as trouble flared before and after the match.

There were two pitch invasions towards the end of the game, while seats were ripped out and thrown by Albion fans. A line of police officers wearing faceguards and armed with batons stood across the pitch to block the Villa supporters from getting close to the away fans.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.