Albion fans’ favourite Youssouf Mulumbu has claimed he will handle the pressure of his first Black Country derby after learning from his two red cards this season.

The all-action midfielder is hoping for a recall against Wolves on Sunday after failing to regain his place at Villa last weekend following a sending-off at Everton.

And the DR Congo international, who was also dismissed in the home defeat by Manchester City, is confident he will not repeat his mistakes.

“I have to learn from this experience,” said Mulumbu. “I am young and still learning.

“It’s a big season for me in the Premier League but I know how to manage my game and stay in the match now. I have spoken to the gaffer about how important it is for me to stay on the pitch.

“I’ve been sent off twice so I have to learn from that. It is very important.

“It is going to be a physical game on Sunday but we will be ready for that because we’ve played physical teams, like Stoke, before.

“We will be ready for them but have to play the way we know we can. We played well against Villa in the first half but we didn’t score so we have to improve on that.”

Mulumbu cut a frustrated figure for the defeat at Villa Park as boss Roberto Di Matteo kept faith with the central midfield trio of Graham Dorrans, Chris Brunt and James Morrison that had impressed in the 3-1 win over Newcastle.

But the former Paris Saint Germain trainee is itching for a return against Mick McCarthy’s men on Sunday.

And he believes blocking out the inevitable partisan fervor among supporters is key in the first top-flight Black Country derby for 26 years.

“I was very disappointed with my suspension,” he said. “I would love to have played against Villa because it was a derby but the gaffer made a choice and I am still here and I am ready.

“If I play on Sunday I will be alright because I have been training hard and I am waiting to get my chance.

“For me, the decision last week was normal. The team did well against Newcastle and won and I have to wait, but I hope to get my chance.

“I don’t know what to expect because it is a first one for me but I know the game will be hard and I know it will be physical at the start.

“We have to stay in the game and not listen to the crowd. It’s a derby more for the supporters. But for us it’s about getting to 25 points and we will work hard for that.

“The players who have played in this game before have warned us it will be hard and physical. But if we start well and don’t concede the first goal then we can definitely win.

“I never played in the Paris derby so this is a first. The gaffer has talked about the derby and I can feel in the dressing room and around the training ground that we are about to play a very big game and we have to be ready.

“But we don’t have to step out of our gameplan and we have to play the way we have before. We have 22 points now and if we can win this we will have 25, which means it is a big game for us.

“The manager has talked about the game and the points. We have to stick with our plans and not think about it being a derby.

“It’s a different game but we still have to look at our job and our job is to stay in the Premier League.”