Darren Bent is a banker for Villa

If you spot Gerard Houllier at a bookmaker near Villa Park, there is a fair chance you will find him lumping a few pennies on Darren Bent to find the net on his debut.

Villa's club record signing is poised to make his first start for the claret and blues against Manchester City following his £24m transfer.

All eyes will be on the 26-year-old as he looks to cement his place in the hearts of the Holte End faithful when they see him out on the pitch in the number 39 shirt for the first time.

Bent boasts an impressive record when it comes to finding the net on his debut during spells with Ipswich, Charlton, Tottenham and Sunderland.

And the striker admitted it is a trend his boss hopes he will continue against City.

He said: "Gerard has put me under all kinds of pressure by saying that I have tendency to score a lot on my debut!

"I'm not putting any pressure on myself but if a chance comes along hopefully I can take it.

"I can't quite remember all of them but I definitely scored on my debut for Charlton, funnily enough against Sunderland, and then for Sunderland against Bolton.

"I scored for Spurs on my debut in a pre-season friendly and, although I didn't score against Helsingborgs in the UEFA Cup on my Ipswich debut, I did score for them against Newcastle in my first proper game in England.

"I'll probably get a few butterflies in my stomach because it is my debut and everything. I want to do really well and win so badly so for all those reasons I'll probably be a bit nervous.

"With it being live on television as well that will add to it. But that is a good thing and it means you are ready for it and ready to go.

"I just want to get on with it now and play the game. After the weekend it will all be forgotten about and I just want to get on with it."

Bent found the net 25 times for Sunderland last season to take his career tally to 153 club goals in 363 senior appearances.

The forward has also scored 81 times in the Premier League since 2005, which puts him just behind Didier Drogba and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney on the list of goalscorers still playing in the league.

But he admitted he does not set himself any specific goal totals and is not fussy about how he puts the ball in the net.

He said: "I never set targets, I always just try to score as many goals as possible. I'll never change that, that's what I think now.

"I think if you set targets you put yourself under pressure and I don't tend to do that. I've never done it. I don't really mind how I score them either.

"It's always nice for crosses to come into the centre. But I know having played against Ashley Young that he drifts and gets into quite dangerous areas all around the park.

"To be slid in as well is nice but I'm happy either way to be honest. All I've got to do is play the way I play and the balls will come."

Bent is also predicting a tough physical encounter against a stubborn City defence who have the best away defensive record in the Premier League.

Although he does have the added advantage of having found the net - albeit from the penalty spot - when he faced Roberto Mancini's side in a 1-0 win for former club Sunderland last August.

He said: "I scored against them earlier in the season. It was a good game. Carlos Tevez missed an open goal in the match which could have changed the whole game.

"But Sunderland were on top for large periods and got more and more into the game and thought at the time 'we have got a chance here' so you never know.

"Kolo Toure is a top defender and so is Vincent Kompany so it is going to be difficult.

"If you get beat 4-0 by Manchester City - who are a top top side - as Villa did recently you cannot hide from that fact.

"But don't forget Aston Villa are also a top side. You don't finish sixth in the Premier League a few years in a row if you are not a good team.

"We haven't lost too many players - with the exception of Gareth Barry and James Milner - and there are some top players here.

"We have enough to win it."

Bent believes there is more to his game than simply putting the ball in the net - although he accepts that is what he will be judged on.

He said: "People only remember people that score goals. If you do that and your team's winning it doesn't really matter to be honest.

"I always remember my old coach saying to me 'if your score goals you cover the cracks'.

"It would be nice to be able to play the perfect game every week. But the main thing for me being a striker is scoring goals."