Steve Bruce all in for Aston Villa derby against Birmingham City

The rivals are set to go head-to-head for the first time in the league since January 2011 at St Andrew's and Bruce, who spent six years as manager in the east side of the city, believes people from outside the region perhaps don't grasp just how important the game is.

"Unless you're from Birmingham or the Midlands, you don't understand how big this is," he said. "It's what we're in football for. The big occasion. I'll look forward to it."

Bruce himself needs no introduction to the fixture, having taken charge of Blues on nine occasions against Villa, winning four, between 2001 and 2007.

This time he will be in the opposing dugout, having replaced Roberto Di Matteo in the claret and blue hotseat earlier this month. The 55-year-old is expecting a red-hot reception from the home fans and said: "That walk from the tunnel to the dugout should be very interesting indeed!"

Villa head into the game looking to build on a three-game unbeaten run under their new manager which has finally given their campaign some momentum. Yet it is Blues who currently occupy a loftier position in the table, six points ahead of their rivals.

Bruce added: "They're above us at the moment so we need to address that. But we know what we need to do."

Back-to-back wins have lifted Villa up to 16th in the table and goalkeeper Pierlugi Gollini believes they can still mount a push for promotion.

"With our team I think we can compete with everyone," he said. "We have to focus on our game and just doing our best."