Police calm over Villa & Birmingham at home on same night

Blues and Villa have not played at home on the same night since August 2010

It would never have happened at all in the old days - and it has not happened in 14 years - but Aston Villa and Birmingham City both play at home on Tuesday night.

The rush-hour traffic in the second city - and especially around Aston and Small Heath - is expected to be even busier than normal as Villa host their second Champions League home tie against Bologna, while Blues meet Bolton Wanderers in the League One.

Both clubs are expected to have near-full capacity crowds in attendance.

Villa have failed to sell out at their 42,640 seater stadium, following the local furore that has followed their Champions League ticket-price charges.

Blues, although now in League One following relegation from the Championship in May, are top of the table, unbeaten at home and have been operating close to their 29,000 capacity all season.

But West Midlands Police are confident that having near 70,000 fans in the second city on the same night will not be an issue.

"We are used to dealing with large events including high-profile football matches," said superintendent Jack Hadley.

The Bologna team coach is parked on a leafy lane close to their city centre hotel

A potential Spaghetti Junction 'Bolognese'?

The last time Blues and Villa had games on the same night was August 2010, when Villa lost 3-2 to Rapid Vienna to bow out of the Europa League, while Blues were beating Rochdale in the League Cup.

There were 29,980 at Villa Park that night - and a lot less, just 6,431 at St Andrew's.

This Tuesday night's combined gates will be close to double that - added to the prospect of travelling Bolton fans arriving via the M6 to create a potential Spaghetti Junction 'Bolognese', especially as League Two high-fliers Walsall are also at home just a few miles further up the motorway.

Blues also had the option of switching their game to Wednesday but opted not to as it was thought too close to Saturday's lunchtime kick-off at Mansfield [12:30 GMT].

But the authorities are confident that everything will go smoothly.

"We are really looking forward to being able to demonstrate the very best of British policing to all our visiting fans," said superintendent Hadley

"Having Bologna visit our city is a real celebration and a great opportunity to show off what our city has to offer.

"We have a plan in place to allow fans to enjoy the game safely. There will be additional officers within the city throughout the day to ensure all visitors are kept safe.

"I encourage anyone to engage with officers and say hello. Although we are not anticipating any issues, officers will deal with anyone not behaving as expected in a positive manner.

"Anyone behaving anti-socially can expect to be dispersed from the city, and anyone committing criminal offences can expect to be arrested."