Image source, Rex Features

A penny for this man's thoughts right now.

Steve Bruce, promoted twice to the Premier League as manager of Birmingham City, is in the opposition dugout in the Second City derby.

He's been much of the focus of the build-up to this match, but now it's time for the talking to stop and get down to business. Phew!

The players are making their way out to quite a noise at St Andrew's.

Neither set of fans wants to go back into that office on Monday morning having lost to their arch rivals.

Image source, Rex Features

We all love a good stat, don't we? Well, here's a few to whet that fact-starved appetite:

• This is the first time these sides have met in the second tier since 1987-88.
• Birmingham are winless in eight Second City league games with Villa, losing six and drawing two.

And my personal favourite for sheer randomness:

• Villa haven't won three consecutive league games since April 2010, with the third of those coming against Birmingham City.

Click on the play button at the top of the page to listen to live commentary of Birmingham v Aston Villa on BBC Radio 5 live.

Ian Brown and Robbie Savage are in position at St Andrew's.

Robbie knows this fixture pretty well...

Image source, Getty Images

Former Birmingham striker Clinton Morrison and ex-Villa forward Garry Thompson form BBC WM's punditry team at St Andrew's today...

Morrison: "You have to play the occasion, get all excited and do any rash tackles. You don't want to go down to 10 men in games like this."  

Thompson: "I see it being a cagey affair, unless there's a tackle or a massive mistake. Then suddenly someone will have to chase the game."

So what's the form like, then?

Well Villa have won two of their three matches under new manager Steve Bruce, but still find themselves 16th in the table, three points above the relegation places.

Image source, Rex Features

Birmingham have only lost once at home this campaign and are just a point outside the play-off places.  

Image source, Rex Features

Can former Birmingham manager Steve Bruce make a victorious return to St Andrew's with their deadliest of rivals, Aston Villa?

Send me your thoughts on today's Second City derby using #bbcefl on Twitter.

Image source, Getty Images

Steve Bruce has been back to St Andrew's as an opposition manager since leaving Birmingham in 2007, but never as boss of Aston Villa.

"I've got nothing but respect for the club and the people who support it, but I'm now enemy number one," Bruce, who spent two years with Blues as a player and six as a manager, told BBC WM 95.6.

"For many years, I've been called many things, usually at Villa Park. Normally it's decent banter and I give a bit back.

"I want to stay here a long time, and if I can repeat the stability and success we had down the road, I'd be very happy."

Image source, Getty Images

As I said earlier, Aston Villa beat Birmingham at Villa Park in the League Cup last season. It was Gary Rowett's first experience of a Second City derby from the dugout.

"It was enough to know it's different - you can feel it," Blues boss Rowett told BBC Sport.

"You have to have control - too much emotion and that can go out the window.

"I'm looking forward to one at St Andrew's. You always get more stick as an away manager and I'm sure Steve Bruce is ready!"

Ged Scott
BBC Sport at St Andrew's

A surprise to see Gabby Agbonlahor named on the bench, and he's doing his warm-up routine with the other Villa players at St Andrew's after so long out in the cold.

It's his first appearance in the squad since March. But why not? Villa boss Steve Bruce said when he first came in that it was a clean slate for every player at the club.

And Agbonlahor does have a knack of scoring against Blues. He's done it four times in six games before, including three at St Andrew's, two of which have been match winners.

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, BBC Sport

Aston Villa make two changes from their home win over Fulham eight days ago - Ashley Westwood and Albert Adomah start, with Leandro Bacuna and Rudy Gestede dropping out.

And an interesting name among the Villa substitutes - Gabby Agbonlahor is poised for his first appearance of the season.

Subs: Bunn, Elphick, Tshibola, Agbonlahor, Gestede, Cissokho, McCormack.

Image source, BBC Sport

Birmingham make four changes to the side that lost to Burton last time out, including bringing Tomasz Kuszczak back in goal.

Clayton Donaldson starts up front in place of another big man Lukas Jutkiewicz, while Rhoys Wiggins and Che Adams also come in.

Subs: Legzdins, Robinson, Fabbrini, Cotterill, Jutkiewicz, Brown, Stewart.

Listen to BBC Radio 5 live commentary of Birmingham City v Aston Villa from 11:55 GMT.

Until then, why not tune in to the pre-match build-up on BBC WM 95.6? Do so by clicking on the play button at the top of the page.

The station also has live coverage of the match from St Andrew's, but unfortunately a rights issue prevents us streaming BBC local radio commentaries on the BBC Sport website.

Image source, Rex Features

Despite the downtime in league meetings between these two sides, they met in last season's League Cup, when Rudy Gestede gave then-Premier League Villa a 1-0 win over Birmingham in September.

Since then, an awful lot has changed.

Villa didn't win again until January on their way to relegation to the second tier after 28 years in the top flight, and they're onto their fourth manager since that match.

Heroes are made in derby games. Villains too. Just ask Peter Enckelman.

The Finn provided us with probably the most memorable of Second City derby moments, when in 2002 the then-Aston Villa keeper miscontrolled a throw in and saw it career into his own goal to help Blues on their way to a 3-0 win.

Image source, Empics

Image source, Getty Images

In the infamous words of Madonna, sometimes "time goes by so slowly".

It's been a wait of five long years for a league meeting between Second City rivals Birmingham City and Aston Villa.

Even though it's a cliche, fans of these two clubs genuinely love to hate each other and the matches have always provided high drama for the neutral.

Just watch it be a drab 0-0 now I've said that...

Welcome to our live text coverage of Birmingham City v Aston Villa.