"I'd be lying" - Honest claim issued on Second City Derby rivalry between Birmingham City & Aston Villa | OneFootball

FLW's resident Birmingham City fan pundit believes that Aston Villa are the bigger club

Birmingham City will be vying to renew their rivalry with fierce cross-city foes Aston Villa on the pitch in the not-too-distant future.

The Second City Derby, which is widely viewed among the most hotly-contested of its kind in the country, has not been played out in more than five years.

It appears likely - save for a shock relegation from the Premier League for Villa, of course - that Blues will have to wait at least a further two years before potentially trying to get one over their rivals, having been relegated to League One from the Championship last season.

The two sides last locked horns back in a notoriously-fierce contest, where Jack Grealish recovered from being attacked earlier in the match by a Blues supporter to net the game's only goal.

Villa were promoted at the end of the 2018/19 campaign and are yet to return to the Championship since, a scenario which feels next to impossible to envision now after Unai Emery guided them to a fourth-placed finish last term, ensuring UEFA Champions League football.

This element of recent history has certainly favoured Villa, who have also historically gained more bragging rights in the Second City Derby than Blues, too.

Indeed, you have to go all the way back to the 2004/05 season to find Blues' last scalp over the Villains, a campaign where they completed a double while playing in the Premier League.

Honest Birmingham City claim made on Aston Villa rivalry

When quizzed on which Second City outfit is the bigger club, Football League World's resident Blues fan pundit Mike Gibbs removed all biases to admit Villa currently take that crown.

"Rival-wise, it's obviously Aston Villa," Mike told Football League World.

"That is the main rivalry, we obviously have other clubs around us such as Wolves, West Brom and Walsall but I don't think those rivalries are anywhere near what it is with Villa.

"I think I'd be lying if I said they weren't the bigger club, they're playing Champions League football in the Premier League and we're two leagues below them. They've obviously done well previously in terms of European competition, winning the European Cup [now the UEFA Champions League].

"But the one thing we hold over them is we're the last team in the Midlands to win a major trophy in terms of the League Cup in 2011,so more recent history favours Blues."

Birmingham City will eventually want to replicate Aston Villa success

They may be stuck in the third-tier of English football right now, but little secret has been made of Birmingham's significant ambitions following Knighthead's purchase of the club last summer - where a three-year plan of gaining promotion to the Premier League was reportedly formulated.

Last year's relegation from the Championship put a dent in those ambitions, of course, but Blues are unsurprisingly looking good value to go straight back up, where they'll likely continue to be extremely competitive due to their financial might and sizable revenue generated.

Going up from League One is the immediate target, although back-to-back promotions cannot be ruled out and, given the ambition of Birmingham's owners, simply reaching the Premier League probably isn't going to be the end goal either.

Exciting times are ahead for Blues, who feel like a new club since their takeover. What a feat it would be, then, to get one back over the Villains before long.