Birmingham City boss Garry Monk has been having his say on arch-rivals Aston Villa ahead of the pairs’ weekend clash, saying they have the best attacking options in the league.

Star attacker Jack Grealish has recently returned for the Villains, having an instant impact as they saw off Derby County 4-0 last weekend.

"On paper they have the best quality players in the league offensively," Monk said, according to the club's Twitter account.

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“We are going to have to be at our best, but we are at home and have had a good record there.

“We will be committed as ever to put on a performance."

The previous meeting between the sides this season finished in a 4-2 win for Villa in a thoroughly entertaining display.

But months later, it is the Blues who sit higher in the table, currently three places better off in eighth place as both sides look to break into the play-offs.

A win for Smith’s side, however, will see them leapfrog their neighbours and potentially close the gap on the top-six to just three points.

The verdict

It is hard to disagree with Monk here.

Whilst the likes of West Brom, Leeds, Norwich and Brentford have all been thoroughly impressive in attack this season Villa still boast the most noticeable talent.

Jack Grealish, Jonathan Kodjia, Anwar El Ghazi, Tammy Abraham and Connor Hourihane are all proven at this level and should have the club higher than they are.