Boss Tim Sherwood insists Aston Villa's derby showdown with Birmingham is the perfect game to revive their stuttering season.
Villa host midlands rivals Blues in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday aiming to avoid a third straight derby defeat.
Villa - who have also increased stewarding numbers for the game to head off any trouble - have lost to Leicester and West Brom in their last two Barclays Premier League games and have not won in the league since the opening day.
But Sherwood believes the derby is the ideal chance to breathe life into Villa's campaign.
"I agree. It is, it's a good one to win," he said. "It's a great occasion. We know it has been a difficult start to the season points-wise.
"It's a good way to send our fans home happy because they haven't had many of them this season. We tell the players that this means an awful lot. It's not just a normal game. You can only do it by talking to them.
"It's a derby game and anything can happen. We expect to win the football match, like every game but it doesn't always work out that way. We haven't had the rub of the green this season and we haven't got what we've deserved.
"We take it on the chin and we get on with it. We're in a difficult period results-wise now. We're going to fight to get ourselves out of it."
Villa were jeered off following Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to West Brom which left them with just four points from their opening six games a nd Sherwood admitted he knows the fans expect better.
"I know what this game is like. Every week is a long time in football," he said.
"Saturday seemed a long way away from that Liverpool (FA Cup) semi-final game at Wembley, that's for sure. Our players give everything, the fans can see that. I wouldn't tolerate anything less."
Sherwood is without Idrissa Gueye (hamstring), Adama Traore (ankle) and Jores Okore (knee) but could start striker Rudy Gestede.
Source: PA
