Talking Tayls with Ian Taylor

Villa favourite Ian Taylor believes this Sunday's Second City showdown visit of Birmingham may be one of the most important of all time for the home team.

Rarely if ever has quite so much been riding on a Second City derby as this Sunday's at Villa Park.

Every time Villa do battle with Birmingham it's a big game but this is colossal, gigantic and gargantuan all rolled into one.

Because, as Martin O'Neill seems to be saying in preparation for every game these days, nothing but a win will do for the home side. Should they succeed on Sunday, that goes for Manchester City and Blackburn too.

Last night's fine win at Hull has kept the top-four dream alive. Maybe, just maybe, the Champions League isn't beyond us after all.

Now there is hope at the very least, with Tottenham and Manchester City both facing tough games this weekend against Manchester United and Arsenal. In fact, there's even a possibility we could pull level with Spurs with a victory over Blues on Sunday.

We have found some form just when we had to and I was impressed with the way we dodged another banana skin, against a Hull team fighting for their lives at the bottom. It was fitting that two of our biggest hits this season, Gabby Agbonlahor and James Milner, scored the goals.

It really sets things up for the weekend and you can be sure Villa Park will be transformed into a cauldron come noon Sunday. Forget Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea or Arsenal – this is the one that matters more than any other to supporters.

It's going to be a tough game, there's no doubt about it.

Blues have proven themselves to be stubborn opponents this season – only Manchester City have taken them apart – and their defence has been the cornerstone of what's been a strong first season back with the big boys.

Villa have found it difficult breaking teams down at home again this season and that will be a worry for manager Martin O'Neill.

But Blues are not quite the team they were a month or two ago and since securing their safety their form has tailed off. There are potential weaknesses that O'Neill can look to expose – and both of them are ex-Villa players!

Liam Ridgewell has performed well at left-back this season but, ultimately, he's a centre-back playing out of position so I expect Ashley Young and Stewart Downing to give him a rough ride out wide.

I'll also be very interested to see how Craig Gardner copes with the pressure of his return to Villa Park – because you can be certain he'll get a hostile reception.

It didn't take long for Craig to reveal his loyalties lay with Blues after sealing his January move to St Andrew's and, while that will have helped endear him to his new fans, it certainly won't have gone down well with Villa fans.

Gardner has found himself playing out wide on the right recently which is clearly not his favoured position, he's always been a central midfielder, so Stephen Warnock should fancy his chances of keeping him quiet.

And come the summer, letting James Milner or Ashley Young go would be the equivalent of footballing suicide for Villa.

If the club are serious about becoming a top-four club then not only do they have to keep hold of their top players, they have to add to what they've already got.

O'Neill has got us back to where we should be. At the moment we belong in that second bracket of teams who sit between fourth and seventh.

It's familiar territory but too often we've seen big names go - Dwight Yorke and Gareth Southgate being two from my time - when we have been on the cusp of great things.

But this summer it's absolutely imperative we keep hold of our star names to ensure we are still in the mix next season.

This week's news that Fabian Delph has suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury also came as a big blow.

You have to feel for young Fabian whose tough tackling, energy and enthusiasm was starting to make him a real favourite with supporters.

It's been a stop-start first campaign for him but it was always going to take time for him to make the step up from League One to the Premier League. Overall, he had done well.

The good thing is he's still young and, at 20, he will be a quick healer.

The mere mention of 'cruciate' used to send a shiver down footballers' spines when I was starting out – it could mean the end of a career. But times have changed and medical advances mean he should make a full recovery.

If his tigerish attitude on the field is anything to go by, he'll be back before we know it.

In the Champions League, Jose Mourinho proved he is still the 'Special One' this week but Inter Milan's triumph over Barcelona was just as much down to volcanic ash as managerial genius.

From my own experiences, Barca's lengthy trek across Europe by land will have sapped the energy out of their players. I never used to feel quite right if I had to play games on the back of lengthy flights or coach journeys.

Barca just didn't look themselves on Tuesday night – Lionel Messi was a shadow of the player who tore Arsenal to shreds just a fortnight earlier – and their tiring trip caused by all flights being grounded will undoubtedly have played its part.

So to did Mourinho's brilliant tactics which were spot on – and if anyone was capable of stopping the European champions it was him.

It still wouldn't surprise me if Barca progressed such is their magnificence at the Nou Camp, but the Inter boss has already proven he has few peers in management.

Even if the Bernabeu isn't his destination for next month's Champions League final – I wouldn't bet against him being there as Real Madrid manager next season.

If he can't sort the latest crop of Galacticos out then no one can.