City frontman Darius Vassell simply loves playing against the Claret and Blue, who he left in the summer of 2005.
Since his departure from the Midlands, the former England man has scored five goals in seven games against his former side and Villa fans are probably dreading the sight of him playing against them again.
With Craig Bellamy and Robinho ruled out through injury, the fears of the Villa faithful may just be realised.
City have few other options than to start with him, as Felipe Caicedo and Valeri Bojinov are hardly banging down the door to get into the first team.
Some Villans will say that the 28 year old, who was born in Sutton Coldfield, is a spent force, but Vassell is far from it in reality as he still possesses as much strength, and almost as much pace, as ever.
The striker, who has 22 international caps to his name, will be eager to stake his claim for a first team sport at big spending City.
And who knows, with a goal or two against Villa he may just make Mark Hughes think a little.
Graduates
The Claret and Blue will be aiming to stop Vassell and co as they look to win for the first time in five games.
Their poor run of form has coincided with Gabby Agbonlahor's mini goal drought and the youngster will be desperate to put the ball in the back of the net after key misses against Everton and Stoke cost his side dear.
Vassell vs Agbonlahor is certainly an intriguing battle as the Villa academy graduates battle it out for the spoils at Eastlands.
In terms of City, they are now more focused on the Uefa Cup than the league and, although, Hughes obviously needs to ensure safety, his players will be keen to win the last piece of silverware available to them.
Villa are a polar opposite with manager Martin O'Neill choosing to rest key first teamers for the clash against CSKA Moscow in Russia last week.
That decision didn't have the desired effect as the Villans dropped two crucial points at home to Stoke on Sunday thanks to two late goals from the Potters.
The Claret and Blue need to get back on track as soon as possible and they will be hoping that Vassell doesn't derail their Champions League challenge at Eastlands.