Baked Beans and tea bags are not normal fare for birthday parties, but they will do for the Aston Villa manager Brian Little. Today he celebrates not only 44 years on the planet, but three years as manager at Villa Park and, if Heinz and Tetley do the trick, he also hopes to be celebrating a decent result in tonight's first leg tie.
Villa brought the tea bags because there is a shortage in Romania. The beans came along as a dietary supplement to provide players with a convenient source of energy. A fair wind should be guaranteed tonight.
Steaua have hit hard times since Romania's revolution six years ago. Before then they were the army team, able to demand any player in the country - unless the secret police's team Dinamo Bucharest pulled rank. Now they are forced to sell their best players abroad for hard cash to keep the club alive.
Little still rates Steaua's mix of talented youngsters and veteran internationals. "I think they are a good side," he said. "Technically they are very gifted but they also work hard." His analysis leads him to believe that the battle will be won in midfield, hence a recall for the combatative Ian Taylor.
Villa's previous UEFA Cup wins against Bordeaux and Atletico Bilbao have shown the side to be far more adroit in Europe than they are at home, though after a clumsy start their form in the Premiership appears to be picking up.
Saturday's defeat of Everton saw a promising return after a sinus operation for the enigmatic Stan Collymore. In the second half he played in a deep-lying role just behind Dwight Yorke and the unsettled Savo Milosevic and the same set-up is likely to be seen tonight.
Guardian Service
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