Birmingham City boss Gary Rowett claims Aston Villa team was leaked

Birmingham City manager Gary Rowett has claimed that Aston Villa's starting XI was leaked to him ahead of the Midlands derby in the League Cup.

The Blues boss said that he was tipped off about the team the Villans would be fielding by an inside source who he declined to name.

"I actually knew their team yesterday funnily enough," BBC Sport quotes Rowett as saying. "That often happens - you often get a little tip-off. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're not."

Villa manager Tim Sherwood shrugged off Rowett's remarks, dismissing them as "strange".

"Of course it's not," he said when asked whether the leak concerned him. "Did he tell you who it was? It's interesting why he even mentioned it. It's strange."

Villa won the match 1-0 courtesy of a goal by Rudy Gestede.