Villa Park has been placed under a full military-style lockdown ahead of Manchester City's visit, after the club's board ordered every seat in the ground to be occupied by a sentry with a clipboard and a whistle. Local authorities confirmed that the lunchtime kick-off will be preceded by a three-hour search of every visiting supporter, conducted at a series of marquees erected along the Trinity Road approach.
Club officials said the measures were a direct response to City's run of seven consecutive league wins. "We are not prepared to allow a eighth victory to happen without a formal objection," said a spokesperson for the Villa board, who asked not to be named because the objection had not yet been drafted. The spokesperson added that the stewarding budget had been spent on whistles, lanyards and a new press gallery built from scaffolding.
Neighbouring residents report that the surrounding streets have been closed to traffic since Thursday, and that a queue of pedestrians now stretches from the Witton Lane roundabout to the city centre. Shopkeepers say they have been asked to sell only pies that can be eaten within ten seconds of purchase, a restriction the council described as a matter of public safety.
City manager officials, for their part, have confirmed that the starting eleven will be announced at the stadium gates, following a press conference that will be held on the pitch so that reporters can witness the team sheet being handwritten. A City spokesman said the squad had been told to arrive two hours early in full tracksuits, and that the coaching staff had arranged a rehearsal of the walk from the team coach to the dressing room, timed to the second.