Villa play Derby in football's richest match
Both clubs are desperate to return to the English Premiership and the £170m prize money, which could go up to £300m if the promoted team stay up, makes it the richest game in football history
London — Aston Villa face Derby County in the Championship playoff final on Monday with both clubs desperate for a return to the Premier League in a game billed as the richest in world football with at least £170m on the line. Villa have been out of the top flight for three seasons while Derby have been stuck in the second tier of English football since relegation in 2008. A 10-match winning streak during the run-in propelled Dean Smith’s Villa side into the playoffs where they got past West Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion. “The key thing is momentum,” said former Brentford manager Smith, who took over from Steve Bruce at Villa Park in October. “I feel we have a lot of that going into it [the final], given our run towards the end of the season and our two dominant playoff games, We can take it into the final.” Derby produced a brilliant performance with a 4-2 win over Leeds United in their playoff second leg at Elland Road earning them a place at Wembley. Derby manager Frank L...
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