Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill is confident that the players in his squad are capable of winning Sunday’s Carling Cup final against Manchester United (Villa 7/4, United 2/5 Carling Cup Winner).

The two sides go head-to-head at Wembley for the season’s first piece of silverware and O’Neill will be boosted by the news skipper Stiliyan Petrov has overcome a virus, while keeper Brad Friedel, defender James Collins and striker Emile Heskey are all pushing for a start after being rested in the FA Cup fifth-round replay win over Crystal Palace.

O’Neill, who won the League Cup while in charge of Leicester, is confident that Villa can win the game (Villa 7/2, United 20/23, draw 13/5 Carling Cup 90 Minutes) after their victory over United at Old Trafford in the Premier League.

The Northern Irishman said: “We have some players in brilliant form who can cause them problems.

“Our confidence comes from being the only team to win at Old Trafford in the league this season. We played exceptionally well that day. But Sunday’s game will be open.”

On the prospect of winning his first trophy since taking over at Villa Park four years ago, O’Neill added: “Winning a trophy is the ultimate. There is no getting away from that and it would be fantastic.

“We have a lot of pictures of the old teams around the training ground. It is something to aspire to.

“I have often said to keep the pictures up on the walls of the 1981 league-winning side and 1982 European Cup-winning side. The early 1980s was a fantastic spell for Villa.

“The history of the club is there to see, a great tradition, so we’d like to try and do something about it.”

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