Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar has warned Sunderland boss Paolo Di Canio that he and his teammates haven't forgotten his taunting of Villa fans while he was Swindon Town manager.

Di Canio gave the thumbs down to the Villans supporters during his side's 3-2 defeat to Paul Lambert's team in the Capital One Cup, indicating that he believes that they would be relegated from the Premier League.

Vlaar told reporters: "The fans do not forget it (Di Canio taunting Villa fans) and yeah, that could be in our favour. Di Canio is really enthusiastic.

"But I think with the fans behind us, it's going to be a great game. There is some new spirit in the team there and they won the last two games with good results. They come to Villa Park now but we definitely want to win."

Villa take on Di Canio's Black Cats at Villa Park later today.