Stiliyan Petrov will go head-to-head with former Bulgarian international team mate Stanimir Stoilov when Villa face Litex Lovech in the UEFA Cup first round.

Litex Lovech Stoilov manager played alongside Petrov between 1998 and 2000.

He also helped persuade the Villa midfielder to end his international retirement when he had a spell as caretaker boss of the national side last year.

Petrov, who almost joined Litex Lovech before starting his professional career with CSKA Sofia, told AVTV Online: "I'm delighted to be going home to Bulgaria in the UEFA Cup. I'm friends with their manager as well and it will be exciting.

"It will be the first time I've played club football in Bulgaria since I left my country to play abroad. "They have good players, a good team and a good manager as well. So it should be a good game and I'm looking forward to it."

Tune into AVTV Online for much more from Petrov.