WHEN 'Don' Fabio Capello, the new Godfather of English football, eases himself into the gilded chair belonging to the boss of the national team, he could find City and Villa providing the basis of his next World Cup team.

Micah Richards has almost become a fixture at right-back in the Three Lions starting line-up during Gary Neville's lengthy absence, and Joe Hart looks an England keeper in the making.

And, although Michael Johnson was absent here with an abdominal strain, he is an all-round, all-action midfielder who could yet graduate quickly from the Under-21 squad, where he is being guided by Stuart Pearce, his former club manager and the man who gave him his big break.

It would be no surprise, given his rate of progress so far, if Johnson was to challenge the likes of Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves in the next 18 months.

As for Villa, they have the pace of Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor to offer Capello, plus the skilled left foot and experience of Gareth Barry - not forgetting the claims of keeper Scott Carson, who gave his reputation a bit of a dent in the Croatia debacle but who will no doubt bounce back to rival Paul Robinson, Ben Foster and Hart.

All bar Johnson played a prominent part in this contest that was as even as the score line would suggest.

Both sides looked competent rather than sparkling, upper middle of the table rather than pushing for the top four.

Each enjoyed periods of domination, although Hart and his defenders were slightly busier than their Villa counterparts.

Bench

There had to be a price to pay for City's Carling Cup exit, and the axe fell in the full-back positions. Javier Garrido and Vedran Corluka were both consigned to the bench to be replaced by Michael Ball and Nedum Onuoha, who was making his first league start since the Blues beat Villa 1-0 in the reverse fixture back in September.

Both Garrido and Corluka were introduced late in the game as boss Sven-Goran Eriksson husbanded his resources with one eye on the glut of holiday fixtures.

Among those who went off were Elano and Didi Hamann, perhaps the two most influential players so far this season, even if the Brazil midfielder has not been at his electrifying best in the past few weeks.

It was the classy South American who had the opening chance of the contest, a free-kick from a central position that forced Carson to shovel it around the post.

Elano's contribution in the 11th minute was much more telling for having collected a peach of a pass from Hamann, he set Martin Petrov free down the left. And when his curling first-time cross came in, it was the arch-poacher Rolando Bianchi who was there to slide home for his third goal in four games.

The Blues' frailty away from home soon resurfaced, however.

Profited

Within three minutes, a crossfield ball found Norwegian powerhouse John Carew, who profited from Richard Dunne's poor starting position and showed remarkable strength to hold off the Irishman.

He then brushed passed Ball to beat the exposed Hart with a half-hearted shot. Without a win at home since November 3, Villa's confidence soared after the goal. They took control for a while, with Martin Laursen heading over and then Ashley Young's corner eluding the groping Hart and leaving Agbonlahor to claim a goal after his bouncing, scuffed shot was cleared off the line by Elano.

City escaped that threat and survived again in the 33rd minute, when Carew flashed in a right-foot drive that Hart did brilliantly to turn on to the post, instantly showing why the England Under-21 ace is held in such high regard.

Thereafter, despite a raft of tactical substitutions, the sides cancelled one another out.

Elano's space was noticeably trimmed and his influence became peripheral, Hamann's legs were saved for future battles and with Dunne and Richards at last subduing Carew, a draw was inevitable.

Villa's best chance, a break from Nigel Reo-Coker - another Englishman with international pretensions - was snuffed out by Ball, who surely did enough to keep his place against Blackburn on Thursday night.

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