Villa's Petrov has pie named in his honour

Aston Villa fans will be able to munch on a special pie named in honour of their Bulgarian captain Stiliyan Petrov, who is battling leukaemia, in the home Premier League match against Sunderland on Saturday.

The club said a percentage of proceeds from the pie, which contains chicken, leek and Bulgarian kefta meatballs, will be donated to the Cure Leukaemia charity.

The 32-year-old Petrov, who has more than 100 international caps for Bulgaria, was diagnosed with acute leukaemia last month and has started treatment at a London hospital.

The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) dedicated this week's round of the domestic championship, played between Tuesday and Thursday, to Petrov with players wearing specially signed shirts in support of him.

Several league matches have been stopped in the 19th minute, Petrov's Villa shirt number, with the crowd applauding for a minute.