Death, taxes, and Gabby Agbonlahor scoring against rival Birmingham City.
The Aston Villa veteran picked a good time to score his first goal of the campaign, getting on the end of a ball that caromed off the heads of five players before finding itself in the back of Tomasz Kuszczak's net.
Agbonlahor's 68th-minute goal was enough for Villa to secure a 1-0 victory, marking the fifth time the 30-year-old local boy has scored against the Blues.
Introduced just before the hour mark after a three-month spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, Agbonlahor scored his first goal in 14 months to spoil Harry Redknapp's Birmingham City debut, leaving his side in 21st, just two points above Blackburn Rovers and the drop zone.
Villa can turn the screw again on its city rivals when it visits Blackburn on Saturday, with Birmingham hosting fifth-placed Huddersfield Town at St. Andrew's.
Fitting that on a day where Villa honoured one club favourite, Ugo Ehiogu, another would score the decisive goal in a derby that is rarely short on storylines.