England Under-21 international Davies, who completed his move from The Hawthorns in the summer, missed Thursday's UEFA Cup win over Litex Lovech with a knee niggle.

Although Villa now have four centre-backs in their squad, Davies views himself as a first choice and is thriving on the chance to receive a hot reception from West Brom supporters.

Martin O'Neill handed a debut to Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar, a £7.8m signing from Rangers, against the Bulgarian Cup holders.

But Davies said: "The knee is fine, I could have played in Bulgaria, and wanted to, but the gaffer took it as an opportunity to give me a rest while the knee is sore and basically a good opportunity to give Carlos a debut.

"It was a double-edged sword really but hopefully I will be back in on Sunday.

"I was told I was rested not dropped, so at the moment I feel the shirt is mine.

"The competition is there and I have to be aware of it but I am hoping to be playing on Sunday."