Petrov poised for Villa bow

Stilian Petrov is poised to make his Aston Villa debut against West Ham in Sunday’s Premiership clash at Upton Park.

The Bulgaria captain, signed from Celtic for an initial £6.5m (€9.6m) 10 days ago, only joined up with his team-mates on Friday after international commitments.

With skipper Gareth Barry in sparkling form, either Gavin McCann or Steven Davis look likely to make way for the 27-year-old, who has signed a four-year contract.

Striker Milan Baros is set to be among the substitutes after finally recovering from a summer-long foot injury as Villa look to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign.

Team (from): Sorensen, Hughes, Mellberg, Ridgewell, Bouma, Whittingham, Samuel, Davis, McCann, Petrov, Barry, Hendrie, Moore, Agbonlahor, Angel, Baros, Taylor, Delaney, Laursen, Djemba-Djemba.