After an encouraging win away to Worcester last Saturday, Davies is keen to test his squad further ahead of his side’s first RaboDirectPRO12 game against Glasgow in a fortnight.
With that in mind, Davies is looking at a number of options in key positions against the English side.
The clash with Sale will be the first match on the newly installed artificial pitch at the Cardiff Arms Park with both teams looking for a boost ahead of the new season.
The two sides met in the Heineken Cup last year, the Blues letting a 24-12 half time lead slip away as they lost 34-33 in the north of England. The return fixture was more positive though, Wales scrum half Lloyd Williams scoring the decisive try in a 26-14 victory.
Ahead of tonight’s clash, Davies said: “Obviously we were pleased with the match up in Worcester. We made 12 changes at half time but that didn’t disrupt the flow of our play. I thought our attack and defence was good and the scrum was a lot more solid.”
“We have to be more consistent if we are to reach the knock out stages of competitions, but we need to take that step up.”
For tonight’s clash, Gareth Davies and Rhys Patchell will both get a chance to stake their claim for the fly half position. Patchell, who toured Japan with Wales in June, was Davies’ preferred choice at 10 last year but faces competition from Davies who was part of the Wales Sevens squad at the recent World Cup in Moscow.
Elsewhere, Richard Smith, Owen Williams, Gavin Evans and Dafydd Hewitt will all get a run at centre while Welsh internationals Bradley Davies, Scott Andrews and Matthew Rees all start. New club captain Rees skippers the side for the second game running.
As in the game against Worcester, Davies is likely to make a number of changes at half time, the players listed second in the squad list below likely to play the second 40 minutes.
“Everyone is very excited about playing on the new surface for the first time,” Davies said.
“With the new artificial surface we can hopefully play more of a fast free flowing game.”
For Sale, former Wales scrum half Dwayne Peel partners Nick Macleod at halfback with Danny Cipriani on the bench. Mark Cueto starts on the wing while backrower Michael Paterson returns to the Arms Park to start against his old club.
Cardiff Blues team to play Sale at Cardiff Arms Park tonight (KO: 7.30pm): 15 Chris Czekaj/ Tom Williams 14 Harry Robinson 13 Richard Smith/ Owen Williams 12 Gavin Evans/ Dafydd Hewitt 11 Dan Fish 10 Gareth Davies/ Rhys Patchell 9 Lewis Jones/ Lloyd Williams, 1 Sam Hobbs/ Taufa’ao Filise 2 Matthew Rees (c) / Kristian Dacey/ Marc Breeze 3 Scott Andrews/ Benoit Bourroust 4 Bradley Davies 5 James Down/ Filo Paulo 6 Macauley Cook 7 Thomas Young/ Josh Navidi 8 Robin Copeland/ Luke Hamilton.
Sale: 15 Tom Arscott 14 Tom Brady 13 Andy Forsyth 12 Sammy Tuitupou 11 Mark Cueto 10 Nick Macleod 9 Dwayne Peel, 1 Ross Harrison 2 Tommy Taylor 3 Henry Thomas 4 Johnathan Mills 5 Kirill Kulemin 6 Michael Paterson 7 David Seymour 8 James Gaskell.
Replacements Marc Jones, Aston Croall, Vadim Cobilas, Andrei Ostrikov, Mark Easter, Dan Braid, Nathan Fowles, Joe Ford, Jonny Leota, Danny Cipriani.
