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England face Wales for the second time in a week, aiming to bounce back after their shock 20-9 defeat at the Principality Stadium as the teams prepare for the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

Steve Borthwick and Warren Gatland both rested some big names last week in Cardiff, but it was former British & Irish Lions boss Gatland who saw his team get over the line after an intense battle.

Neither England nor Wales will want to lose as they try to build some momentum before heading to France, and the Red Rose are expected to prevail at Twickenham.

Home advantage to help England over the line

Last week’s 20-9 defeat to Wales will have been a huge wake-up call for England, and they cannot afford to produce another lacklustre performance.

The Red Rose were six-point favourites and were 9-6 ahead at half-time, but they were unable to build on that, with Wales scoring two unanswered tries in the second half.

England, despite having the better chances, failed to find a way back into the game, and that cannot happen again this week.

Borthwick has made 11 changes to his team for this week’s contest and, in doing so, he has added some much-needed experience to his team.

Owen Farrell returns at fly-half as captain and will be partnered by Jack van Poortvliet. Billy Vunipola, Jamie George, Maro Itoje and Joe Marler will also return in the pack, and Borthwick will be counting on their experience to dominate up front.

Borthwick will have a pretty clear idea who his starting team will be for the World Cup, but he cannot afford his team to lose successive matches to Wales.

England travel to Dublin next week for their final warm-up game against Ireland, and if they can make some minor improvements from last week’s display, it should be enough to beat Wales.

Gatland’s changes will aid England’s cause

The fact that Saturday’s game is taking place at Twickenham is a boost for England.

Wales famously secured a win over England in the pool stage of the 2015 World Cup but that was their last success in England. It has been six successive visits without a win for Wales, but most competitive games have been tight affairs.

England should be able to start fast and take an early lead against an inexperienced Wales side who will be captained by hooker Dewi Lake.

Gatland has made 15 changes from the team that won last week, with Taine Plumtree also set for his first start at number eight.

Kemsley Mathias and Keiran Williams are also due to make their international debuts off the bench, and while they need the experience, they may fall short at Twickenham.

Gatland will be happy with a positive performance, and if his fringe players can be competitive and escape injury, it will be a job well done at Twickenham.

TIPS

England to win by 11-15 points 

England to win both halves