England are looking to get their Six Nations campaign back on track as they welcome perennial strugglers Italy to Twickenham this afternoon.
The defending champions began the tournament with a disappointing Calcutta Cup defeat to Scotland last weekend, so nothing more than a convincing victory will do for Eddie Jones’ men today.
Luckily, the task at hand is not a daunting one, with Italy winless in the Six Nations since 2015 and having been hammered 50-10 by France in their opener in Rome last weekend.
Jones’ response to the Scotland defeat has been to make five changes to his side, including restoring George Ford at fly-half and rotating his entire front-row.
England XV: Daly; Watson, Slade, Farrell (c), May; Ford, Youngs; M Vunipola, Cowan-Dickie, Sinckler; Itoje, Hill; Lawes, Curry, B Vunipola
Replacements: George, Genge, Stuart, Ewels, Earl, Willis, Robson, Malins
Italy XV: Trulla; Sperandio, Brex, Canna, Ioane; Garbisi, Varney; Lovotti, Bigi (c), Riccioni; Lazzaroni, Sisi; Negri, Meyer, Lamaro
Replacements: Lucchesi, Fischetti, Zilocchi, Cannone, Ruzza, Palazzani, Allan, Mori
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Italy team news
As for Italy, centre Marco Zanon has returned to club side Benetton for treatment on a leg injury that forced his withdrawal against France.
Carlo Canna replaces Zanon, with Juan Ignacio Brex – who made his Azzurri debut last weekend – moving to the no13 shirt.
There is also more experience brought into the front row, with loosehead prop Andrea Lovotti replacing Daniele Rimpelli.
Italy XV: Trulla; Sperandio, Brex, Canna, Ioane; Garbisi, Varney; Lovotti, Bigi (c), Riccioni; Lazzaroni, Sisi; Negri, Meyer, Lamaro
Replacements: Lucchesi, Fischetti, Zilocchi, Cannone, Ruzza, Palazzani, Allan, Mori
England team news
Eddie Jones has made five changes to the side defeated by Scotland, with George Ford back at fly-half, captain Owen Farrell shuffling across to inside centre and Ollie Lawrence dropped from the squad altogether.
It’s a completely changed front row, with first-choice props Mako Vunipola and Kyle Sinckler returning from injury and suspension respectively at the expense of Ellis Genge and Will Stuart.
At hooker, Jamie George is replaced by Luke Cowan-Dickie, who impressed off the bench last weekend.
Courtney Lawes starts on the blindside with Mark Wilson joining Lawrence in dropping out of the matchday squad.
Jones has also returned to a 6-2 bench split, with Dan Robson and Max Malins the only backs in reserve.
England XV: Daly; Watson, Slade, Farrell (c), May; Ford, Youngs; M Vunipola, Cowan-Dickie, Sinckler; Itoje, Hill; Lawes, Curry, B Vunipola
Replacements: George, Genge, Stuart, Ewels, Earl, Willis, Robson, Malins
Standard Sport prediction: Home win
England will be chomping at the bit to make amends for their wretched all-around performance against Scotland on opening weekend, which spells big danger for an Italy side that are once again the overwhelming favourites to collect the wooden spoon.
There were flashes of impressive play from a young Azzurri side against France, but ultimately they are just too easy to score against and lacked execution and confidence in the opposition 22.
Expect England to bounce back with an emphatic victory heading into the first rest weekend.
How to watch
TV channel: Today’s contest is being shown live on ITV, with coverage beginning at 1:30pm.
Live stream: Fans can also watch the action online via the ITV website or ITV Hub.
We’ll have all the build-up ahead of kick-off at 2:15pm.
