England will today look to make it two wins from two at the start of their Six Nations campaign as they host Wales at Twickenham.

The Red Rose last week got their tournament up and running in Rome with a 27-24 victory over Italy, though it was an underwhelming performance in which they trailed at half-time to an Italian side with just one Six Nations win to their name in the past decade.

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With trips to face Scotland and France to come, either side of a Twickenham clash against Ireland, England will be desperate to produce a much-improved display this weekend and ensure a new era, without the likes of Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes and Ben Youngs, does not already begin to falter.

England made a poor start in Rome, though that was nothing compared to how Wales began their opening match against Scotland. The Wales supporters were left stunned in Cardiff, as the home side fell 27-0 behind after 43 minutes.

A heavy defeat appeared to be on the cards, but Wales rallied superbly, with tries from James Botham, Rio Dyer, Aaron Wainwright and Alex Mann giving them hope of pulling off a remarkable comeback. Scotland just about held on though, securing a nervy 27-26 win.

Warren Gatland now takes his squad to Twickenham looking to improve on a woeful Welsh run of just two wins in 11 Six Nations matches, having finished the championship in fifth in each of the past two years.

England vs Wales date, kick-off time and venue

England vs Wales takes place today, Saturday, February 10, 2024, with kick-off scheduled for 4.45pm GMT.

The match will be hosted at Twickenham in south-west London.

How to watch England vs Wales

TV channel: England vs Wales is being shown live in the UK free-to-air on ITV1, with coverage beginning at 4pm.

Live stream: You can catch a free live stream online via the ITVX app and website.

Live blog: Follow minute-by-minute updates with Standard Sport’s live match blog, featuring expert analysis from rugby correspondent Nick Purewal at the ground.

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England vs Wales team news

Marcus Smith will once again be unavailable for England, having missed out on the opening win over Italy with a calf injury.

The 24-year-old picked up the issue during England’s training camp in Girona ahead of the Six Nations and it remains to be seen how long he will be out for. George Ford continues at fly-half, with Fin Smith featuring again off the bench.

Loosehead prop Ellis Genge is back among the replacements after a foot issue that forced his late withdrawal in Rome, with Beno Obano dropping out.

Otherwise it’s an unchanged squad from England for the first time since 2019 as Borthwick keeps the faith in the same group of players, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso set to earn his second cap off the bench against the country of his birth.

Wales will be without James Botham, who picked up a knee injury in the dramatic defeat by Scotland. The flanker scored a try but was replaced minutes later, and has not been included in the squad to face England.

Gatland has made seven changes in total, with Ioan Lloyd and Tomos Williams the starting half-back pairing and the experienced George North returning from a shoulder injury in midfield.

There is an entirely new front row in Gareth Thomas, Elliot Dee and Keiron Assiratti, while Mann gets his first Wales start in the back row and Will Rowlands is back on the bench.

England vs Wales lineups

England XV: F Steward; T Freeman, H Slade, F Dingwall, E Daly; G Ford, A Mitchell; J Marler, J George (c), W Stuart; M Itoje, O Chessum; E Roots, S Underhill, B Earl.

Replacements: T Dan, E Genge, D Cole, A Coles, C Cunningham-South, D Care, F Smith, I Feyi-Waboso.

Wales XV: Winnett; Dyer, North, Tompkins, Adams; Lloyd, Williams; G Thomas, Dee, Assiratti; Jenkins (c), Beard; Mann, Reffell, Wainwright

Replacements: Elias, Domachowski, Griffin, Rowlands, Basham, Hardy, Evans, Grady

England vs Wales head to head (h2h) history and results

England won the last meeting between the two nations, in the summer ahead of the World Cup, and also battled to a 20-10 victory in Cardiff 12 months ago.

It is nine years since Wales last beat England at Twickenham, and 12 years since they did so in the Six Nations.

England wins: 68

Wales wins: 51

Draws: 12

England vs Wales prediction

It is difficult to know what to expect from these two sides, particularly Wales after such a mixed display against Scotland.

Should they play like they did in the second half for a full 80 minutes at Twickenham, there is every chance they come away with victory, but a repeat of that awful start and it could be another miserable trip to London for Gatland’s side.

England got the job done against Italy, though it was little more than that. A revamped squad will of course need time to fully click into gear, but is still important that there are at least signs of an attacking edge beyond a kicking game.

It may well prove to be a scrappy affair, with confidence not particularly high in either camp, but as in Rome, we’re going for England to do enough to pick up another win, even if questions remain over the performance.

England to win, by 10 points.

England vs Wales match odds

England to win: 1/6

Wales to win: 4/1

Draw: 22/1

Odds via Betfair (subject to change).