Preview: England v Australia

England and Australia will both be desperate to end the year on a high when they meet at Twickenham on Saturday.

Both teams have won just one match each in the year-end internationals, with the Wallabies edging Wales in Cardiff and England seeing off Samoa last week.

Australia have started another rebuilding phase under the guidance of Super Rugby champion coach Michael Cheika, but narrow defeats to France and Ireland have left them down in a record low fifth place on the world rankings.

Stuart Lancaster's England have also been on something of a downward curve, with four consecutive defeats to the All Blacks and a loss to the springboks at home showing that they still have some way to go before they can consistently challenge the top two sides.

This all comes less than a year out from the World Cup pool stage match between these sides at the same venue, which has proven a more popular fixture than the final in the early stages of ticket sales.

Though Australia head to Twickenham on the back of successive losses, Lancaster highlighted the firepower that his counterpart Cheika has at his disposal.

In what is a dress rehearsal for next year’s Group A tie at Rugby World Cup 2015, the Wallabies will not die wondering. If England kick loosely, they can expect a very long, painful afternoon.

“If you look at the success [Cheika] has had at Leinster and the Waratahs, he creates a very strong belief in his players and drives that on. Nathan Gray has come in to do their defence and he’s made a difference as well. They will be a tough team to beat.

“With the X-factor they have starting – [Nick] Phipps and [Bernard] Foley at halfback – they can also bring on [Will] Genia and [Quade] Cooper.

“Then you have the likes of [Israel] Folau, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Henry Speight. I haven’t even mentioned Kurtley Beale.

“Weather dependent, we need to make sure we play in the right areas of the field,” he said.

Players to watch:

For England: George Ford gets another chance to show what he can do at flyhalf, but this week he will have Billy Twelvetrees playing outside of him and they will both be determined to make their mark. Ben Morgan's physicality from the back of the scrum will be key and Tom Wood and Dylan Hartley will want to show their worth after being sidelined last week.

For Australia: Israel Folau is always dangerous when given enough space, but don't expect England to kick to him too often, they are more likely to try and pick on Henry Speight, whilst Adam Ashley-Cooper gets a chance to play in his preferred position of outside centre. Captain Michael Hooper will try and lead from the front and make a nuisance of himself at the breakdown, while in the set-pieces it will be up to Rob Simmons and James Slipper to set the tone.

Head to head: Mike Brown and Israel Folau are both exciting fullbacks with the ability to break a game open. Both flyhalves George Ford and Bernard Foley have more experienced players in their position sitting on the bench so their ability to handle the pressure will be key. Captains Chris Robshaw and Michael Hooper will want to lead by example with their huge work-rates and up front the battle between David Wilson and James Slipper at scrum-time will be key.

                                                                          Recent results:

                      2012: Australia won 20-14, London

                      2010: England won 35-18, London

                      2010: England won 21-20, Sydney

                      2010: Australia won 27-17, Perth

                      2009: Australia won 18-9, London

                      2008: Australia won 28-14, London

                      2007: England won 12-10, Marseille

                                    (World Cup quarterfinal)

                      2006: Australia won 43-18, Melbourne

                      2006: Australia won 34-3, Sydney

                      2005: England won 26-16, London

Prediction: All of Australia's matches on this tour have been close games, and we are backing them to get over the line in this one and beat England by about three points.

Teams:

England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Brad Barritt, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 David Wilson, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler.

Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 George Kruis, 20 James Haskell, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Marland Yarde.

Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Sean McMahon, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 James Slipper.

Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Luke Jones, 21 Nic White, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Kurtley Beale.

Date: Saturday, November 29

Venue: Twickenham, London

Kick-off: 14.30 (14.30 GMT; 01.30, Sunday, November 30 Australian Eastern daylight savings time)

Predicted weather: Overcast with 30% chance of rain, high of 12 with a slight breeze

Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)

Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Mathieu Raynal (France)

TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)