England vs Australia Prediction: Wembley set for blockbuster first Test

World champions Australia take on England at Wembley on Saturday in the first Test of an eagerly-anticipated Ashes series, the resurrection of a fierce rivalry for the first time since 2003. (Kick-off 14:30 BST, live on BBC One)

The Aussies bring a star-studded squad to the UK for games at Wembley, Everton and AMT Headingley, with Shaun Wane's England finally getting the chance to avenge a heartbreaking loss in the 2017 World Cup final.

Team News

England head coach Wane is a fiercely proud and loyal man, and the make-up of his 24-man squad for this three-match series once again boasts a number of players he knows he can depend upon, at the expense of a couple of star names that he has overlooked.

With most of the build-up to the selection of this squad - from an England perspective at least - having been dominated by the absence of Man of Steel Jake Connor, Wane remains defiant in selecting a group of warriors that he knows would die for him on the field.

A 24-man squad has been reduced to 19 for Wembley's opening encounter, with the key team news this week centring on the selection of Grand Final man-of-the-match Mikey Lewis, the Hull KR magician getting the nod over Wane's trusted Wigan playmaker Harry Smith.

Fellow Rovers Grand Final hero Joe Burgess though is somewhat surprisingly left out, with Wane preferring the extra size of Wakefield winger Tom Johnstone on the opposite flank to World Cup star Dom Young.

Another Robins star is included, with the versatile Jez Litten getting his chance after a stellar season. Other than that the squad is pretty much as you would have predicted, aside perhaps from the absence of NRL forward Morgan Smithies. The meek surrender by Leeds Rhinos at the end of the domestic season may have cost Kallum Watkins and Harry Newman a place too.

The selection at full-back will be interesting. St Helens' Jack Welsby is a big favourite of Wane's, but he now has competition from AJ Brimson - born in Brisbane but qualifying through his English mother.

Herbie Farnworth and Jake Wardle will be the centres inside of Young and Johnstone you would expect, and then it looks like Lewis and captain George Williams in the halves unless Welsby is moved to accommodate Brimson which feels unlikely.

Jez Litten and Daryl Clark compete for a start at hooker, while Wane has selected a big enough pack to suggest he will go with three props on the bench, having named Ethan Havard, Matty Lees, Mikolaj Oledzki, veteran Alex Walmsley and debutant Owen Trout.

There are plenty of back-row options too in NRL powerhouse Kai Pearce-Paul, Mike McMeeken, Morgan Knowles and Wane's big favourite John Bateman.

Australia named their team at the start of the week, and although their squads have been somewhat weakened in recent years with players moving instead to play for Samoa and Tonga, it is nonetheless a ridiculously star-studded line-up.

Superstar Reece Walsh will grace Wembley at full-back after delivering one of the most devastating individual performances the NRL Grand Final has ever seen.

Rugby union-convert Mark Nawaqanitawase starts on the wing having topped the NRL try-scoring charts, while another Grand Final star Gehamat Shibasaki starts at centre.

You won't find a better half-back pairing than Nathan Cleary and Cameron Munster, while other familiar names are Josh Addo-Carr, Angus Crichton and captain Isaah Yeo.

It does not feel like this Kangaroos squad have come here on holiday.

England vs Australia Odds

England are 10/3 to win in 80 minutes, the draw is 20/1 and Australia are 2/9 favourites.

Handicap 3-way Australia -14 @ 1/1

There is huge appetite for this series, with sellouts anticipated at Everton and Headingley, so a blockbusting opener at a near-full Wembley would provide lift off.

It is ridiculous that we have had to wait 23 years in between Ashes series' but here we are, and I can't be the only fan still thinking of what might have been in that 6-0 World Cup final loss eight years ago.

So can England realistically win the series?

I would love to say yes. There is bags of talent in this England side and for all his knockers I really like Wane as an England head coach. Australia had far greater squad depth before players began opting to play for the Island nations and that will of course give England hope.

But I just fear the Kangaroos are still too good, even with the relatively quick turnaround from the respective Grand Finals.

Looking at the handicap for the 1st Test it is no surprise to see the Aussies conceding a 14-point start - three scores is a pretty big deficit between two of the top sides in international rugby league but I still feel it is about right.

The Aussies being 1/4 to win game one outright tells you the kind of contest England can anticipate.

A passionate Wembley, and perhaps some weary jet-lagged bodies could potentially be a factor but I don't really like clutching at straws before a pass has even been thrown. I feel England's best chances will come in games two and three at Everton's new stadium and then hopefully a decider at AMT Headingley.

But I fear the worst for Wembley, and I hope that what could be a bruising opener does not pave the way for a series whitewash - I have never wanted to be more wrong in a prediction.

But I look at that Aussie 17 and I can't see England living with it, having spent so little time together on the pitch as a squad this year.

I am backing Australia to win the game and beat the handicap.

Dom Young anytime tryscorer @ 6/4

I am going to be slightly more upbeat and patriotic in my second selection in backing points for England.

Looking at the anytime scorer odds, the Australian three-quarters dominate the market with Addo-Carr and Nawaqanitawase both 4/6 to cross in 80 minutes and livewire Walsh 4/5.

I would be looking at all of the above if you think the Kangaroos will put England to the sword. Addo-Carr especially is a real poacher out wide and Walsh can create something out of nothing.

I could not live with myself however if I did not show some confidence in Wane's men and I still feel our main attacking threat out wide is Dom Young.

It is incredible to think the giant winger was relatively unheard of before the last World Cup on these shores, but he is now a household name in league circles thanks to his displays in that tournament and NRL form in the seasons since.

Young at 6/4 is priced as England's most likely try scorer and that to me feels a good punt.

Good luck!

Offers

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