England vs Australia Prediction: England looking to avoid series whitewash

England head to AMT Headingley for the final Ashes Test on Saturday, knowing they will either earn a much-needed win over the Kangaroos to avoid a series whitewash, or at the very least be finally put out of their misery (kick-off 14:30 GMT, live on BBC One and iPlayer).

Shaun Wane's team have been comprehensively outclassed at both Wembley and Everton, and will need to channel every ounce of passion and pride to avert a 3-0 clean sweep for the Aussies. Read on for our England vs Australia predictions.

Team News

England's alterations for the second Test did little to change the outcome but by my eyes they did have a positive impact.

There will be changes again for the season-finale in Leeds, with centre Jake Wardle left out and giant winger Dom Young suffering a broken foot on Merseyside.

That looks like handing Hull KR Grand Final-winner Joe Burgess a first England appearance in 10 years, while Leeds Rhinos centre Harry Newman comes into contention on home turf in place of Wardle. I would expect to see Newman starting at right centre, with the brilliant Herbie Farnworth moving into his preferred left centre slot.

Other than that I expect to see the same line-up as last week, with Aussie-born AJ Brimson again preferred to St Helens' Jack Welsby at full-back and George Williams likely to continue alongside Harry Smith in the halves. I would expect Mikey Lewis to get more than 11 minutes off the bench this week however, with Wane himself coming in for criticism this week for under-using the Grand Final man-of-the-match.

England vs Australia Odds

Australia named their team at the start of the week and it shows just one change once more.

That change sees captain Isaah Yeo  - who suffered a head injury early on at Wembley and failed his Head Injury Assessment - cleared to return. That will see the Aussies field the same side as in that opening Test match, with Patrick Carrigan moving back into the front row to accommodate Yeo, and Lindsay Collins dropping to the bench.

Penrith's Lindsay Smith is the man to lose his spot on the bench.

Australia -9.5 & Reece Walsh to Score A Try @ 7/5

England kept it tighter than expected last week and for that they deserve credit. Watching footage of a shell-shocked Wane this week has been tough to take for any passionate England rugby league fan and it gives me absolutely no pleasure at all to be on course for a correct prediction of a 3-0 Ashes win for Australia. Nobody wants to predict that, nobody wants to see that, but the truth is that England are nowhere near these NRL superstars right now. Even on home soil in an Ashes series.

And I would love for those words to be shoved down my throat after an England win in Leeds to rescue pride from a humbling series.

But I can't see it. I am looking forward to seeing Leeds centre Newman get a chance, likewise Burgess on the wing, but in truth England are weaker for the loss of Young and are still seeking the best formula in the spine.

I feel Williams has not taken a grip on this series like you would expect of England's leader and I hope he does so in game three. If England start with the drive and intensity that we saw last week then there is of course a chance. But with this is always that feeling that Australia will just be patient and wait for their chance. And they have so much more attacking threat than England.

I can see Australia hitting the 16-point handicap this week but I am going for a Pick Your Punt selection of Australia by over 9.5 and a Reece Walsh try as part of that win. The way Walsh has been playing for the last few months you just would not bet against him putting on another show.

Australia to win both halves @ 8/11

We are offering our popular Double Delight Hat-trick Heaven offer again this weekend, so if your selection scores the first try of the match and goes on to score again then we will double your First Tryscorer price - or treble it if they complete the hat-trick.

Last week we backed Australia to score the first three tries of the match and that looked a pretty decent shout given England failed to breach the Kangaroos defence. Credit England's scramble D though, restricting the Aussies to only two tries of their own to ensure we didn't even see three tries in the game.

I expect Australia to have a little more fun and a little more joy in Leeds as they sign off their trip on a high before heading off on holiday.

The Headingley crowd will ensure a lively atmosphere and I expect the visitors to thrive off that edge of animosity, and get even better.

I think there will be more tries than we saw at Everton last week, I expect the lion's share - if not all - to come from green and gold shirts again, and as such my second selection this week is for England not to lay a glove on their rivals with Australia winning both halves.

This will hurt Shaun Wane who has looked bruised by this experience. But the brutal reality is that England are not playing the same game as Australia right now and as much as it pains me to say it, I think we should strap ourselves in and just enjoy another 80 minutes of these brilliant Kangaroos.

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