England vs Australia Prediction: England can add to Wallabies’ woes

After wondering about what might have been against New Zealand, England can put things right on Saturday when they host Australia in their second match of the Autumn Nations Series at the StoneX Stadium (kick-off 15:10, TNT Sports 1).

Below is my England vs Australia prediction alongside team news and match odds.

Steve Borthwick’s side should be going into this game against the Wallabies on the back of a memorable win over the All Blacks, but the rugby gods were not on the side of the Red Rose, or the boot of George Ford.

Squandering a late penalty and a drop goal, England were edged out 24-22 by the Kiwis and now it’s Australia who might well feel the backlash of a frustrated Borthwick side with a point to prove.

Team News

Starting with the hosts, Borthwick has decided to switch the roles in the centres, with Ollie Lawrence moving to outside and Henry Slade set to don the No.12 jersey.

Marcus Smith starts ahead of Ford at fly-half, while there are two changes on the bench, with Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme in line to make their first appearances of the Autumn International Series.

Rugby Union Odds

As for Australia, head coach Joe Schmidt has made just the one change from the side that was beaten by New Zealand in their final game of the 2024 Rugby Championship.

There’s plenty of excitement about what Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii can do in Test rugby and the 21-year-old rugby league convert comes in at outside centre for the Wallabies.

England vs Australia Odds

England are the 2/13 favourites to win in London this weekend, giving the hosts an implied probability of 86.7%, while Australia are 9/2 to cause an upset.

A draw is available at 28/1, while the Wallabies to be leading at half-time is currently 11/4

England -15 Handicap @ 21/20

With just the one narrow victory over Argentina to write home about, the 2024 Rugby Championship was one to forget for Australia, as they finished rock-bottom of the table.

Few were expecting the Wallabies to become world beaters overnight following the arrival of Schmidt but it has been far from the start the New Zealander would have hoped for.

Australia’s main issues have been with their defence, with the Wallabies conceding an average of 35.5 points per game in the 2024 Rugby Championship.

With England’s abundance of attacking options in the backline and with the creative fly-half Smith pulling the strings, the Red Rose should not only win on Saturday at Allianz Stadium but also cover the -15 handicap in the process.

Anytime Tryscorer - Immanuel Feyi-Waboso @ 10/11

Fresh off the back of scoring a try against the All Blacks last weekend, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is worth considering to bag another try against the Wallabies on Saturday.

Currently the joint-top leading tryscorer in the Premiership, for an Exeter Chiefs side who have not picked up a league win this season, Feyi-Waboso has come into this Autumn Nations Series in fine individual form.

That try against the Kiwis will have given Feyi-Waboso’s confidence a lift and, against a fragile Australian defence, the Chiefs winger should add another Test try to his growing collection.

Offers

Place an In-Play bet of £10 or more (odds of 1/2+) on Ireland v New Zealand on Friday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on England v Australia on Saturday.

Double Delight: Place a Pre-Match First Tryscorer bet on England v Australia and if they score the first try and then score again, we’ll double their odds!

Rugby Union Betting Tips from Betfred Insights.