Italy vs England Prediction: England must work for glory in Rome
The pressure is well and truly on England on Saturday (16:40, live om ITV1) Steve Borthwick’s new-look side make the trip to the Stadio Olimpico to take on Italy.
Alex Jack provides his best bets in his Italy vs England predictions piece, as well as all the essential team news and match odds for the encounter in the Eternal City.
Italy vs England Betting Tips
*odds correct at time of publication
Team News
Italy have gone with Danilo Fischetti, Giacomo Nicotera and Simone Ferrari in the front row and Niccolo Cannone and Andrea Zambonin in the second row.
Michele Lamaro, Manuel Zuliani and Lorenzo Cannone are the starting back-rowers, while brothers Alessandro Garbisi and Paolo Garbisi are the half-backs.
Tommaso Menoncello and Juan Ignacio Brex form the established centre pairing, while the Azzurri have a back three of Monty Ioane, Louis Lynagh and Lorenzo Pani.
As for England, Steve Borthwick has made wholesale changes from the side that suffered a record home defeat at the hands of Ireland two weeks ago.
Ellis Genge, Jamie George and Joe Heyes start in the front row, with skipper Maro Itoje and Alex Coles in the second row.
Guy Pepper, Tom Curry and Ben Earl complete the pack, while it’s a new pairing in the half-backs with Ben Spencer and Fin Smith.
Seb Atkinson gets his first Six Nations start inside fellow centre Tommy Freeman, while England have gone with a back three of Cadan Murley, Tom Roebuck and Elliot Daly.
Scotland are the 10/3 underdogs going into Saturday's clash in Edinburgh, while France are the 2/9 favourites to head back across the Channel with the win.
A draw at Murrayfield is 25/1, while France to be leading at half-time and full-time are 1/2.
Italy +8 handicap @ 10/11
Italy have already claimed a win over Scotland in heavy rain in Rome and followed that up with a hard-fought 20-13 defeat to Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
The Azzurri were also competitive for long periods against France in their most recent outing, only for Les Bleus to pull clear late in the game in Lille.
When Italy and England last met in Rome in 2024, Borthwick’s men edged a tight contest 27–24.
Another fiercely competitive encounter might well be on the cards here and Italy with a +8 handicap looks to be the way to go.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
Louis Lynagh anytime tryscorer @ 5/4
Scoring in the opening round of the tournament against the Scots, Benetton winger Louis Lynagh has already got off the mark in the tryscoring department in this Six Nations.
The former Harlequins winger will be familiar with many of these England players and will look to use that knowledge to his advantage.
Unfortunate to have had a try chalked off against Ireland earlier in this Six Nations, Lynagh is good value to get back on the scoresheet against an England side who have conceded 10 tries in the opening three rounds.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
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New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.
