England – France

England will host rivald France at Twickenham, as the Three Lions are looking for their second consecutive Six Nations title and for their 15th consecutive win overall.

England has took it up a notch since Eddie Jones was appointed as manager after the 2015 World Cup. The Three Lions had an absolutely brilliant year in 2016, winning the Six Nations Grand Slam and winning all 13 matches they played. The November tests showed England to be very close to the level of New Zealand, as they managed to ruin the likes of South Africa (by 16), Australia (by 16) and Argentina (by 13, but England had a man sent off early). England is dealing with a few injuries ahead of this France game, but they certainly have the depth and chemistry to deal with that.

France is hoping for a solid Six Nations after some horrible performances in recent years, which saw them drop as low as 5th in the 2016 standings. There are reasons for optimism, as France seems to be getting better under coach Guy Noves. The French showed a vintage level of play in the November friendlies, whipping Samoa, while losing narrowly to both Australia and New Zealand. Strong scrum and good line breaking ability gave the French hopes ahead this 2017 Six nations.

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Team news & lineups:

England misses a few key guys like Vunipola and Kruis, but France will also badly miss Fofana, alongside a few other replaceable guys.

England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Jonny May, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Joe Marler

France: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Rémi Lamerat, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Kévin Gourdon, 6 Damien Chouly, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Cyril Baille

Despite a few injuries, England are clear favorites to win the Six Nations according to the bookies. That might not be completely true though, as Ireland is not very far from England’s level and has a very favorable schedule, so today`s hosts definitely need to start well at Twickenham against France.

Les Bleus looked good indeed in the November friendlies and many expect them to challenge England at Twickenham, but you have to ask yourself if France was really that good, or if circumstances played a part.

The French lost by 1 point to an Australian team that rested key players as they were focusing on their upcoming match against England (which they lost by 16). Next, in the last test of the year, France only lost by 5 to the All Blacks and could have won that game. However, New Zealand was far from its best in the November tests, they were dead tired after a grueling Autumn season. A fair point can be made that France should have done much more at home against two fatigued, unfocused teams like Australia and New Zealand were.

Even if France will be up for it, England’s all around strength, their lack of weaknesses and their totally superior kicking game should make the difference. And France being up for it is a big “if”, as the French are not the best travelers and they will have to deal with a crazy atmosphere at Twickenham.

Recent H2H meetings have generally been close, with France claiming an occasional win, but England did beat them by 10 points last year in Paris – and this current England team is the best they had in more than a decade, better than it was even last year, not to mention 2 or 3 years ago.

The bookies did a good job in setting the handicap line pretty high, but even so i expect England to cover it. I don`t believe France is as good as advertised, we have been down the road before with artificially enhanced expectations from Les Bleus and I can see England winning by 15+.

If England gets to 2 or 3 tries before the end of the match, which they could / should, there will be extra incentive to score 4, since the Six Nations added the bonus point rule this year. It`s hard to believe England can get 4, but if the match is closer than expected, that extra motivation could make the difference.

My tip is England to cover the 12,5 handicap. Prediction: England – France 33 – 16.

Pick: England -12,5
Odds: 1.94 @ 1xBet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.52
Event date: 4 February