The Six Nations is set to resume following the first fallow week, with a showdown between England and Ireland providing the main event of round three.
Eddie Jones's hosts bounced back from their opening defeat to France last time out by beating Scotland 13-6 amid woeful weather conditions at Murrayfield, with replacement loosehead Ellis Genge notching a crucial late try.
They now come up against an Ireland team whose Grand Slam hopes remain intact after following their own hard-fought win over Scotland with an impressive defeat of defending champions Wales in Dublin.
How former England defence coach Andy Farrell would love to keep that bid on track and mastermind a victory over a team captained by son Owen.
Date: Sunday, February 23rd, 2020
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Kick-off time: 3pm GMT
Team news and line-ups
England are without star loosehead Mako Vunipola, who has travelled to Tonga with injured brother Billy for family reasons. Joe Marler should deputise in the front row with Genge held in reserve.
Manu Tuilagi is in contention to return after recovering from the groin injury that forced him off early against France and kept him out of the clash with Scotland, while fellow centre Henry Slade has a "positive chance" to play some part after training in the aftermath of a fractured ankle.
Anthony Watson, meanwhile, is targeting the visit of Wales on March 7 to make his comeback from a persistent calf issue.
Jones is due to name his matchday squad on Friday morning.
England XV: TBC
Replacements: TBC
Farrell, meanwhile, has elected to stick with the same Ireland XV that overcame Wales 24-14 at the Aviva Stadium.
The only change comes on the bench, where no8 Caelan Doris - whose senior international debut against Scotland was quickly ended by a head injury - replaces fellow Leinster back-row Max Deegan.
Ireland XV: Larmour; Conway, Henshaw, Aki, Stockdale; Sexton, Murray; Healy, Herring, Furlong; Henderson, Ryan; O'Mahony, van der Flier, Stander
Subs: Kelleher, Kilcoyne, Porter, Toner, Doris, Cooney, Byrne, Earls
Prediction: England win by 8
England - always an extremely tough proposition at Twickenham - are back on track after successfully battling both the elements and Scotland in Edinburgh and the return of Tuilagi is a huge boost, while their excellent loosehead depth should ensure that Mako Vunipola's absence is not too keenly felt.
Ireland were much improved in a statement win over Wales after largely flattering to deceive against the Scots, but they don't quite have the look of Grand Slam winners and were comfortably beaten by England in Dublin at this time last year and then again in London before the World Cup.
Betting odds
Match odds
- England to win: 4/9
- Ireland to win: 5/2
- Draw: 29/1
Odds provided by Betfair Exchange. Click here for more odds.
TV channel and live stream, and online coverage
ITV and the BBC are sharing broadcasting rights for the Six Nations once again this year, with ITV hosting England vs Ireland on their main television channel and the ITV Hub.
You can also follow all the action with Standard Sport's LIVE blog with rugby correspondent Will Macpherson at Twickenham.
Head to Head record and history (h2h)
These particular rivals have met 135 times in the past, with England boasting a clear lead in terms of wins - 78 to 49, with eight draws.
Ireland famously won the Grand Slam at Twickenham on St Patrick's Day in 2018, but failed to cope with their opponents' sheer physicality in a 32-20 Six Nations loss in Dublin in February 2019.
England then ran in eight tries and notched 57 points in a one-sided World Cup warm-up clash in August. It was their highest winning margin ever against Ireland.
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