How England will likely line-up to face Wales in 2025 Six Nations

England are eyeing up their first Championship since 2020 this Saturday, yet need favourable results elsewhere to bring the trophy back home to Twickenham.

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England must secure the bonus point win over Wales to be in with a fighting chance, before all eyes will then turn to Paris for the final match of the tournament. Calcutta Cup rivalries will be put to one side, as the support of a nation will be behind Scotland, to hand England the title following a win over France.

Should Gregor Townsend's side secure the win over a Dupont-less French outfit, then the fabled piece of rugby silverware could well return to the trophy cabinet at the Allianz Stadium. Steve Borthwick has some big changes to consider ahead of the weekend, with the squad yet to be named for the trip to Cardiff.

With Ollie Lawrence now out of action with an Achilles injury, the back-line will need a reshuffle ahead of the trip to Cardiff. Here's how we predict England will line up in the Welsh capital.

Marcus Smith could well make his return to the starting XV, having been dropped from the leading team for the fourth round clash against Italy. Smith had to take a back seat as England's number 23, as Elliot Daly was named to start at fullback against the Azzurri. However, the unfortunate Achilles injury to Ollie Lawrence through a spanner in the works, with Daly shipped to centre, and Smith introduced after just eight minutes. We expect the Harlequin to return to the starting XV, for England's title push in Cardiff.

Alongside Smith will most likely be the Northampton Saints duo of Ollie Sleightholme and Tommy Freeman, with the duo established as Borthwick's first choice wing pairing for the 2025 Six Nations. Sleightholme shone in the seven-try clattering over Italy, as the flyer picked up a brace across either half at the Allianz Stadium. Sleightholme's first score was a race to the finish, as he pinned his ears back to scorch up the sun-drenched touch-line.

Sleightholme's second score saw the Saints man cap of a Barbarians-style attacking move, as the likes of Maro Itoje, Jamie George and Tom Curry all got involved with some neat offloads to keep the ball alive. Freeman also grabbed a try against Italy, as he showcased his pace to gather Elliot Daly's grubber kick, and muscle his way past Paolo Garbisi on his way to the whitewash. Freeman also offers the versatility to cover the midfield, in what has been a key talking point since Ollie Lawrence was withdrawn.

On to the biggest topic of England's starting team, and we predict a midfield pairing of Fraser Dingwall and Elliot Daly to lead from the off against Wales. There has been a real shuffle up of the centres since the second fallow week of the Six Nations, when Henry Slade was withdrawn from training with question marks around his match fitness. Slade was not retained in the training squad for the Italy Test week, and has not yet returned to England's training camp in Surrey.

Fraser Dingwall made his return to the match day squad in the win over Italy, as he started alongside Lawrence for his first cap since the 2024 Six Nations. Elliot Daly is our pick to lead in the vacant 13 shirt, with Tommy Freeman and Ben Earl presenting covering options should the Saracen drop out of the match. We've bolstered the replacements bench with Tom Roebuck as a covering wing option, and the back row duo of Chandler Cunningham-South and Ben Curry to reinforce the artillery.

Moving on to the halfbacks, and we can see no replacing the Northampton pairing of Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith in the nine and 10 shirts. The East Midlands brotherhood orchestrated a brilliant attacking display against the Italians, as England kicked into their top gear after heavy backlash on their recent attacking efforts. England looked like a different team on the front foot, compared to that which went to the skies against Scotland, and made multiple unforced errors against France.

Fin made it an excellent hat-trick of home wins as England's talisman, when he pulled the strings against the Azzurri. Thanks to the rapid fire distribution from Alex Mitchell, and the telepathic wavelength the duo share given their partnership in green, black and gold, only an injury could shift either man from the starting XV in our opinion. It's another week away from the action for George Ford, with a predicted 6-2 replacements split once again finding no space upon the bench for the Sale Sharks man.

Steve Borthwick threw a curve ball into his front row plans last weekend, as he awarded Jamie George the start for his 100th Test match for England. There has been no denying the impact that George has been bringing off the bench in recent games against France and Scotland, as the Saracen returned with a full head of steam after an injury kept him out of the opening round trip to Dublin.

We can see Borthwick going with George once again from the start, with the ever-ready Luke Cowan-Dickie set to explode into the match. From a propping perspective, Ellis Genge and Will Stuart look immovable from the starting XV, after another strong scrummaging performance set the tone against Italy. We've gone for an unchanged bench, with Fin Baxter and Joe Heyes again expected to be the replacement pillars to carry England home in Cardiff.

Another non-change, with the old mantra of 'it is ain't broke, don't fix it' ringing true for the England pack. The engine room was a highlight of England's win over Italy, as Ollie Chessum picked up a well deserved Player of the Match award for a tireless effort in the locks. Chessum has been in brilliant form since taking over the mantle from George Martin, after his Leicester Tigers teammate was forced to the sidelines with a culmination of shoulder and knee injuries.

Whilst the future is uncertain regarding George Martin's injury contention for the British & Irish Lions, Ollie Chessum could well have played his way onto the tour to Australia. Maro Itoje has enjoyed a run of three home wins to kick-start his England captaincy, with the armaments of the Twickenham fortress steadily being re-built with the Saracen at the helm. Itoje would want nothing more than to lift the SIx Nations trophy high above his head this Saturday, and add it to the Allianz trophy cabinet alongside the recently re-won Calcutta Cup.

Out of our unchanged back row to take on Wales, Tom Curry is arguably the toughest call to make as a sure-fire starter. The Sale man was once again withdrawn from England action looking rather worse for wear, yet Steve Borthwick insisted in the post match press conference that the substitution was a purely tactical change at the 55th minute. A battered and bruised Curry was cut-up with the scars of battle, with a big week of recovery and preparation in store for the Sale man to once again start on the flanks.

The back row then takes up a significantly Saracens feel, with Ben Earl and Tom Willis returning to the seven and eight shirts for the trip to Cardiff. This match will be the first trip to Cardiff for Willis since he made his England debut, in a 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up match that ended in a 20-9 win to the hosts. Willis and Earl have brought an exciting combination to the England back row, with Earl's versatility to play across number eight and also in the midfield, set to be prove pivotal this Saturday.

16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)

17. Fin Baxter (Harlequins)

18. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)

19. Ted Hill (Bath)

20. Ben Curry (Sale Sharks)

21. Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins)

22. Jack van Poortvleit (Leicester Tigers)

23. Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)

Jones named a 33-man squad for the 2016 Six Nations, and we've laid out the challenge for you to name each and every one of the players. Due to the extra toughness of this one, we've given a slightly longer time limit for you to rattle off the answers.

Your time starts... now!