However, winning away at Twickenham is rarely straightforward, making this Round 4 clash one of the most highly-anticipated of the Championship so far.
Ireland may have been dominant through three rounds and earned a maximum 15 points but England are confident they have the team and style to disrupt them on their own patch.
Their own title hopes are also on the line. However slim they may be after the Calcutta Cup defeat to Scotland, England can still become champions if results go their way and know it must start with a victory against Ireland.
With Immanuel Feyi-Waboso brought in and Danny Care set for his 100th cap, there is a positive vibe around an England camp that is keen to talk up the flashes of promise they showed against Scotland two weeks ago.
Ireland have grand plans for the next eight days, with a potential Grand Slam on the line against Scotland next weekend. Win it all, and they’ll be the first team to win back-to-back Slams in the Six Nations era.
WHERE TO WATCH
ITV1 and ITVX will show the match live in the UK, with the team on air from 4.15pm after the conclusion of the Italy v Scotland match.
In the Republic of Ireland, it will be live on RTE 2 from 4pm.
TEAM NEWS
England have made three changes to the starting XV who took on Scotland in Edinburgh, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Alex Mitchell and George Martin all included.
In the second row, vice-captain Maro Itoje is partnered with Martin who gets his first start of the Championship.
Scrum-half Mitchell, who missed out through injury at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, links up again with vice-captain George Ford at 10. In the back three, Feyi-Waboso is named on the right wing to win his third England cap and his first start of the tournament.
For Ireland, Hugo Keenan has recovered from the knee injury that saw him miss the Wales match, so he returns at full-back with Ciarán Frawley, one of the try-scorers in that last game, reverting to the replacements bench.
James Ryan will unfortunately miss the rest of the Championship due to a bicep injury sustained in training, so Iain Henderson joins Ronan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, Ryan Baird and Jack Conan as the forward reinforcements.
A debutant back in 2009, Healy is poised to become the joint-second most capped Ireland player of all-time, alongside Ronan O’Gara (128 caps).
WHAT THEY SAID
England head coach Steve Borthwick said: "As always, we’ve selected what we think is our strongest 23 to leave us best placed to win the game. Ireland are without doubt currently one of the best teams in the world, and we’ll have to be at our very best against them on Saturday.
“We’ve prepared well for what will be another classic Six Nations game at Twickenham.
"I’d like to pay special tribute to Danny Care who will win his 100th cap at Twickenham on Saturday. Danny has been a tremendous servant to English rugby and reaching this milestone is an incredible achievement.
“He’s a wonderful player and someone who always puts the team first. I’m sure Saturday will an emotional and memorable day for Danny and his family, and the team couldn’t be prouder of his accomplishment."
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell: "I don't look at that. I look at the individuals, the way they are playing, the coaching staff that they've got, the plan that they've got.
"I know that they're a fantastic side that's going to be preparing to give it everything they've got so that makes them unbelievably dangerous.
"We prepare for them to be at their best and if that's the case it's going to be one hell of a battle."
KEY BATTLE – Ollie Lawrence v Bundee Aki
Ollie Lawrence and Bundee Aki will feature prominently on Saturday and both teams will rely on their centres to cross the gainline and punch holes in the opposition defence.
Lawrence made his first start of the 2024 Championship against Scotland and was quiet, but his form for Bath has been electric this season and Borthwick is desperate to unleash his direct, aggressive running.
Aki, by contrast, is the veteran looking for a third Grand Slam and, at 33, is in the form of his life.
He played every minute of wins against France an Wales and was a menace in both, solid in defence and physical with ball-in-hand.
STAT ATTACK
Ireland have won 58% (14/24) of their Guinness Men’s Six Nations matches against England, the only nation to have won at least half of their games against England; Andy Farrell’s side have won their last three matches against England in the Championship, no side has won four in a row in this fixture since Ireland did so between 2004 and 2007
The last eight Test matches between England and Ireland have all been decided by 10+ points, with England winning the first four matches in that run and Ireland winning the most recent four; Ireland will be aiming to win five consecutive Tests against England for the first time since 1972-76.
Ireland have won their last 11 matches in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations, the joint longest run for any nation in the history of the Championship (incl.Home/FiveNations); it is tied with England’s run of 11 victories between 2015 and 2017, which was ended by Ireland in the final round of 2017 and denied England back-to-back Grand Slams.
England defeated Wales in their previous match at Twickenham in this year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations and will be aiming to win each of their home fixtures in an edition of the Championship for the first time since 2020 (v Ireland and Wales).
FANTASY WATCH
Bundee Aki was the second-highest scorer in Round 3 with 48 points and is a must-pick at centre.
Dan Sheehan, who is now on four tries and is the only player to have scored in every Round of the Six Nations so far.
For England, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (21 points) made an impact against Scotland and must be considered for this weekend.
TEAMS
England: 15. George Furbank, 14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Ollie Lawrence, 11. Tommy Freeman, 10. George Ford, 9. Alex Mitchell, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George (C), 3. Dan Cole 4. Maro Itoje, 5. George Martin, 6. Ollie Chessum, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Ben Earl
Replacements: 16. Theo Dan, 17. Joe Marler, 18. Will Stuart, 19. Chandler Cunningham-South, 20. Alex Dombrandt, 21. Danny Care, 22. Marcus Smith, 23. Elliot Daly
Ireland: 15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Calvin Nash, 13. Robbie Henshaw, 12. Bundee Aki, 11. James Lowe, 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park, 1. Andrew Porter, 2. Dan Sheehan, 3. Tadhg Furlong, 4. Joe McCarthy, 5. Tadhg Beirne, 6. Peter O’Mahony (C), 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Caelan Doris
Replacements: 16. Ronan Kelleher, 17. Cian Healy, 18. Finlay Bealham, 19. Iain Henderson, 20. Ryan Baird, 21. Jack Conan, 22. Conor Murray, 23. Ciaran Frawley
