Preview:England vs. Argentina - prediction, team news, lineups

England and Argentina will hope to continue their unbeaten Quilter Nations Series campaign when they clash at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on Sunday, November 23.

The hosts are looking to close out a successful autumn, while the visitors are seeking just their third-ever victory away to England. 

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Match preview

You could argue that England are the most in-form men’s rugby team in the world right now, as they have breezed through this series, in particular. 

The Red Roses put in a scintillating comeback performance last week against New Zealand to condemn the All Blacks to a 33-19 defeat. 

That win made it 10 test victories in a row, their fourth-best successful run of results behind an 11-game sequence in 2000-01, a 14-game run in 2002-03 and an 18-game winning spell between 2015 and 2017. 

Steve Borthwick’s men are likely to equal that record with their 11th consecutive victory against a team that they have beaten in 14 of their previous 15 test meetings. 

England won a two-game summer series earlier this year, stringing together four wins on the bounce against Los Pumas. 

While the hosts should be confident, they must also be wary of a dangerous Argentina side that is ever-improving, as shown by their victory against the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship. 

Argentina should also be filled with confidence, as they have had a perfect Quilter Nations Series so far, beating Wales and Scotland in back-to-back games. 

It is the first time they have won more than one game at their end-of-year tour since 2014, so that form cannot be underestimated or understated. 

Felipe Contepomi’s men won only two of their last 10 away dates with England; however, on both occasions, they had to come from behind after half time to win the test. 

The South Americans are a resilient bunch, and they will take inspiration from their 2022 victory at the same venue when they edged past the hosts 30-29. 

The visitors also pushed the World Champions at the same venue to close out the Rugby Championship, so they are familiar with the South London surroundings and will make life difficult for the Red Roses.

England Quilter Nations Series form:

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England form (all competitions): 

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Argentina Quilter Nations Series form:

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Argentina form (all competitions):

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Team News

England will have six changes from the team that defeated the All Blacks last weekend, with Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, and Asher Opoku-Fordjour, scrum-half Ben Spencer, wing Elliot Daly, and centre Henry Slade all into the starting XV. 

Without any major injuries for the hosts, Maro Itoje will captain the side alongside Genge and George Ford. 

For the visitors, there is a call-up for replacements from Argentina, including second-rower Franco Molina, fly-half Tomas Albornoz and centre Lucio Cinti. 

Mateo Carreras suffered a muscle injury against Scotland, but no player was called up to replace him as Bautista Delguy can slot in, after he was rested the last time out. 

Franco Molina returns to the set-up, while Matias Alemanno looks set to get his 100th cap for Los Pumas this weekend. 

England starting lineup:

15 Freddie Steward, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Fraser Dingwal, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Guy Pepper, 5 Alex Coles, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge

Replacements:

16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Henry Pollock, 22 Alex Mitchell, 23 Marcus Smith

Argentina starting lineup: 

15 Santiago Carreras 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Justo Piccardo, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Isgro, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Simon Benitez Cruz, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Pedro Delgado, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Mayco Vivas

Replacements:

16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Tomas Rapetti, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Agustin Moyano, 22 Juan Cruz Mallia, 23 Lucio Cinti 

Head To Head

England are way ahead in terms of the head-to-head record with 23 victories in total, while Los Pumas have registered only five wins, and there has been a single stalemate between the nations. 

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We say: England 28-25 Argentina

 

This will be a close-fought game as Argentina have proven to be tough competition for even the best teams in the world. 

However, England are just in a great space at the moment and with the Twickenham crowd behind them, look set to finish the autumn tour on a positive note.