England are looking to bounce back against Italy (Picture: Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)
England’s Six Nations campaign continues this weekend with the visit of Italy to Twickenham.
Steve Borthwick’s reign got off to a losing start following the narrow 23-29 defeat to Scotland in the Calcutta Cup in round one.
England will start the clash as heavy favourites having never lost to the Italians, whilst the aggregate score between the two sides in the last 16 Twickenham encounters reads 720 points to 190 in England’s favour.
However, the Azzurri are a much improved outfit under the stewardship of Kieran Crowley and ran defending champions France close in their first match.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of England’s latest Italian job.
When is England vs Italy in the Six Nations?
England vs Italy will take place on Sunday, February 12, with kick-off at 3pm.
Italy came close to causing an upset against the French last weekend (Picture: Antonietta Baldassarre/Insidefoto/LightRocket via Getty Images)
What TV channel is England vs Italy on?
The match will be shown live on ITV 1, with coverage beginning at 2.15pm.
The game will also be available to live stream on ITVX.
What is the England team news?
England’s most capped player Ben Youngs has been dropped for Sunday’s showdown having been left out of the 29-man training squad.
The 33 year-old struggled as a substitute against Scotland and has been replaced in the group by Northampton’s Alex Mitchell.
Ben Curry, who featured from the off in the Calcutta Cup, is the only member of the starting XV to be omitted, which suggests a recall for Toulouse openside Jack Willis.
Anthony Watson, who made a 15 minute cameo against the Scots, has been replaced by Henry Arundell who is making his comeback after missing the autumn internationals due to an ankle injury.
More: Six Nations
What happened in last year’s fixture?
England emerged victorious 12 months ago courtesy of a dominant 33-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
The away side scored five tries and had a further two chalked off, with Marcus Smith stamping his authority on England’s attacking game with a man-of-the-match performance.
MORE : Lewis Ludlam: There’s no panic, despite England’s Six Nations loss to Scotland
MORE : Loss to Scotland not a total failure but Steve Borthwick’s England need to get up to speed
Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Share your views in the comments below
It’s the Azzurri next up for England.
