England vs Scotland: Six Nations Betting Tips
The Calcutta Cup clash is the headline act of Round 3 of the Six Nations, as Scotland travel south seeking a fifth straight victory against England at 16:45 on Saturday.
However, an unconvincing 31-19 win over Italy and their underwhelming 32-18 reverse against Ireland has led to doubts about Gregor Townsend's future as coach.
English counterpart Steve Borthwick's role is also under scrutiny but there is a fresh belief within the camp following their 26-25 win over France.
Turning the tables on the Scots would buy him additional time but while his side are expected to justify favouritism, it may not be as clear-cut for the 2/7 favourites as the odds make it seem.
England vs Scotland Betting Tips
Team news
England have made just one change from the team that beat France, with Ollie Chessum replacing Leicester colleague George Martin in the second row.
Martin initially dropped to the bench, but injury has meant Ted Hill takes his place. Fin Smith stays at fly-half with namesake Marcus retained at full-back.
Fin Smith's opposite number will be Finn Russell after the Scotland co-captain was cleared to play following his early withdrawal against Ireland through concussion.
Wing Darcy Graham, whom Russell collided with at Murrayfield, misses out and Kyle Rowe takes his place on the right side of the attack.
Loosehead prop Pierre Schoeman and flanker Jamie Ritchie also start, replacing the benched Rory Sutherland and Matt Fagerson.
Tip 1 – England to win by 1-12 points @ 29/20
England should be too good but the win over France was just their third in 10 games since beating Ireland in the penultimate round of last year's Six Nations. That means there might be nerves for both the team and the Twickenham crowd due to their inability to see out games, so a closer contest than expected might be the outcome.
Since the pair's 38-38 draw in 2019, the last five meetings have been split by nine or fewer points.
England's last Calcutta Cup success was a 13-6 win at Murrayfield in 2020 and backing another victory by 1-12 points seems a sensible way to go.
Tip 2 – Huw Jones and Elliot Daly to score tries @ SP
Scotland are hardly without hope and Huw Jones and Duhan van der Merwe are two players who usually save their best for England.
However, despite crossing against Ireland and last year's hat-trick, which took his tally to six tries in four Calcutta Cup matches, Van der Merwe's poor form this season makes him challenging to back, especially against the equally physical Tommy Freeman.
Jones is a bigger price and scored a hat-trick against Italy. That took his international total to 22 international tries, five of which have come against England, including three at Twickenham.
The 31-year-old will target the Red Rose's struggling centre partnership of Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence, either of whom may at some stage be replaced by Elliot Daly.
Daly scored the winning try against France and Borthwick likes his ability to cover the midfield, wings and full-back, hence his inclusion on the bench.
The 32-year-old should receive more than the four minutes he got against the French. Given a chance, Daly is a clever player who can thrive outside of Fin Smith, who provided his assist against Les Bleus.
Coupled with Jones, backing the England stalwart for a repeat score adds real value to this double.
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