France to end Twickenham hoodoo and keep on course for Grand Slam
Hvisitors can make most of 28-day break against England hwest Ham to maintain form with away victory at United
England’s hopes of winning the Six Nations have been extinguished after defeats against Scotland and Wales, with doubts surrounding Eddie Jones’s management and coaching starting to creep in.
And things are not about to get any easier today as an unbeaten France roll into Twickenham. With their sights perhaps set on a Grand Slam, France are playing catch-up in this year’s tournament after their previous fixture against Scotland was postponed as a result of a Covid19 outbreak among the squad.
That enforced break has allowed some of France’s top players to be eligible for today and they will be heading into the tough fixture with confidence high that they can end a run of defeats on English soil.
France have not won at Twickenham in this tournament since 2005, but they came close to defeating England there last year when forcing a strong side into sudden-death extra time in the Autumn Nations Cup, while they also beat England in Paris last year.
Coral is finding it hard to split the sides for outright victory, with England marginal favourites at 5/6, France available at evens and the draw priced at 20/1.
At those prices, I would want to be backing France in the hope that the 28-day break since their last match has freshened up their legs, as opposed to losing their competitive edge.
Jones has made three changes to the England team, including bringing in Charlie Ewels to replace Jonny Hill in the second row. That is an interesting choice and could physically weaken the pack. It is not only the French forwards who look strong, with Virimi Vakatawa returning at 13 and it looks as if England could experience their third defeat of the competition here.
France are not the only team in the hunt for a Grand Slam, and Wales should go to within one match of completing the feat as they face perennial wooden spoon recipients Italy today.
Expect the vibrant Welsh to rack up the points and this game could end up with exciting young talent Louis Rees-zammit moving into an unstoppable position in the leading try-scorer market. The winger has three to his name and could be fancied to notch at least a couple against a weak Italian side.
There are some big games towards the top of the Premier League this weekend, with the north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham, and Champions League-chasing West Ham heading to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United.
David Moyes is surely in the running to be manager of the year after guiding West Ham to their highest Premier League points tally at this stage of the season. Their underlying stats look solid and there appears to be no fluke about their position, which is why I will be backing them at 16/5 to cause a minor shock tomorrow.
West Ham players should feel far fresher, having had three more days of rest than their opponents, who were in Europa League action against AC Milan on Thursday. Ole
Rees-zammit may move into an unstoppable position in the market for leading try-scorer
Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have won fewer than half of their home Premier League matches this season and have lost to Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Tottenham and Sheffield United, while their players may lose Premier League focus, with victories in cup competitions still on the horizon.
Time is running out for Sam Allardyce and West Brom as they are eight points from safety, but they could win away at Crystal Palace at odds of 5/2.
They may not be picking up many wins but they have conceded one goal or fewer in their past five matches, which suggests Allardyce has tightened things up, and they are taking on a poor Crystal Palace side. They can pick up a valuable three points.