Preview: France v England

Stuart Lancaster's men have won the last two meetings – both at Twickenham – including last weekend's 19-14 success, with France eager to repeat the outcome of their last Paris encounter.

Gael Fickou's late try downed England 26-24 at the Stade de France in the opening game of the 2014 Six Nations – a result which ultimately cost the 2003 world champions.

Outgoing France coach Philippe Saint-Andre, who will make way for Guy Noves after the World Cup, has rung the changes – 12 in total – as Les Bleus look to avoid a third successive defeat against their bitter rivals.

First-choice centres Mathieu Bastareaud and Wesley Fofana are back in midfield, while Toulon club-mates Frederic Michalak and Sebastien Tillous-Borde are paired at halfback.

"They (Michalak and Tillous-Borde) are used to playing together and I expect them to get the team playing just as well as Morgan (Parra) and Francois (Trinh-Duc) did last week," said Saint-Andre.

"Saturday's match will be even more intense than last week," added the former Gloucester and Sale Sharks boss, who will cut his squad from 36 to 31 players on Sunday.

Giant Toulouse No.8 Louis Picamoles keeps his place at the base of the French scrum, with Clermont-bound fullback Scott Spedding and Toulouse lock Yoann Maestri the only other two players to retain their spots.

Rabah Slimani, Guilhem Guirado and Eddy Ben Arous form the front row with Stade Francais lock Pascal Pape captaining the side after returning from a thigh strain.

Damien Chouly and Bernard Le Roux complete the loose trio alongside Picamoles with regular captain Thierry Dusautoir rested after injury.

Yoann Huget – who scored two of France's three tries in that Six Nations win over England last year – comes onto the wing alongside Noa Nakaitaci.

England, who last won at the Stade de France in the 2012 Six Nations, have also made wholesale changes, opting for a near first-choice starting XV, with Lancaster keen to freshen things up.

"There is now an opportunity for those not involved or who didn't get much opportunity from the bench to put a marker down and build on that performance," said Lancaster.

"France were very good last weekend and will be even stronger at home and this will be a big test but these guys have been working hard for the opportunity and are desperate to go out and perform," added Lancaster.

Only Gloucester wing Jonny May retains his place from last weekend with Mike Brown – who's recovered from concussion – and Jack Nowell joining him in the back three. 

Jonathan Joseph and Luther Burrell are back at centre with preferred halfback pairing George Ford and Ben Youngs completing the backs.

Captain Chris Robshaw returns at openside flank alongside back-row partners James Haskell and Billy Vunipola, while Courtney Lawes is at lock with Joe Launchbury who plays his first international in 12 months after injury.

Dan Cole, Tom Youngs and Joe Marler form a first-choice front row. 

Players to watch:

For France: South African-born Scott Spedding lines up at fullback and will look to link up with the dangerous Yoann Huget. On his day Wesley Fofana is one of the best centres in the world, and it will be interesting to see what he is capable of next to the mercurial Frederic Michalak. In the pack Louis Picamoles will look to get them on the front foot, Yoann Maestri will run the line-outs and the inexperienced front row will be hoping to lay down a marker.

For England: All eyes will be on Mike Brown on his return to Test rugby, while centres Jonathan Joseph and Luther Burrell will also feel they have something to prove on their return to the team. The halfback combination of Ben Youngs and George Ford should also be a handful for the French. Captain Chris Robshaw will want to show he deserves his place in the starting line-up, while Courtney Lawes will bring some physicality to the second row and Dan Cole should be a rock in the scrums.

Head to head: Scott Spedding and Mike Brown are both solid fullbacks, but outside them the match-up between Yoann Huget and Jonny May should be enthralling. In midfield it will be Wesley Fofana up against Luther Burrell but the key duel should between flyhalves Frederic Michalak and George Ford. Up front the confrontation between Louis Picamoles and Billy Vunipola will be intense, the line-out battle between Yoann Maestri and Courtney Lawes and at scrum-time French loosehead Eddy Ben Arous will have his work cut out for him up against Dan Cole.

Recent results:

2015: England won 19-14 in London

2015: England won 55-35, London

2014: France won 26-24, Paris

2013: England won 23-13, London

2012: England won 24-22, Paris

2011: France won 19-12, Auckland (World Cup quarterfinal)

2011: England won 17-9, London

2010: France won 12-10, Paris

2009: England won 34-10, London

2008: England won 24-13, Paris

2007: England won 14-9, Paris (World Cup semifinal)

Prediction: With so many changes to both teams predictions are very tricky, so we will give it to the French at home by three points.

Teams:

France: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Damien Chouly, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Pape (captain), 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Eddy Ben Arous.

Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Uini Atonio, 19 Alexandre Flanquart, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Remi Tales, 23 Gael Fickou.

England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 James Haskell, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Joe Marler.

Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 David Wilson, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Nick Easter, 21 Danny Care, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 , Billy Twelvetrees.

Date: Saturday, August 22

Venue: Stade de France, Saint-Denis Paris)

Kick-off: 21.00 (20.00 BST; 19.00 GMT)

Expected weather: Hot and dry with a slight breeze, high of 31, wind 16 kph

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)

Assistant referees: Johnny Lacey (Ireland), Marius Mitrea (Italy)

TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)