A fortnight after England’s record-breaking win against Wales in Cardiff, the overwhelming tournament favourites tackle an Italian side destined for another Six Nations wooden spoon.

The bookmakers’ odds reflect what is seemingly a lost cause for the Azzurri England 1/150 to win, with Italy at 25-1 and the draw 50-1.

On top of that, Italian coach Brad Johnstone sends out a much-changed team minus his two best players injured fly-half Diego Dominguez and suspended scrum-half Alessandro Troncon.

Everything suggests an England points spree tomorrow, a damage-limitation exercise for Italy and potentially the season’s biggest non-event as a competitive Test match.

A capacity 75,000 crowd, the first time Twickenham has sold out when Italy have been in town, should witness an England romp.

While Johnson is fully aware of Italian strengths, notably a robust front-five and an outstanding openside flanker in Mauro Bergamasco, he also expects England to maintain current world-class standards.

"We know that people expect us to score loads of points, but we still need to put the hard work in," he said.

"Italy play a very physical game, and can make our life tough. It certainly won’t come easy, and I expect Italy to try and impose themselves on us from the start.

"From our point of view, this England team can definitely improve," he added.

"When you look at the squad we are building, it appears great news for the next few years.

"We’ve come on a lot since the 1999 World Cup, especially in our forward play, and the depth in the squad is really beginning to stand out.

"We are not dependent on any one player, and there is plenty of choice in every position, which never used to be the case for England.

"It shows when you lose a player like Dan Luger, and still have someone of Austin Healey’s quality to replace him."

Saracens wing Luger’s neck injury, a problem that could sideline him for some weeks yet, meant one enforced change when England boss Clive Woodward announced his starting line-up.

But Italy cannot even take comfort from Luger’s absence, not when they recall that Healey scored a hat-trick in eight minutes against them last season.

Healey’s memorable feat meant that England turned an uncertain 16-point interval lead into a 40-7 advantage with less than an hour of the game gone.

Woodward then had the luxury of using all seven substitutes during the final 20 minutes, a prospect 11 months on that must leave former Wigan and Great Britain rugby league star Jason Robinson licking his lips in anticipation.

Robinson, arguably the highest-profile replacement England have ever selected, can realistically expect a slice of the action.

And with the Italian defence likely to be scattered in all directions by the time he arrives, what price a Healey-type feat?

All that will be for much later in the game, and then depending on how efficiently England have quelled Italy’s inevitable forward-orientated resistance during the opening 30 minutes.

"‘The risk against Italy is that we take our eye off the ball," said back-row gladiator Lawrence Dallaglio, whose cautionary stance should be noted by the impatient element among try-hungry fans.

"The Italians have been written off without Dominguez and Troncon, but they’ve proved that they can be a tough nut to crack.

"It is dangerous to write a team off and make them the complete underdogs. Italy will feel that they have nothing to lose.

"For us, it is a real professional challenge, and hopefully, one that we will rise to."

Since expanding the Five Nations Championship last season, Italy have conceded an average 45 points a game, famously beating Scotland but then losing their remaining four matches and crashing 41-22 against Ireland two weeks ago.

Both Italian Heineken Cup qualifiers this term - Roma and L’Aquila - lost all 12 group fixtures between them at more than 50 points a time, underlining a gulf in standards mirrored at Six Nations level, especially away from home.

"There is a top line of Italian players, but underneath that, there are very few players who have been exposed to high-level rugby," said the Azzurri’s former Test full-back Matt Pini.

"It is going to be very tough for Italy, which would have been the situation even if Dominguez and Troncon were playing.

"But I don’t believe they should go out with damage-limitation on their minds. What would be the point of that?

"They need to be positive and give it a crack. Hopefully, someone like Massimo Giovanelli (team manager and ex-Italian captain) can inspire the players.

"The man has got a presence about him - when he speaks, people listen."

English supporters will expect a lot after Cardiff more importantly, so do the players and coaches.