England follow their opener against Scotland by playing Italy U-21, again at the Rec (February 9), Ireland U-20 in Athlone (February 23), France U-21 at Northampton (March 9) and Wales U-20 at Newport (March 16).
Coach Nigel Redman is putting behind him the loss of Wasps' pair Danny Cipriani and Dominic Waldouck, as well as Saracens flanker Andy Saull, and is excited about England's first venture into this age group.
"We've trained hard and we have had to make some changes but that gives others opportunities and we are looking to these guys to take the lead as much as anyone else," said Redman.
"I'm desperately disappointed for anyone who doesn't start. We have had an unfortunate amount of injuries, particularly in the backs with Jordan Turner Hall and Tom Youngs (Tigers) another two who haven't made it here, plus Andy Saull.
"But the good thing is this gives people who we haven't previously seen an opportunity to play international rugby at Six Nations level. It's desperately disappointing for some but an opportunity for others."
Redman has coached England at U-21 and U-19 level, including an emphatic 36-5 victory over Scotland at the Twickenham Stoop last February.
"I treat every tournament differently but I just want to get the best out of this group of players. On paper we have a great squad but, as the cliché says 'you don't play on paper, you play on grass'".
"We had a good win against Scotland last season but every nation has moved on and the challenge for our players is to show how much they have moved on. It pits their development against the best of Scotland. What we did last year is not an indication of how it's going to go this year."
England will make a late decision on London Wasps full-back David Doherty, who sat out yesterday's captain's run with a cold, with Saracens' Frankie Neale standing in as cover.
England U-20
15 David Doherty (London Wasps)/Frankie Neale (Saracens)
14 Ollie Dodge (Leicester Tigers)
13 Adam Thompstone (NEC Harlequins)
12 Adam Powell (Saracens)
11 Selorm Kuadey (Sale Sharks)
10 Seb Jewel (NEC Harlequins)
9 Danny Care (capt, NEC Harlequins)
1 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
2 Matt Mullan (Worcester Warriors)
3 Jack Forster (Gloucester Rugby)
4 Dave Attwood (Bristol Rugby)
5 Phil Hoy (Northampton Saints)
6 Alex Shaw (Leicester Tigers)
7 Chevvy Pennycook (Bristol Rugby)
8 David Tait (Sale Sharks)
Replacements
16 Ross McMillan (Gloucester Rugby)
17 Charlie Beech (Northampton Saints)
18 Hugo Ellis (London Wasps)
19 Matt Cox (Worcester Warriors)
20 Tom Parker (London Irish)
21 Charlie Gower (London Irish)
22 James Tirrell/Frankie Neale (both Saracens)
England U-20 fixtures
Friday February 2 v Scotland U-20 Bath, 7.30pm
Friday February 9 v Italy U-21 Bath, 8pm (live on SkySports)
Friday February 23 v Ireland U-20 Athlone, 7.30pm
Friday March 9 v France U-21 Northampton, 7.30pm (live on SkySports)
Friday March 16 v Wales U-20 Newport, 7.40pm
Tickets for England U-20 games against Scotland U-20 and Italy U-21 at the Recreation Ground are available from £8 for adults and £4 for juniors, or £12 for adults and £6 for juniors for a two-match ticket, from 0871 721 1865.
