The form of England so far at the 2016 Four Nations will mean little come kick-off in London this week according to Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga, who expects the host nation to be firing on all cylinders.
The tournament's home team have been widely criticised for their performances so far, particularly by sections of local media, after falling short against New Zealand in a 17-16 loss and producing an uninspired showing in a 38-12 win over newcomers Scotland.
But Meninga believes the presence of new coach Wayne Bennett, and the fact that England are fighting for a chance to qualify for the Four Nations final, will ensure they are up for the clash at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.
"I probably thought England knew they were going to win the footy game [last week] and Scotland took it to them early in the game," Meninga said.
"I think half-time was probably a blessing for them, I think Wayne might have got them off their backsides and they started to compete a bit better.
"They will be motivated and they will have a good attitude to it all.
"They have to win so they will be desperate, and we have got to counteract that by keeping on doing the things we are doing and trying to execute a bit better than we did (against New Zealand).
"They probably wouldn't have been happy with their performance (against Scotland), so they will obviously try to improve on what they did."
A win, or a loss by a margin of less than 23 points against England, would be enough to book Australia a place in the November 20 decider at Anfield.
Meanwhile Meninga also addressed the running feud between himself and Bennett, which has played out through the media over the last couple of weeks.
"It's not about me and him, it's about the teams, he will want to have his English side really well prepared and same here," Meninga said.
"At the end of the day it comes down to the players and what they do through the week and what they do on the footy field.
"We will prepare well and try and play as well as we can."
