The 29-year-old Warriors captain is pencilled in to start at Number 8, with Leicester's Lewis Moody set for the Number 7 shirt. But the captaincy he held for the summer tour Down Under has been returned to Martin Corry, who is expected to start at blindside.
The game - which marks the opening of Twickenham's new South Stand - will also see the full England debut of Bristol scrum-half Shaun Perry and Gloucester centre Anthony Allen.

Team: I Balshaw (Gloucester); M Cueto (Sale), J Noon (Newcastle), A Allen (Gloucester), B Cohen (Northampton); C Hodgson (Sale), S Perry (Bristol); A Sheridan (Sale), G Chuter (Leicester), J White (Leicester), D Grewcock (Bath), B Kay (Leicester), M Corry (Leicester, capt), L Moody (Leicester), P Sanderson (Worcester)