WALES head coach Warren Gatland has warned his players not to be lured into complacency by England's injury crisis ahead of the sides' RBS 6 Nations opener on Friday week.

England's Owen Farrell, Joe Launchbury, Ben Morgan and Manu Tuilagi are all expected to miss the tournament while Brad Barritt, Kyle Eastmond, Geoff Parling and Tom Wood are struggling to make the clash at the Millennium Stadium.

"If you were England you'd be talking about the injuries and trying to talk Wales up," Gatland said.

"We have to make sure we don't get distracted by that sort of chat, we have to concentrate on ourselves.

"It doesn't matter who they pick. We saw that last summer when they went to New Zealand and pushed the All Blacks really close in that first game.

"They then made a number of changes for that second and third test."

England beat Wales 29-18 at Twickenham last year but were thrashed 30-3 at the Millennium Stadium in 2013 as the Red Dragon sealed the title.

"It will be a tough game for both of us," Gatland continued.

"We lost last year at Twickenham in a game we didn't play well in but still could have won.

"And then lot of people still talk about the experience of England losing at the Millennium Stadium two years ago.

"There's a lot of expectation from both teams.

You win that first game, you get a bit of confidence and momentum, and you can go on and win the championship.

"You lose the first one and it's easy enough to go and finish at the other end of the table."

The Cardiff clash will also serve as a dress rehearsal for September's World Cup, when Wales and England meet again in Pool A.

Both teams endured an underwhelming autumn series but Gatland insists the Six Nations is when results really start to count.

"There's a buzz at the moment and that's because the first game is against England as well, that creates something special," Gatland said.

"This tournament is about winning. There were no points at stake in the autumn so for us, like a lot of teams, it was about trying things out.

"But for all of us there is a lot of prestige at stake from winning the Six Nations.

"Everyone is in contention. The expectation on Wales to win is high, and Ireland is exactly the same - they go in as favourites.

"There's a lot of pressure on England to do well and France haven't won since 2010.

"Scotland have a revival going under Vern Cotter and Italy have three homes game, too.

"So it's important to win games and get some confidence because in the back of our minds we're all thinking about the next six months and preparing for the World Cup."

Wales' crushing victory in 2013 not only saw them defend their title, but it also denied England their first crown since 2011.

Wales captain Sam Warbuton expects the result to be much closer this time around.

"The chances of that sort of result happening again are extremely slim," Warburton said.

"Everyone who played in that game feels very lucky and fans in the stadium say the same, they feel privileged to have been in the stadium that day.

"It was one of those freak fixtures which from a Welsh perspective was probably up there as a career highlight.

"Everyone wants that to happen again but realistically it's not going to happen, England are a top quality side."