Play starts 1430 BST Sunday
England have to beat Australia in Antigua to retain any realistic chance of reaching the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1992.
If they lose, they would need to win their final three matches and hope other results got their way.
"The Australians are the form team of the World Cup and have dominated every game," said captain Michael Vaughan.
"They look strong so we're going to have to be at our best to match them and give them a good game."
There could be a change on both sides with Australia considering a call-up for either batsman Brad Hodge or an extra pace bowler, most probably Mitchell Johnson, because all-rounder Shane Watson (torn calf muscle) is out of action until at least the semi-finals.
England, meanwhile, are considering a freshening up of their top order with Andrew Strauss in line to replace Ed Joyce.
It would be a slightly ironic move as it was Joyce's hundred in Sydney which set them on the way to a three-match winning streak against the Aussies in the recent Commonwealth Bank Series.
The batting form of skipper Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff is also a concern for England, with neither of them having yet registered a single fifty in the tournament.
Eng 93, Aus 94-6
Australia won by four wkts
Aus 159-9, Eng 1604
England won by six wkts
Aus 253-5, Eng 246-8
Australia won by seven runs
Aus 171, Eng 173-2
England won by eight wkts
Eng 204-8, Aus 208-8
Australia won by two wkts
In Flintoff's case, Vaughan believes he is just short of time in the middle.
"He's such an instinctive player - he's the kind of guy that sometimes when he gets out, it looks ugly.
"The last thing I want Freddie to do is to suddenly go into his shell and start playing defensively - I want him as an instinctive batter taking the opposition on, because I think when he does that he's playing his best cricket," said Vaughan.
"He's like me - I've had three low scores and I want a score for the team and I'm sure he'll be feeling exactly the same."
Should England's top-order problems persist, it will again fall to Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood to try and lead them to the kind of total to test Australia, although the batting of Ravi Bopara and Paul Nixon against Sri Lanka showed England do not lack depth.
Australia, meanwhile, are exuding a supreme confidence as they seek a hat-trick of World Cup wins, having lifted the trophy in 1999 and 2003.
But coach John Buchanan and veteran seam bowler Glenn McGrath have offered contrasting views to the threat posed by England.
"Every game for them is a knockout game, which puts them on the razor's edge. That means they will come really well prepared to play and compete against us.
"Any side that's playing for its life in the tournament, it understands fairly well what it has to do," said Buchanan.
But McGrath added: "We feel if we concentrate on what we are doing, it doesn't matter who we are playing, we will win the game."
The 37-year-old, now the leading wicket-taker in World Cup history, continued: "Being an Australian cricketer - it is about playing England and hopefully beating England.
"There is a good chance this is the last time I will come up against them, so I am looking forward to it."
The absence of Watson means Australia may have to rely on Andrew Symonds to bowl extra overs, having sent down just eight so far following his recovery from surgery to repair a torn bicep tendon.
But team-mate Mike Hussey said: "I think he is getting a lot more confidence with his bicep now. He's been bowling spin in the nets and the matches but he feels he has the confidence in the arm to be able to bowl medium pace as well. Having that all-round package is a huge plus for the team."
Sunday's match will be the sixth time England and Australia have played each other in the World Cup - with England currently 3-2 ahead despite losing by two wickets in Port Elizabeth four years ago.
England (from): M Vaughan (capt), E Joyce, A Strauss, I Bell, K Pietersen, P Collingwood, A Flintoff, P Nixon (wkt), R Bopara, S Mahmood, M Panesar, J Anderson, J Dalrymple, L Plunkett, S Broad.
Australia (from): R Ponting (capt), M Hayden, A Gilchrist (capt), M Clarke, A Symonds, B Hodge, M Hussey, B Hogg, N Bracken, G McGrath, S Tait, M Johnson, S Clark.
Umpires: B Bowden (NZ), R Koertzen (SA)
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