Australia will face Pakistan in the first Test match at Lord’s. This is a part of the two Test match series and is being played at a neutral venue in order to circumvent Pakistan’s security issues.
Australia goes into the series after having won eight Test matches in a row. This includes three against West Indies and Pakistan and a couple against the New Zealand side. However, they have also played two T20Is against Pakistan on this tour of UK and lost both, after they had gone down in the ODI series to England. 
Five day cricket is a different kettle of fish and for obvious reasons, and Australia will have the advantage of going in with a couple of fit bowlers. Ben Hilfenhaus, who had last played an international l last year before injury sidelined him, and Mitchell Johnson, who missed out on the limited overs version of the series will both be back. They will partner Doug Bollinger and form a strong bowling attack for Australia. Steve Smith should take the spinner’s berth in the side. 
The reason why the Aussie attack will look even stronger than usual is because of the opposition’s batting. Pakistan has struggled through most of the games with their inexperienced batting line-up and that should assist the Australian bowlers. In fact, two of the more experienced batsmen in Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt have question-marks over their selection thanks to the lack of runs and that should be a cause for concern.
Australia’s batting looks good on paper, though they have a couple of form issues. For one, Shane Watson has lost his hefty appetite for runs, while Michael Clarke’s issues with the bat may just be tested in the game. On the other hand, both, Simon Katich and Marcus North will play in an international after a reasonable gap and could be examined by the opposition bowling.
The one factor that the fans will look at keenly will be the batting of Shahid Afridi, who has not played a Test match for four years now. How will be bat, bowl and captain the young Pakistan on a tough mission to beat Australia on a foreign pitch, is what everyone would be interested in following.
Australia are firm favourites to pocket this game, and Victor Chandler offers 1/1 for them to go up 1-0. On the other hand, Pakistan are a distant second with the offer of 11/2 (Bet365) to win the game, with a drawn game offered 13/8 (Stan James) to do so.