England and India are the in form team for the past few years and they have a well rounded team with top players in their playing eleven, England does have a deep batting line up and they have the advantage of playing in their home town which makes things easier for them, but i am not sure about the groups both teams are in.
No group this time if I am not wrong, every team will play a total 9 matches against each team and top 4 teams will qualify for semis.
I am not sure how they can be the underdog without Warner and Smith, if they are in the team they could have the potential to become the underdog.
Warner-Smith in or out doesn't matter. this team basically fighting for their pride. they lost all legacy-credibility in last one year due to Ball-tampering saga. I agree that they are doing very bad atm but still, we have almost 3-4 months in the world cup.
Smith will come back for sure, not sure about David Warner tho. he's considered as a bad boy in Australian cricket (Top level) due to his behavior. not to mention his disagreement with CA.
SouthAfrica is a big disappointment in ICC tournament. I used to feel bad for them or support them but after AB De Villiers... now I support them only in Red ball cricket.
We don't know what the future holds, there is always a chance for the surprise or facepalm moment, least expecting team winning the world cup. Just like we did in 1983, Pakistan did in 1992.