Contepomi, who retired from professional club rugby at Stade Francais at the end of the European season, will captain the Pumas from inside centre with Tiesi, looking for a new club in Europe after recovering from injury, on the outside.
Both sides will be second string. Pumas coach Santiago Phelan is reserving his leading players for the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship while England are without their British and Irish Lions.
“This is a great opportunity for these players, both the new ones and those with more experience,” Phelan said after naming the team in Buenos Aires.
“To be in the Pumas again and represent your country implies a great responsibility and the more so given the magnitude of this match.
“England are a complete, balanced team. We know we’ll have a big battle for the ball and that’s why gaining it will be very important for us as well as being on top at the contact.”
The teams last met at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand where England won 13-9. Their last meeting in Argentina was in Salta in 2009, when the Pumas won 24-22.
The second Test is a week later at the Velez Sarsfield first division football ground in Buenos Aires.
England opened their tour with a 41-21 victory over a South America XV in Montevideo on Sunday.
Argentina: 15-Martin Bustos Moyano, 14-Matias Orlando, 13-Gonzalo Tiesi, 12-Felipe Contepomi (captain), 11-Manuel Montero, 10-Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9-Martin Landajo, 8-Tomas Leonardi, 7-Benjamin Macome, 6-Julio Farias Cabello, 5-Mariano Galarza, 4-Esteban Lozada, 3-Maximiliano Bustos, 2-Martin Garcia Veiga, 1-Pablo Henn.
Replacements: 16-Mauricio Guidone, 17-Guillermo Roan, 18-Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19-Tomas Vallejos, 20-Tomas De la Vega, 21-Nicolas Vergallo, 22-Gabriel Ascarate, 23-Belisario Agulla.
Rugby - Contepomi to captain Argentina in first England Test
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