Strauss was referring to Australia having lost several world-class players to retirement in recent years. Only three players in the likely Australia team took part in the corresponding test in 2005 at Edgbaston.
"I don't think this Australia team has an aura about it," Strauss said Wednesday. "Prior to this series starting, we didn't think it had an aura either. That's not disrespectful to the players they have because they have a lot of good players.
"(But) the aura came from players like (Shane) Warne, (Glenn) McGrath, (Matthew) Hayden and (Adam) Gilchrist. This team over time might develop an aura but now they don't have one. It doesn't mean we are more likely to beat them. It just feels like you're playing against any other team."
Australia captain Ricky Ponting suggested Strauss' comments might not have been made after the first test in Cardiff, which was drawn despite England being outplayed for most of the match. England then rebounded to comfortably win the second test at Lord's.
"It's OK for him to say that now, but I am not sure if he would have said that after Cardiff," Ponting said. "We had the wood on most of their batsmen down there.
"An aura is built up over time. We've got some reasonably fresh faces around our group finding their feet at international level. An aura comes from results as well, and if we come out on top in this test I'm sure they will be thinking slightly differently."
While Australia will name its team at the toss, Strauss is confident allrounder Andrew Flintoff will overcome pain in his right knee to play. Left-arm spinner Monty Panesar, though, has been sent back to his county team.
Flintoff, man of the match at Lord's, is retiring from tests at the end of the series because of his injury troubles. But after a week's rest following Lord's, he is expected play.
"He seems fine," Strauss said. "He's come through all the workouts he's had to do pretty well, so barring anything happening overnight, like his knee swelling up dramatically, he will be OK. We are optimistic."
One man England will be without is leading batsman Kevin Pietersen, who underwent surgery on his Achilles injury last week. His absence provides another opportunity for Ian Bell, who was dropped earlier this year after a form slump but will bat at No. 4.
Bell has scored eight centuries in 46 tests but has often been criticised for failing to convert promising innings. Despite the criticism, Bell's average is a respectable 40.
"First of all, we are going to miss KP because he has been an ever-present for the last 50-odd tests and because he is a quality, world-class batsman," Strauss said. "But Ian Bell has come in and having been out of the team myself I know how determined he will be to take his chance. KP performs well against Australia but what an opportunity it is for Belly to show that he can be a long-term player for us in the future."
The Lord's win has given England added confidence for the rest of the series, Strauss said, but he is expecting an Australian backlash.
"This is a huge test match because whichever team wins takes a lot of momentum into the last two tests," Strauss said. "The Aussies are going to come back strong so we need to raise our game even more from Lord's.
"Although we won there are still areas we need to improve on. We scored 425 in the first innings but we were almost 200-0, so when we get in a similar position again we need to go big. We could also have bowled better at times, so there is room for improvement."
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Teams:
England (from): Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior, Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Steve Harmison, James Anderson, Graham Onions.
Australia (from): Ricky Ponting (captain), Phillip Hughes, Simon Katich, Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke, Marcus North, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, Shane Watson, Andrew McDonald, Stuart Clark.
