England vs. Sweden.

England`s line up against one of their tournament jinx`s, but for me this isn`t the Sweden of past era`s, but we still have a tough task to get that essential 3 points tonight.

Today we hear talk that England will "rest" Oxlade-Chamberlain and bring in the physical threat of Andy Carroll alongside of Danny Welbeck, perhaps in an effort to test what appears to be a fragile Swedish back line, but I wonder if I am alone in worrying that we shouldn`t mess around with a formation game on game, but look to improve on the new template that has quite impressed me so far?

Not that I want to get too carried away with this or that formation, because usually it is only a tweak here and there, and it is more about being organised and knowing what to do, than rigidly sticking to a playing style, but I actually wonder if we would simply be better to swap Welbeck for Carroll and keep Ashley Young in the free role, even if we look to freshen up the midfield or other areas of the team?

Much will depend of how Gerrard and Parker feel and I have no doubt that they will play under all but a situation where their legs can no longer carry them, but I would rather see us look at minor change over anything drastic, but is that because of a lack of depth in reserve as much as building on what I felt was definite progress against France?

Against France, I felt that the fragility of Glen Johnson`s defensive skills forced James Milner and the two CM`s to play too deep, so perhaps swapping him for the more solid Jones or Jagielka, would make us a more adventurous unit by default, which could happen anyway against what is surely a weaker opposition. If we look to play with two strikers in a more rigid 4-4-2, I would opt for a more solid backline, but if we want to be more adventurous, perhaps we need the attacking quality of Johnson and Cole, and retain the defensive cover in the central positions, letting the full backs give the width and the wide midfielders offering a more offensive threat?

Perhaps tonight a solid back four, protected by a better and developing understanding between Parker and Gerrard, will also see us have a greater say in dictating the game? On paper, I really like the pairing of these two, but I do feel they remain a little one dimensional at times, and perhaps need to have a better understanding in knowing when to sit or break and who should do what.

Logically you would want to see Gerrard push on and leave Parker to mop things up, but against France and also Belgium, I felt they both sat too deep in what was for me a 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 as opposed to a 4-4-2. Was that due to the quality of the opposition? A tactical or consequence of a developing side or understanding? Perhaps we will have a better idea after tonight.

I would like to see England be more proactive tonight and take the gambles that they couldn`t or wouldn`t against France. For me I would like to see a starting XI of Hart; Johnson, Terry, Lescott, Cole; Parker, Gerrard, Milner, Walcott; Young; Carroll. I can understand why Hodgson may feel the need to play two strikers, in the hope or anticipation of dominating possession and territory, and the pace of Young and Welbeck, with the physical threat of Carroll, could be too much for a one paced Swedish back line, (based on the last game), but we also have to be careful not to sacrifice the midfield, and that is why I would otherwise prefer Young in the hole behind a No9, as opposed to Welbeck or playing a two up top...

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