Neil Warnock has told talkSPORT he doubts England will start in-form Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge in their World Cup opener against Italy.

The Three Lions play their first warm up match against Peru on Friday night, live on talkSPORT, as boss Roy Hodgson continues to fine tune his preparations for kick off in Brazil.

At the back England are fairly settled but further forward it is less clear and Warnock believes the former Liverpool manager will stay true to his conservative nature and only start one striker against the Azzurri, namely the more experienced Wayne Rooney.

"Hodgson still doesn’t know if he can gamble [by playing more attacking players] against Italy," he told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast. "You know what Roy’s like, he always set his team out not to lose, rather than to go and win a game and I don’t think he’ll change that.

"I see him starting three midfielders, rather than using Adam Lallana or Raheem Sterling. I just don’t see him gambling in that first game.

"I think he will play [Jack] Wilshere or somebody like that in the third midfield role [with Gerrard and Jordan Henderson]. I don’t think he’ll play Rooney and Sturridge together.

"I think he will play one up front and two coming in from wide. How he gets round that is anybody’s guess. The main striker has got to be Rooney and I don’t think he’ll start Sturridge."