James Milner leads the race to replace Aaron Lennon

Fabio Capello will make a final decision on Wednesday morning on whether to include James Milner or Joe Cole in his starting XI for the must-win final Group C tie against Slovenia.

 
In the running: James Milner trains ahead of England's must-win match

The England manager is, however, almost certain to recall Milner to replace Aaron Lennon on the right of a four-man midfield with Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard in the centre and Steven Gerrard on the left, despite calls for the captain to be pushed further forward.

Instead, as expected, Jermain Defoe is likely to partner Wayne Rooney with Emile Heskey dropping to the bench in a 4-4-2 formation. Capello dropped a heavy hint last night that he would not abandon his preferred team shape by saying he wanted England to remain “compact”.

There has been a lobby for Cole’s inclusion and although he looks set to miss out, Capello has not, definitely, made up his mind as he tries to steer England into the last 16 of the World Cup.

He considered starting with Shaun Wright-Phillips but has turned to Milner who played for the first-half hour against the United States, in England’s opening match, on the left, before succumbing to illness.

The other change is enforced, and has already been confirmed by Capello, with Matthew Upson replacing the suspended Jamie Carragher in central defence.

Ledley King, again, did not train yesterday and remains out of contention for the foreseeable future. England trained at their base at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus yesterday morning because the poor state of the Port Elizabeth pitch prevented them from training there, before flying from Johannesburg.

Defoe is expected to be selected because he is regarded as one of the few players who is not suffering from the “fear factor” Capello believes has gripped the team and affected performances.

The formation could transform into a 4-2-3-1 line-up with Defoe as the lone striker and Rooney shifting into the middle of the three with Gerrard and Milner either side of him. As expected David James has retained his place in goal.