What will Roy Hodgson be hoping to learn from England's trip to the Stadium of Light?

Roy Hodgson has described the three matches as “fact-finding missions” ahead of England’s opening European Championships group game with Russia, so what will he be hoping to learn from his trip to the North-East?

WHAT FORMATION SUITS ENGLAND BEST?

In the wake of yesterday’s 2-1 win over Turkey, Roy Hodgson spoke of the need for his players to be comfortable in as many different formations as possible, in order to increase his chances of being able to change things mid-game this summer.

That’s fine, but he will surely want to settle on a preferred starting system, and as of yet, it’s hard to pin down exactly how England should play. They started with a 4-1-2-3 formation at the Etihad, with Eric Dier stationed in front of the back four, but looked more threatening when they fielded a 4-4-2 with a diamond-shaped midfield in the closing stages.

We could see a different shape again on Friday, with Hodgson also a fan of a 4-2-3-1 line-up that enables him to play a creative midfielder pushed forward in the hole behind a lone striker, which will almost certainly be Harry Kane once the real action begins.

There shouldn’t be a lot of need to play two holding midfielders on Wearside, with Australia unlikely to pose too much of a threat, but Eric Dier might well need some additional support once England come up against more testing opposition.

IS JACK WILSHERE CAPABLE OF PLAYING TWO GAMES IN A WEEK?

With Jack Wilshere having played less than 150 minutes of top-flight football last season, Hodgson wanted the Arsenal midfielder to prove he had recovered from his fractured fibula before he confirmed his final 23-man squad for France.

Wilshere did that by playing in the opening 66 minutes of the Turkey game, but surviving one fairly low-key run-out is hardly the same as being ready for the rigours of a tournament that could see England playing seven games in the space of four weeks.

England’s three Group B matches come in the space of ten days, and with Wilshere looking likely to play a central role provided his fitness holds up, Hodgson will want to see proof that the 24-year-old can cope with a heavy workload.

With his Manchester United and Liverpool players having arrived yesterday, Hodgson is likely to make a number of changes on Friday. Wilshere, though, is one of the few players who looks certain to retain his place.

WHERE DOES WAYNE ROONEY FIT IN?

This is the question that has been exercising most thought in the build-up to this summer’s finals. Hodgson places a great deal of trust in his captain, and for all that Wayne Rooney struggled to make much of an impact with Manchester United last season, it would still be a major surprise if he did not start against Russia.

Where though? Rooney finished the season playing in a deep-lying midfield role for Manchester United, but while he performed reasonably impressively in the FA Cup final, it is hard to imagine him carrying out the same duties in an England shirt.

It is also difficult to see him dislodging Kane from the role of central striker, so the wise money would probably be on Rooney starting in the ‘number ten’ role on the shoulder of the Tottenham attacker.

That would have implications for Dele Alli though, and would result in the Spurs midfielder dropping out of the starting XI or being shuffled to the flank. The alternative is moving Rooney into a wide position, and that could be trialled at some stage in four days’ time.

WHO SHOULD PLAY AT THE HEART OF THE BACK FOUR?

Chris Smalling caught the eye for all the wrong reasons at the weekend as he was sent off in the FA Cup final, but the Manchester United defender remains England’s first-choice centre-half. Having been unavailable on Sunday, he will almost certainly start against Australia.

Who plays with him remains uncertain though, and the identity of his partner at the Stadium of Light could provide a clue as to Hodgson’s thinking with the Russia game in mind.

John Stones has long been regarded as the future of England’s back four, but the Everton defender has had a wretched season at club level and it was telling that, yesterday, Hodgson made a point of bemoaning England’s failure to prevent Turkey striker Cenk Tosun from winning a succession of headers. On a number of occasions, it was Stones at fault.

That might mean a reprieve for Gary Cahill, who marginally out-performed Stones at the weekend. Cahill has his limitations, with his lack of mobility a major issue, but at least you know what you’re going to get from him.

IS MARCUS RASHFORD FIT – AND HOW SHARP IS DANIEL STURRIDGE?

It was always going to take something special for Marcus Rashford to force his way into Hodgson’s final 23, so the Manchester United striker couldn’t have chosen a worse time to pick up the knee injury that forced him off the field during Saturday’s FA Cup final.

England’s medical staff assessed Rashford yesterday, and to have any chance of making the plane to France, the 18-year-old surely needs to start – and make a positive impact – against Australia.

It is much more likely that Daniel Sturridge will be selected as England’s fourth striker, and Hodgson might well be tempted to start with the Liverpool striker on Friday.

Sturridge scored a cracker in Liverpool’s Europa League final defeat to Sevilla, finished the domestic season strongly and boasts five goals in an England shirt. It is generally assumed that Kane will start England’s first game at the Euros – might Sturridge still have time to make Hodgson change his mind?