England Women team news: Predicted line-up for Lionesses’ side for Women’s World Cup quarter-final against Norway

England Women have the chance to make their third straight semi-final at a major tournament when they take on Norway at the Women’s World Cup on Thursday night – a match you can listen to LIVE on talkSPORT.

The Lionesses reached the semis of Euro 2017 and at the 2015 World Cup and they’re just one win away from grabbing a place in the last four in France.

Their latest triumph saw them get a 3-0 victory in a controversial last-16 match against Cameroon.

However, England’s form has been patchy and Norway will represent their first big test of the current finals, according to former Lioness Claire Rafferty.

To make preparations more difficult for Phil Neville’s side, the manager has had a few concerns regarding the fitness of some of his players.

Captain Steph Houghton may not be available for the Norway game because she sustained an ankle injury during the closing stages of the Cameroon game following a nasty challenge from Alexandra Takounda.

Meanwhile, the England camp have also been hit by a sickness virus with Houghton’s partner at centre-back Millie Bright confined to her hotel room. Bright did not train with her team-mates on Wednesday night.

So a mini-injury crisis greets England before arguably their biggest game since Euro 2017 but maybe this is where Neville’s rotation policy at the tournament will be hugely beneficial.

talkSPORT.com has predicted how England will line up against Norway which you can see below.

Samantha Miller looks at the three key players for England vs Norway in the Women's World Cup

Neville does like to alternate between a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 but because Norway are a threat on the counter-attack, England may go for the latter option which is slightly more conservative.

Karen Bardsley is England’s No.1 so is a shoo-in to start this game, while right-back Lucy Bronze has started every World Cup game for England so far.

Alex Greenwood, who scored England’s third against Cameroon will probably play left-back as she’s started three of England’s four matches at the tournament.

Faye White gives her analysis of Norway ahead of the Women's World Cup clash with England

As for the centre-back slots, it’s likely to be too soon to see Bright play but given Houghton trained on Wednesday, that could be enough to see the captain start.

Abbie McManus, who started England’s second group match against Argentina may get the nod to partner Houghton.

Manchester City midfielder Keira Walsh has started every single match so will surely play this one and Neville could opt to play her club team-mate Jill Scott alongside her in a defensive midfield role to combat the counter-attacking ability of the Norwegians.

However, Neville will want to maintain his attacking threat as well so Toni Duggan and Nikita Parris will play on the wings.

The gifted Fran Kirby could play in the No.10 role and that could make for an interesting battle as she’s likely to come up against Chelsea team-mates Maria Thorisdottir and Maren Mjelde, who are Norway’s centre-back pairing.

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And striker Ellen White, who has scored four goals in three games at these finals is in red hot form so has to start up front.