Olof Mellberg fears Sweden may head into the World Cup without having tried out their first choice starting line-up ahead of the tournament.

The Swedes, who are in the same group as England in Germany, play their penultimate warm-up match before the finals when they take on Finland at Gothenburg's Ullevi Stadium.

A number of their star players will be missing against their fellow Scandinavians. Midfielder Freddie Ljungberg and goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson are among those nursing injuries while a clutch of players - including strikers Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic - are being rested by coach Lars Lagerback following the end of gruelling campaigns with their club sides.

The friendly against Chile next Friday offers Sweden one last chance to hone their preparations before the World Cup begins and Mellberg, 28, admits that situation is not ideal.

"It (the fitness of the squad) may have looked better ahead of previous tournaments," the Aston Villa defender said. "It is important that a lot of our players are healthy so that we can work on details and play our potential starting XI for the first game."

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