With a familiar starting XI assembled for his debut as England manager, Sam Allardyce hopes a change of system will improve the team’s fortunes.

Allardyce is set to use a 4-2-3-1 rather than the 4-3-3 and 4-3-1-2 Roy Hodgson deployed at Euro 2016. It has the benefit of being the formation the majority of these players are accustomed to at club level, and should mean everyone plays in their favoured position. Wayne Rooney will return to the No10 role rather than being fielded as a conventional midfielder, while Jordan Henderson – in place of Dele Alli – should provide the defensive midfielder Eric Dier with close support.

Allardyce’s determination to persist with Rooney alongside Raheem Sterling, who had an underwhelming tournament in France, and Adam Lallana, who was much brighter, underlines his preference for talented, creative footballers in the final third.

Although often criticised for favouring a big striker and telling his defenders to pump long balls forward, Allardyce once created a highly entertaining Bolton side that included Youri Djorkaeff and Jay-Jay Okocha, two top-class playmakers. He has always insisted his teams would play good football if he was working with good players, and now is his time to prove it. Lallana’s role is crucial: in France his intelligent positioning encouraged Kyle Walker forward on the overlap, and England’s best passing combinations generally involved the Liverpool playmaker, although he will start on the opposite flank against Slovakia and open space for Danny Rose.

Rooney’s partnership with Harry Kane will also be interesting. They have rarely been fielded together as a duo, primarily because of Hodgson’s formation decisions – he often used Rooney behind two strikers, with Kane playing alongside another out-and-out striker. They should work well together, especially with Rooney playing behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Manchester United – the Swede likes to drop deep, inviting Rooney to motor forward into goalscoring positions. Kane, who makes similar movements and has been deployed as a second striker for Tottenham at the start of this season, will appreciate a partner providing a threat from deeper.

The most eye-catching inclusion is John Stones, making only his third competitive start for England. Allardyce has repeatedly stressed his preference for traditional defenders who understand their job title, rather than ball-players likely to make errors. Stones is not a typical Allardyce defender, but his probable improvement under Pep Guardiola ensures he commands a place. Slovakia lack a reliable centre-forward and Stones might be perfect if Jan Kozak decides to field Ondrej Duda up front, as was the case for the goalless draw between these sides in June. Duda is a converted No10, more likely to drop deep and create rather than provide a penalty-box threat, and Stones will be happy to step forward and close him down.

The crucial question is how often Stones is able to demonstrate his passing quality. When managing West Ham, Allardyce’s centre-backs barely touched the ball, sometimes making as few as five passes per game because they were bypassed by long goalkicks. If that’s the case, Stones’s inclusion is questionable. If England pass forward more methodically, however, it may require good distribution from Joe Hart, who will inevitably find his kicking under close scrutiny.

England will be able to play out because Slovakia will not attempt to press, instead remaining in a deep, compact defensive shape. This will be the biggest test of Allardyce’s approach. He is accustomed to managing underdogs who see relatively little of the ball, so can he adapt and create a side capable of penetrating packed defences? With Scotland, Slovenia, Lithuania and Malta providing the other tests in Group F, England are likely to get plenty of practice.