Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is reluctant to nominate his preferred England partner.
Manchester United ace Michael Carrick is challenging Manchester City's Gareth Barry for the holding role.
Lampard said: "Both of them are already influential for their clubs and the prospect of playing for England next summer will push them on to do even better.
"They're both very similar in the way they play and have a similar passing range. They show it for their clubs all the time and have a very good defensive mind.
"They don't run around making crazy tackles all over the place but they're always in good positions beforehand so they're intercepting balls because of being in the right place at the right time.
"I think they both have very good attributes. They're not exactly the same player but they can perform very good roles in holding midfield as well as getting forward.
"We're lucky to have two players who can do as well as that. It's a really tough decision for Fabio to make but I think he appreciates being in that position."
