Gary Neville has warned England's players against attempting to "wind up" Italy forward Mario Balotelli tonight.

The 21-year-old Manchester City star has a reputation for being a bit of a 'hot head' and has been shown 21 yellow cards and four red ones during the past two seasons.

England face Italy in the last Euro 2012 quarter-final tonight and Neville is wary that any attempts to provoke a reaction from Balotelli could seriously backfire.

"If you go into the game thinking, 'I'll go and try to wind up Balotelli', you could get sent off yourself," explained the Three Lions coach. "In tournaments past, we have got a player sent off and it has been a big problem.

"We are concentrating on ourselves and the way we keep our own composure and discipline, rather than what the other team will do.

"You can't afford to think about that. I've never gone into a game of football, at any level, when we've ­mentioned we will try to wind somebody up. It's too big a game."

An England win would see them face Germany in the last four on Thursday.