Alright guys, I've done all the testing, all the tweaks, and today I am bringing you what I think may well be the current best formation in FC25. It is going to be the 5-3-2, which is currently being used by Anders Vejrgang, who is one of the best players in the world, I'm sure you've all heard of him. I'm going to be giving you the tactics and explaining how you use this formation.
Why the 5-3-2 is Currently King
So, as I said, it is a 5-3-2, and before we get into the tactics, we will talk about what actually makes this formation good. Now, there is a lot, obviously. You have the three center backs, which is huge. You're packing the midfield with three, which is huge. It is a five back which has a CDM, which is grossly overpowered. What you get in these formations, any of the five backs, is you have these overlapping wingbacks, which is going to create overloads in the attack. It's very easy to attack in this formation. Whether you're attacking or defending, you just have a lot of numbers going forward, and it makes it very difficult for the opposition to actually be able to deal with you, whether you're attacking or defending. You just have too many players there. We have the two strikers in this setup as well. Basically, everything you could want in a formation. The only thing that you don't have is natural wingers, so obviously for me, I'm not able to use Neymar, for example, because there's no winger slots in this formation, but it's not the end of the world. Before recording this video, I done some testing. I've tested this on new and old gen. I streamed, and we went 4-0 in Elite Division Rivals and then 5-0 in Champs qualifiers, so this formation is really, really clicking, and it is super effective.
Team Management: Player Roles
We'll go on to the team management now, and as you can see, these are the player roles we've got.
- Strikers: You can run two advanced forwards for the strikers. The reason I've got "Poacher" on Haaland is just because he's got the double plus on it, and he's just going to play, you know, a little bit better.
- CDM: You want one holding midfielder, which is going to be your CDM.
- Center Mids: Forget about the player roles, no matter what role they suit, just go two box-to-box on the center mids.
- Wing Backs: For the wing backs, I like to have one balanced wing back and one attacking, which actually suits me very well anyway due to the player roles that I have.
- Defenders: Again, no matter the preferred play styles, just go three normal defenders, and that is what you want to be running with; it just works the best.
What you're going to have is your fullbacks bombing up and down, your midfielders bombing up and down. You've got that security in front of the defense with the holding midfielder and then just three no-nonsense center backs in the defense as well. Your two strikers are going to be getting in behind. It's just a long day for your opponent. You're covering every aspect of the pitch. You've got a packed midfield, packed defense, packed attack when the wing backs and the center mid are getting involved as well, along with the two strikers. It's just a long, long day for the opponent.
Tactics: Counter Attack and Depth
Like I said, in terms of the actual tactics, this is what took a little bit of tweaking. I wasn't sure what was best. I have come to the decision that "Counter" on these five backs is insane because obviously you're going to sit quite deep when defending, and naturally your players are going to drop back. You've got that CDM, the full back, two center mids as well. You have so many numbers when defending, it is crazy, and then when you actually win the ball back and go forward, that's when everyone starts flying forward. You're going to have those wing backs, the midfielders. It's just, it's so versatile, like no matter where you are on the pitch, whether you're attacking, defending, you have just got players in numbers.
In terms of the depth, this is up for debate. I don't think there's really a right or wrong; it's sort of a play style thing, I guess. I've gone with 70 depth. It's just what I've sort of settled on. If you struggle with your defending, you can lower this, but my thinking behind it is basically I can press quite high in the 70 depth, but then if I get to the point where they're sort of pinning me on the box, my team are going to naturally drop deep anyway because of the counter buildup style, so it seems to work quite well. It's very balanced, like I say, no matter how you want to play, you know, whether you're trying to keep the ball, play direct, play counter attack, it just works with this setup, so I thoroughly recommend it.