What's going on, boys and girls! Welcome back to another tactics video. Today, we're diving into a post-patch 4-4-2 tactic. This is what all the pro players are using, and I've tweaked it a bit to fit my playstyle. Let me know if you want to see different tactics as well. I'm also thinking about reviewing different pro players' tactics on my main channel now that we're past the peak of FC and I can focus on content like tactics videos. This is a high-level tactic, so I'm going to walk you through the changes I've made and how you can adjust it for yourself. Remember, if this tactic doesn't work for you, it's not necessarily the tactic's fault. It's likely due to your skill level. Pro players are using similar variations with similar depth, but the 4-4-2 this year is advanced. If you don't know the basics – passing, dribbling, how to exploit advantages – you'll struggle.
Player Instructions
For my current setup, I've gone with one poacher and one advanced forward up top. Now, some pro players use false nines or target forwards, but the best AI movement is still with a poacher. So, ideally, you want at least one poacher. For the other striker, you can experiment. If you have someone like Son with the Advanced Forward PlayStyle+, I'd put him there. But if both strikers have the Poacher PlayStyle+, I'd use both on Poacher.
- Strikers:
- Poacher: At least one striker should be a poacher.
- Advanced Forward/Second Poacher: The other striker can be an Advanced Forward or a second Poacher.
The biggest change I've made is setting up a holding CDM. This is what I play. I usually play with a Playmaker and a Box-to-Box midfielder on balance, but I've made this change for this tactic. If I released this tactic with my usual setup, people would start complaining that it doesn't work. It does work, but it's high level. So, I've put one player on holding. This should be a CDM like Matui, Tonali, Giaro, or a true defensive midfielder. They need to sit back defensively because when you lose possession, your back line can be exposed.
- CDM:
- Holding: One CDM should be set to "Holding" to provide defensive stability.
For the left and right midfielders, I've used Inside Forwards. I know I've been using Roaming a lot, but honestly, leaving them on "Balanced" is completely fine. With Inside Forward, and then one of the center mids ideally is on a Playmaker PlayStyle+. This is probably the most advanced role you can make a center mid with a half Winger they become a Winger you don't want that and with the holding player they sit back you already have Garo doing that and a deep line playmaker they just don't join the attack they help on the buildup play and they kind of stay in that that chavier Lonzo roll per maybe the Cru r but you don't want a Bo box to box can work well but you've only got one box to box but playmaker they really focus on those areas they don't come back to be honest I like a playmaker attack because a playmaker roaming um yes it's decent but I like attack consistency always there at the right place at the right time becoming that third man that third player and the left back and right them both on fullback defend and there's a change I'm going to make in a second I'll show you and both Center back's important on Defender defend don't use people are saying oh look I've got a player that's got to stop plus plus should I be using a stopper plus plus for in these roles no you shouldn't use a Defender plus especially if you struggle defensively it's better to be manual and aggressive yourself and because you don't want the the game because sometimes let's say this player is on let's say vaner van could for example play a stoper Plus+ right you don't want for example your Center back pushing out from your defensive line you make a massive Gap your opponent exploits it then you're in trouble it's better to leave this on Defender even if they haven't got the play style leave them on Defender and be aggressive yourself at least that way if you concede it's your fault that you made a mistake at least you can say okay you know what I made that mistake it's not the game that screwed you over that's very very important you don't want your center backs to going out of position this year so so important the goalkeeper look to be honest you can put on Super keeper if you want to um I just think Super keeper you got to be careful because super keeper um there's a big chance that you can lose a ball on a counter attack and your opponent can do a Power Shot and score that's something you just got to bear in mind or they can do a Precision L pass from your own box and score the goal so that's something you just got to bear in mind um but it's not the end of the world um to use super keeper now we go to Team tactics what's important here is the 442 Flats we got the buildup play on counter that's the only way we promote a even still post patch to be honest um look are you going to notice a massive change in AI I don't know like I've been reading some people have been saying AI is been dramatically changed I don't know about that um I'm not not gonna say that but um I need to do some more testing but definitely it's not dramatically changed people as people are making out to be um so count is still going to be the best moment and the defensive approach on high and this is what I mean this is a very aggressive formation this is starting the formation on the front foot you don't have any cdms so unlike my four Triple Two see my four triple 2 I have these players for example on stay forward basically because I have two cdms I sit back so I know when I lose the ball I have six players behind the ball that I could be very very sure I can defend the situation with so it's a very balanced formation but if you struggle with the basics of the game if you're watching this video you're like a division four player division three player you are going to struggle with this tactics it's very very important you bear that in mind this why a lot of people they change they they see the tactics for example and they see the code they get excited they copy it but they never change it for their own style now what you can do let's say you really want to use this formation I would say put them both on holding cids now the reason why I said is at least you have defensive stability and you have two play a lot of that casual player or not casual the average player they run out with their center backs and run out with the center mids inadvertently most of the time but at least you got two players there for stability so if you are really struggling you can put both these players on holding you do at least want one of these players holding if you want to make this more attacking you can put this player on box to box as I'm as I mentioned like so and this is the way that I would recommend it this is kind of going a bit on the Ott side but then what I would do is is you can put this player you don't put them on an attacking Wing back I think maybe that's sometimes a bit too much but put them on a regular Wing back like so that way you're going to be providing width so what you could do is you could put this play inside forward put this player on inside forward now attack is probably a bit too much leave it unbalanced now if they were for example um someone who's got Pace here ideally what You' want is something like this now this will give you a good appropriate balance because you'll have the playmaker on that side and then you have cadog opening the defense up on the right hand side you overlap or what you could do is let's say you really want the fullback to be going forward you can put for example this player on holding this another variation I'd recommend trying in fact maybe it's worth trying this variation first actually go holding like that at least that way look you got the playmaker in Bon mati so on the left hand side you got the center mid going forward on the right hand side you have cadog glue whever your wing back is ideally a wing back plus but it's not the end of the world they'll be providing width down the right hand side so this way when you're defending you're basically going to have a back three out of out of possession and you're going to have one CDM so you can argue this is technically techically I'm not going to say it's like a a three I'm not going to say it's like a 352 but you could argue you kind of can create that hypothetical system of 352 so you got the back three in check you got your CDM holding that side the CDM is on stay back on this side because cadog is going to be the person that's making a runs with behind so when you lose the ball at least you're going to have that CDM there so let's say for example you do get numbered and your opponent is running down the right hand side you can always move your CDM to the right hand side and swipe up the danger now that's why the the player here needs to have Pace ideally a shadow cry sty is ideally what you'd want on this position at the bare minimum a shadow C but at least 80 Sprint speed some like a Gad is fine I use Tali also in this role it works very very well but be careful if you got something like a Lexia and Bon mati you're going to have to be careful about that because you're you're able to run back and recover so ideally a CDM here for your playmaker you can go with a I think a bon mati works very very well in this role because she's got the playmaker plus plus she's got the technical spr I know most you guys got Bon mati as well um and that works perfect well the Wingers ideally you want someone to be quick um but they're going to basically kind of be a bit wider in a buildup play but inside the final third they're going to be narrow inside the Box ideally someone that can shoot I've gone with photo and the technical Sprint and I've gone with Neymar um with the inside forward I like both of them Neymar is probably very very good for only 30k is very very cheap um but I think he's one of the best subs that you can get actually inside the game and then we got T two sters I got son advance for cuz I I finesse with him quite a lot um on my main account this not my main account my main account I got Sam ker and son up front um trying to sh save up for shellen but this is the 442 so I hope you enjoyed this video um that would be the 44 this will be the second the third variation should I say with the fullback going forward um but again alter this for your style because a lot of people they're just copying tactics nowadays and a lot of people are getting found out because their Basics are out of out of shape so if a tactic is not working for you to be honest nowadays most t ICS are so so quote unquote meta um I'm going to try and make some more tactic videos different variations um and I'll let you know and every single week what we're going to do is every single Friday or Saturday we'll have a tactical layout where we will have a different system every single time so you know put the firebacks together etc etc anyway I hope you enjoy this video thank you very much for watching take you easy I'll catch you next one don't forget if you want to get better at FC you struggling with the basics you come my patreon say pat.com nilg guides or you can click over here if you don't get better off one month they will refund your mind a nil guys guarantee L just to guarantee I we giveing you don't get better message me and I refund your money so if you're struggl with FC that's the guaranteed way to improve in thanks for watching take it easy catch you next time peace
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Left and Right Midfielders:
- Inside Forward: Use Inside Forward for both.
- Playmaker: One of the center mids should be a Playmaker.
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Fullbacks:
- Fullback Defend: Both fullbacks should be set to "Fullback Defend."
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Center Backs:
- Defender: Both center backs should be set to "Defender." Don't use "Stopper" or "Anticipate" playstyles.
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Goalkeeper:
- Super Keeper: You can use "Super Keeper" if you want, but be aware of the risk of counter-attacks and long shots.
Team Tactics
Now, let's move on to the team tactics.
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Build Up Play:
- Counter: Use "Counter" for build-up play.
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Defensive Approach:
- High: Use "High" for the defensive approach. This is an aggressive formation, designed to start on the front foot.
If you're struggling with the basics, you might want to adjust the tactics. If you're a Division 4 or 3 player, you'll struggle with this tactic.
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Alternative Setup:
- Holding CDMs: If you're struggling defensively, put both CDMs on "Holding." This provides defensive stability.
- Box-to-Box CDM: If you want to be more attacking, you can put one CDM on "Box-to-Box."
- Attacking Fullback: You can put one fullback on "Wing Back" to provide width.
- Inside Forward: Put the other midfielder on "Inside Forward."
- Balanced Wingers: Leave the wingers on "Balanced."
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Alternative Setup 2:
- Holding CDM: Put one CDM on "Holding."
- Playmaker: Use a Playmaker in the other CDM position.
- Wing Back: Use a Wing Back on the right side.
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Player Selection:
- Pace: The player in the Wing Back position needs pace.
- Playmaker: A player like Bonmati works well as a Playmaker.
- Wingers: Wingers should be quick and able to shoot.
Remember, this is just a starting point. Adapt these tactics to your own playstyle. A lot of people copy tactics without adjusting them, and that's where they get caught out.