Alright, let's dive into this new tactic! We're moving away from the usual 4-3-3 and its variations. This time, we're going with a two-striker formation, a 4-1-3-2. This is a collaborative effort, and we've put in a lot of work to get it just right. I'm going to give you a few different options for the fullbacks, so stick around until the end to get the full picture. Trust me, staying with me throughout this breakdown will give you the best chance to master this tactic. Let's get into it!
Goalkeeper and Defense
Starting with the goalkeeper, I'm using Allison, so it's a no-brainer for me to use Sweeper Keeper. I genuinely believe this is the best instruction you can use right now. It's great for dealing with those through balls and especially those low-driven crosses.
For the center backs, we're keeping it simple with Defender on both. We'll come back to the fullbacks at the end.
The Midfield Maestro
Now, here's where things get interesting. The key part of this formation is the CDM on Center Half. You might have seen this before in one of my 4-3-3 variations. We've experimented a lot with this, and what's great is that this formation is quite open going forward. People have loved it for attacking, but they've felt a bit vulnerable defensively.
-
Center Half: This instruction is key. When you have the ball, the CDM drops between the two center backs. It's not a back five, and it's not a back three. When you lose the ball, the CDM charges down the middle of the pitch, which helps stop counterattacks. It gives you a defensive midfielder to switch to and stop counterattacks. If you put the CDM on "Holding" or "Deep Line Playmaker," they might be too advanced and easily bypassed.
-
Deep Line Playmaker: Just in front of the CDM, we have the Deep Line Playmaker. This player is there to defend. You want your center mid to be that consistent and reliable person in the middle of the pitch. Keep the ball, pass the ball to other players, but on a counterattack or in certain situations, a safe option to switch to either player switch to defend or switch the ball to in terms of keeping possession.
Attacking Flair
The real magic happens with the front four.
-
Inside Forward: On both the left and right mid positions, we're using Inside Forward. They'll cut diagonally from wide inwards, influencing the attacking play.
-
Advance Forward: On both strikers, we're using Advance Forward. One striker will be more central, and the other will be more complete, working across the lines from left to right.
Fullback Flexibility
Now, let's talk about the fullbacks. This is where you can really tailor the tactic to your play style. We're going to look at three different options:
-
Fullback: Some people love the fullback just sitting back and defending, tucking in to help on counterattacks. It makes things nice and safe.
-
Wing Back: I love the wing back in this formation.
-
False Back: Dale really enjoyed and absolutely smashed it with a false back.
Let's look at some graphics to compare the positions and help you decide which one suits you.
Wing Back
- Wide Positioning: Wing backs are positioned wide, spreading the play.
- Attacking Option: They provide an option to go wide and create space when the middle gets congested.
- Vulnerability: They can leave you a bit more open at the back, especially if you send them on a run.
- Best Use: Great for matches where you're dominating possession and suffocating the opposition.
Fullback
- Narrow Positioning: Fullbacks are positioned much narrower, closer to the center backs.
- Defensive Support: They offer protection and help with counterattacks.
- Short Passes: They facilitate short passes and keep the play tight.
- Counter-Pressing: They allow for effective counter-pressing if you lose the ball.
False Back
- Influence Play: They are still going to influence the play.
- Narrow: They are still going to influence the play.
- Defend: You can come to this by putting the falce back with defend on so they turn more like cdms rather than Center mids.
You can experiment by having one fullback on one instruction like a wing back and the other on fullback or falce back.
Shape and Strategy
Here's a look at the shape with the ball. The center half will drop between the center backs. The deep line playmaker will sit in the middle of the pitch and dictate play. The front four is where the magic happens.
This is a great example of the shape that you've got with the center midfielder.
The center mid is not too aggressive, just in that middle part of the pitch. Especially when you've got the ball in their half, they're just going to sit kind of like 10 yards outside of the box, a really safe option to knock this ball about, keep possession, and also then counter-press if you do lose it.
That's the 4-1-3-2. It's a different formation, and it's all about finding the right mix that suits your play style. Going forward is absolutely superb, and I promise you're going to create lots of chances if you practice with it and find the right moments against the right formations against the right sort of players.