Chat Effectiveness of Defensive Wingers

[Sonneratia]

Does anyone use Defensive Wingers? Been trying it out for a while and results look promising so far.

Formation Used

Striker Results

Lukaku is used as TM

Rashford is used as AF

Left Side of Pitch Results

Right Side of Pitch Results

You can argue that the right backs aren't as successful the left backs if you base it on average rating and assists alone. Even so, the assists that these 5 players share is decent.

 

Fixtures so far

From the Hull match to the Tottenham match I was using a 4231/433 formation (No DW) and as you can see I was conceding a lot of goals.

From the Watford match onwards I've stuck to the 4141 formation and defensively I conceded much lesser goals. Team instructions for shape, defense and attack didn't change. Of course more experimenting needs to be done against better sides but I will update this topic with more results once Ive finished a season.

 

[Sonneratia]

Just a quick update as there's only a third of the season left to go.

(TLDR: Consider using DW instead of W)

 

As for how to best use Defensive Wingers, I think using a high defensive line and closing down all over in the tactic works best. A lot of the attacks  tend to start on the wing in the opponent's half where the DW or the full bck won the ball back. In the match stats my DWs have a decent number of interceptions/tackles won for an attacking minded player. But is it a replacement for a wing back? No. Sure there is the word "Defensive" in DW, but the DW is still essentially an attacking player. He will be positioned too high up the pitch so he cannot respond well to any quick counter attacks on the wing. The DW probably works best with a WB in my opinion. Two fast players overlapping on the wings can cause a lot of problems for defences especially if they can get a good cross in. They can also win the ball back quickly together even if they lose the ball in the opponent's half. I recommend using BWM or a BBM on the side of the pitch where the DW is used so that the midfielder can get back quickly in case of a counter attack on the wing and win the ball back.

I think the DW is quite underrated. If you are using a Winger instead of an inside forward, I definitely suggest that you change the Winger to a Defensive Winger, especially if your tactic involves a high press. Definitely helps to have a striker that is strong in the air. 

Formations that you may want to use with the DW: 4-1-4-1/4-4-2/4-4-1-1

 

Results

Still unbeaten so far with not many goals conceded . Maybe if you are going doing a challenge where your aim is to concede as few goals as possible but still score some goals, utilising the DW can be very effective 

Player Stats

Mata was injured for a month I think, which is why he didn't play that many games. Their assists numbers and average rating look great.

Darmian was used mostly as a sub for Dalot/Shaw and for rotation purposes. Kinda surprised that his average rating is almost 7 considering how many times he was used as a substitute.

 

Pereira was used to rotate for Mata and Lingard since he was both footed.

Lukaku was injured for almost two months. So Rashford was used as AF to replace him. Didn't score too many goals because he wasn't strong in the air.

 

 

Edited December 27, 2018 by Sonneratia