Tactics 4-3-1-2 - Flattened Diamond

[MikeF]

I’m currently a couple of seasons into a Double Trouble challenge. I don’t usually play two up top so my usual tactics wouldn’t work for this. After a bit of tweaking I ended up with this and it looks really solid so thought I’d share in case anyone wanted to test it under normal circumstances (ie without 15 yr old strikers!). 

I didn’t want to use wingers as I’ve seen 4-2-2-2 done a lot so thought I’d base it around a diamond. As you know the DM position struggles in FMM (another 6. Wow.) so I pushed them up to CM giving a 4-3-1-2. 

There’s elements to the diamond midfield here especially when in position but it’s more flattened when we don’t have position giving a little extra width in the middle of the park. More of a triangle I guess!

Attacking, balanced width (wide means you stretch the midfield too far and narrow just means everyone runs into each other and the WBs don’t have as much room) and fast tempo.

 

Positions:

GK - standard GK role here. You could maybe use SK but as I’ve not got my defensive line too high I prefer GK

WB - very important roles. This is where the width comes from. Need to be fast and good positionally to keep the opposition wingers out of the game. They also provide a lot of assists. I have ‘Look for overlap’ selected as that makes all the central midfielders use the WBs as opposed if just driving through the middle every time. 

CD - both BPD. I like to play out from the back so these guys need to be able to pick a pass and be comfortable on the ball. 

CM - B2B / CM / B2B. B2B is OP in this FMM and I like the movement they create in the middle. I have my middle guy as CM. Started out with DLP here to give more of a diamond but I prefer CM as he sits next to the AM creating an overload in the middle. If you’re struggling for space you can change to DLP during a match and he’ll drop deeper but CM works better overall I find. 

AM - AM drifts around in space created by the CM that sits just behind him. When we have the ball he pushes forward unmarked. Prefer AM to AP as more disciplined I find.

CF - both Poachers. I’ve not experimented with different roles but P seems to really rack up the goals here. There are lots of CM and with the WB also pushing up you just want these guys sitting up high waiting for a through ball or cross. Standard poacher stats. Good in air, fast, movement and of course, finishing.

 

Balanced defensive line  I usually play high defensive line but that was too prone to being caught out of position by speedy opposition wingers or a ball over the top and I only have WB and no wingers to help defensively.

Look for overlaps brings the WB into play and gives width. Through balls for the poachers to latch onto. 

Mixed passing as short passing keeps possession but sometimes the best ball is a big vertical pass. When we have the ball a lot of verticals open up due to player positions so this means you can be direct sometimes or even straight up to the strikers from the BPD. 

I like to play out from the back still so have short for GK. If you have a GK with high kicking (Ederson) you could go long or mixed but short is preference. 

 

Positional play without the ball:

As you can see, when the opposition have the ball it’s a standard 4-3-1-2 with the AM just in front of the CM and a flat back 4 pretty much. WBs need to cover opposition wingers but fine with pace, tackling and good positional awareness.

 

Positional play with the ball:

You can see here the wingbacks push up giving width and the BPD or CM (83) have options. Mixed passing works well here as they can play it short for someone to move into space, or they can launch a nice vertical pass as the B2B and AM find space and run forward. They can also play it into space for your WB to run onto to them whip in a cross.

If the BPDs play it to the CM, the AM or B2B finds themselves in space as their man presses the CM and with fast tempo some quick passing moves the ball forwards for a through ball to the waiting poachers.

 

Results:

I’m in my second season and in Portuguese league but still, the results were solid:

Bayern got the better of me but with proper strikers (instead of 16yr olds) I’m sure a few of the draws here would have been wins but still, solid results. My squad could have been stronger too when the fixtures start to pile up. 

 

Ive only tried this in Portugal and for my challenge but thought I’d post it in case anyone wants to give it a go. A nice alternative to wingers and inside forwards dominating current popular formations. 

 

Let me know now how you get on. 

[AndersJ]

Thank you very much for sharing - and the good in depth instructions  will you Update if you test it with other teams ?

best regards Anders

[MikeF]

2 hours ago, AndersJ said:

Thank you very much for sharing - and the good in depth instructions  will you Update if you test it with other teams ?

best regards Anders

Yeah. I’ve only just started my challenge so won’t be testing with another team for a while but will definitely test it after and update. 

[Schwantz34]

I'll have a go with it.

[xX-WOLFIE-Xx]

Does this still work in the current game?

[Elliott]

This tactic was not in the stickied tactics index and I was looking for anything that worked with the 4-3-1-2.

I ended up adapting my own for lower league (Dagenham and Redbridge, specifically). Started midway through season with a bad squad and struggled, but did slightly better than my predecessor. After a summer transfer window and significantly wheeling and dealing, I made good success of a 4-3-1-2 and won the conference with comparative ease.

What I did was set up control or sometimes counter, balanced width, fast passing and disciplined. For most of the season I set up with a balanced line and closing down in own half, however I found that against certain formations it was better to sit deep and sit back (4-3-3 is the bane of my life). Balanced tackling, no offside or time wasting.

Attacking instructions were to shoot on sight and through balls, direct passing, focused on centre and mixed goalie distribution

In terms of player roles I had normal goalie, wing backs, centre backs, the same middle three with a centre mid flanked by two bbms, advanced playmaker instead of attacking midfielder (the idea of not playing a playmaker in the formation seems odd to me, but then I guess in ops tactics the bpds give that). Strikers were defensive forward and target man, as that suited the forwards I had.

I did try the settings mentioned above (not including the differing player roles) in league 2 and then went on a run of losses. I think ultimately I just don't have the quality of players required - my centre backs are too slow so pushing up the wing backs is too risky.