Friendlies

Attacking 3-4-2-1/Defensive 4-4-1-1

An attacking formation that allows us to commit a high number of players forward to create a defensive overload for the opposition, making it easier for attacking players. While keeping a solid defence at the back. Moving our dm back to cb, so we have 3 cbs back, rather than 2 cbs and an attacking fb.

A fluid formation, it allows us to keep a compact shape defensively in order to make pressing easier for the players and more effective.

Going forward the idea underpinning our formation is the interconnectivity between the players in the formation. The multiple setup of the layers to the formation allow for the formation of multiple diamonds and triangle shapes throughout the team, creating space and passing passing lanes for each player.

Allowing quick passing moves to get the ball forward quickly. We want to go forward at a high tempo, attacking down the wide channels.
The wing backs are tasked with providing attacking width. The attacking wide men stay wide in the first two thirds of the field, in the final third they have freedom to come inside.

---------------- S.Rico
---- S.Ramos – Javi.M - Otamendi
Danilo – T.Kroos – A.Vidal – Kurzawa
----- L.Sane ------------- Hazard
----------------- Ibrahimovic

Subs. Krul, Blind, Cancelo, Strootman, Turan, Ribery, Origi

We have three key players in the centre of the park. Kroos is the pass master in the centre of midfield, Vidal is the box to box runner. And at cb, Javi sits at the base of the entire team, reading the play and covering the cbs next to him who attack the ball in defence. He is able to bring the ball out from the back and play long balls over the top of the midfield to the attacking trio.

Defence

When we have the ball, the cb on the side of the play goes wide. They will be tight nit centrally when the opposition have possession in a central position, ready to move quickly to one side or the other. In a position to pick him up quickly if we lose the ball and they counter.

When we attack we seek to negate the problem of space behind an attacking wb, by our wide cb being in a position to instinctively cover. It also gives us an easy pass back down the line.

When we lose the ball our formation drops to a narrow compact 4-4-1-1. The wing back on the side of play drops to full back in line with the defence, and the attacking midfielder drops in line with the midfielders.

In this formation we look to press the opposition as soon as they enter the middle third of the park. In the middle third of the park, the midfield four will press in a compact zig zag shape, the cm closest to play will sit deeper, as will the wide man opposite play that has came narrow. Allowing us to cover horizontal and vertical angles on the field, and cover space more effectively. Give them no options to play through.

When the opposition play the ball forward to a midfielder we have a player in a position to get tight on him, pressing him so that the opposition player has his back to goal, limiting the passing options.

The second closest player presses towards to cut the passing lane for the most obvious pass that the player on the ball could make. The attacking mid(Sane/Hazard) on the opposite side of play looks to sit on their dm, and Ibra sits in between their dm and cbs, always looking to split them. Closing potential passes for the opposition, make it difficult for them, force them to take risks.

As the opposition advance higher into the final third, we will have two compact walls of four behind the ball with next to no space between them. The ball is pressed by the two closest players from each side. Force them to turn and play backwards.

Shift the two lines of four towards the ball, overloading the side of play they are attacking, restricting all options. Defending aggressively in numbers we feel they will find it difficult to break us down and deal with our high energy in defence.

Our wb’s have fantastic pace up against their wide forwards, they will get close but bide their time, waiting for the right time to make the tackle, not diving in.

Attack

For the majority, we want to play the ball out from the back. Javi in particular and also Ramos at times are given freedom to play long diagonals to the attacking trio. Mix things up.

We circulate possession patiently in our own half to find gaps in the opposition before switching to a very quick passing approach as we get the ball to our midfielders in the opposition half, looking to get the ball to our attacking trio as quickly as possible with short passing moves.

We want quick one twos in the opposition half. The midfield look to keep the ball on the deck passing in triangles, triangles that are directed out wide as gaps appear in the opposition formation. Kroos has creative freedom on the ball, he has the ability to play through balls, long diagonals to open up the opposition.
We want quick interchangeable play in the final third, using our strong close control and pace to break through.

Ibrahimovic has total freedom up top in attack, let him play his natural game and get the goals.
Captain: Ramos.

Subs.
After 65 mins, bring on Blind for Otamendi, Cancelo for Danilo, and Origi for Zlatan.
After 70 mins bring on Turan and Strootman for Vidal and Kroos.

Sorry those tactics are for Leicester vs Stoke

comment by Fan Gillhaus 1903 (U3339)
posted 12 hours, 17 minutes ago
ill play you tranq
----------------------------------------------------------------------
will get tactics in tomorrow

I don't have draxler dembele anymore

Please change dembele to kovacic and draxler to eriksen and handanovic to oblak

Will get my tactics in tonight or early tomorrow, off to wembley today

-------------------Forster-------------------
B.Peres--van Dijk--S.Umtiti--L.Shaw
------------Dembele----N.Kante------------
Mahrez-----------------------------Draxler
--------------------Mata--------------------
-----------------Lacazette-----------------

Ter-Stegen, Sokratis, Mendy, Fischer, Barkley, Batshuayi , Musa


Forster behind the back four which is an experienced and solid defence, with the keeper shouting when he comes out for the ball, he will punch clear what he cant catch and look to release the ball early

Van Dijk takes the free role at the back, he sits spare whilst Umtiti picks up the CF. While Umtiti is picking up the CF, van Dijk takes a step off him as he will be mindful of the CF if he gets away from Umtiti or indeed any other attacker that comes through. Both need to be strong in the defence, they cannot be bullied by the CF or any other attackers, although they are both powerful boys. Umtiti must make desicions quickly to where he has to be and not make rash desicions, that is where Williams helps him. They attack all high balls, van Dijk is a monster, and clear danger from ball whipped in.

Peres and Shaw are allowed to attack. When the fullbacks attack I want them up supporting our wingers getting beyond the wide forwards to give us some width and get to the bye line, so Mahrez and Draxler can cut in and support Lacazette . Put in crosses for Lacazette to attack. When defending the lines, push there wingers out wide and stay on feet, dont dive in, this will force the player back or into a space they cant get out of.

Kante in a slightly deeper role and is very important today,he helps the back 4. He positions himself just in front of them to provide assistance at the back. He is non stop and will fight till the final nail is in the coffin, his never say die attitude brings it out in all our players. He will stop the attacking midifieder coming through. I want him just to keep it simple today as he has plenty in front to do the attacking he will start alot of attacks from deep with some defence splitting passes . Dembele and Mata provide the flair in the centre, look to pick up from the back and drive forward, look to pick out the wingers/front 3 as they are deadly. Both similar that they like to get forward but in a tough game they must be controlled in what they do. When defending Dembele sits in beside Kante, providing a huge barrier for them to try and break down. Pass and move, always with there head sup looking to pass forward and not back wards. Dembele will look to make ghost runs into the box. Mata is playing a higher role when we attack, righton the shoulder of Lacazette and supports him as much as he can. He also looks to release Mahrez and Draxler out wide or when they cut inside.

Mahrez and Draxlee add the flair and pace to the wings along with the power we have centrally this is a dangerous combination for there back 4, look to take men on either play it down the wing and drive passed the full back with support from the fullbacks and whip in some dangerous crosses or play it inside to Dembele Mata and Lacazette and look for the one two so they can drive into the box and smash it goal wards, always driving at there defence, never giving them a moments rest when they are in possession. When we defend these two get back and make a strong midfield 5 not allowing there fullbacks to get anywhere passed the halfway line.

Lacazette , a fantastic outlet up front as he can not only take players on with his pace but is strong enough to hold off players to allow others to come in and support, especially Mata who will be up in support a lot, always looking to go for goal and two good feet, with support from Mahrez and Draxler also this is a very quick and powerul front four always driving as a trio that defenders will fear. We must drive at them non stop, we have subs which we will use, we have to go 110% for 90 minutes and show we are not just here to make up the numbers!

Van Dijk is Captain, Mahrez takes free kicks, centre forward on penalties

Barkley for Mata at half time
Batshuayi for Lacazette on 60
Musa for Mahrez on 70
Fischer for Draxler on 80

STOKE v Leicester City

Line Up:

Rulli
Zabaleta Kompany Denayer Luis
Gustavo Herrera
Moura Nasri Schurrle
Costa

Substitutes: Bettinelli; Sidibe; Masina; Carillo; Rodriguez; Gray; Castillejo

Captain: Kompany
Free Kicks: Nasri
Corners: Nasri
Penalties: Costa

Substitutions:

All on 70 minutes: Bettinelli on for Rulli; Sidibe on for Zabaleta; Masina on for Luis: Carillo on for Moura; Rodriguez on for Nasri; Castillejo on for Schurrle; Gray on for Costa

Game Plan:

Leicester are a dangerous attacking team with plenty of talent going forward but, seeing as this is a friendly and the result is not important, we want to focus on developing our own cohesion and attacking threat.

There are 5 players in the starting line up who are playing in the famous red and white for the first time and so this will be treated as a benchmark of where we hope to get to.

OFF THE BALL:

When defending we will look to sit deeper and form a solid defensive block that will be difficult to penetrate. We will allow Leicester to play in their own half without expending pointless energy, rather we will look to man mark those in our half and limit their options going forward.

Once they do enter our half, we will look to emulate Barcelona’s 6 second rule by pressing in numbers to attempt to win the ball back. The three closest players will rush towards the ball carrier while the rest of the team pushes up and reshapes to cut out passing lanes, making it all the more difficult for Leicester to play through us. However, we know that Leicester have some great pace about their attack so our full backs and centre backs will need to be aware of any runs in behind the defence. Rule will also be expected to rush out to claim the ball.

If, after 6 seconds, we have not regained possession, our players will drop deeper and form a wall in front of our 18 yard box, man marking their forward line and also sticking close to their midfielders.

This is simply restarting the phase of play, as we will be forcing Leicester to play risky balls to try and unlock the defence. Our goal will be to isolate a Leicester player on the ball so that we can have another attempt at heavy pressing for 6 seconds to regain possession, If the Leicester player has been successfully isolated then this increases our chances of regaining possession and countering.

This tactic repeats until we regain possession.

ON THE BALL:

As we expect to be without the ball for more than 50% of the game, we will set up today to play a fast counter attacking game. We have a dangerous striker sitting in front of a talented playmaker, two goalscoring wingers, two box to box midfielders and two attacking full backs and we will be aiming to take the ball up the field with as much pace and as much width as possible to hit Leicester on the back foot and to stretch their defenders to either flank, providing more space in the centre.

The name of the game will be quick interchanges and overlaps to drag our opposition out of formation. We will play with a very free form attack that will be constantly on the move so that it will be more difficult to mark and nullify.

Our two centre backs will push up just shy of the half way line, allowing for an outlet should the attack fail but we regain possession. Both of our full backs will look to press on, overlapping with the winger and bombing down the flanks, allowing our wingers to play more as inside forwards off the shoulder of the striker. Both of our full backs will also be encouraged to cut inside with the ball and make diagonal runs at goal, here they can either cut the ball back or attempt to shoot.

The two central midfielders will operate as the fulcrum of the attack, We will operate with one player acting as the holding midfielder, allowing the other to push forward and join the attack. This holding player will double up as a deep lying playmaker, looking to send balls over the top to either flank where we may have more space.The other centre mid will look to link up with the attacking mid and play just behind the striker.

The attacking mids job will be to sit in the pocket between the defence and midfield of our opposition, looking to remain in space, and feed balls in through to our overlapping attackers in space. He will also be encouraged to shoot, himself, if he has a sight on goal.

We like to play with a very versatile striking role and so our striker will operate as a target man, a false nine and a poacher all at once. He will look to battle with the opposition defenders and get under their skin, causing them to make mistakes, while also looking for either that half a yard he needs to get a shot away or a teammate in space to feed a ball through for a chance at goal.

STOKE RESERVES v Aston Villa Reserves

Line Up:

Martinez
Sagna Miranda Murillo Coentrao
Coquelin
Paredes Rode
Feghouli Vietto Perisic

Substitutes: Maisonnial; De Marcos; Koziello; Linetty; Malcom; Tevez; Mousset

Captain: Miranda
Free Kicks: Perisic
Corners: Paredes
Penalties: Perisic

Substitutions:

All on 70 minutes: Maisonnial on for Martinez; De Marcos on for Sagna; Koziello on for Paredes; Linetty on for Rode; Malcom on for Feghouli; Tevez on for Perisic; Mousset on for Vietto

Game Plan:

Aston Villa are a dangerous attacking team with plenty of talent going forward but, seeing as this is a friendly and the result is not important, we want to focus on developing our own cohesion and attacking threat.

There are 4 players in the starting line up who are playing in the famous red and white for the first time and so this will be treated as a benchmark of where we hope to get to.

When the team is out of possession, they press ferociously, as a unit, to win it back. However, if Aston Villa manages to keep the ball in the face of the pressure for 10 seconds, we must be quick to transition in to a deeper formation to cover gaps in our back line and to start the pressing game again. By pressing in 10 second spurts before reforming deeper and waiting to move forward again, we can conserve our energy and make sure that we can keep pressing for the whole 90 minutes.

Once back into position, they look for triggers to start their pressing. Like, the ball towards the right-back is a trigger of the left winger to begin the pressing. The left-winger’s pressing is a trigger for the attacking midfielder and the rest of the team of what is their role in this pressing.

The positioning of our players in this pressing game is important - we want every player to know exactly where he needs to be and what his role is.

We want to keep our players as close to theirs throughout the game as possible. We don't want to give them time to relax on the ball and think about where the next pass is going and force them to play with their backs to goal. We want to crowd the pitch, effectively splitting the playing surface in to halves and quadrants, and dictate where they can pass the ball and when.

Vietto intercepts the space between the CBs so that they can't move the ball along the back four. Our two wingers then press inside and our midfielders press up and stick close to their man (so that space is lacking for their centre backs. Along with this, our defensive line presses high so that the midfield becomes further congested (the pace in our back line is more than capable of covering ground in the events of a long ball - hit too long and Martinez comes out to mop it up) and the centre back in possession is left with a choice: play it back to the keeper, wherein the play starts again, or attempt a risky ball forward that has a good chance of being intercepted.

Often times Aston Villa prefer to break forward with pace when they get the ball, which is why we have Coentrao and Sagna on the flanks with Feghouli and Perisic in front of them. These four players will need to track runs down the flank to prevent our defence from being overloaded – this will allow Miranda and Murillo to sit deeper in cover and for Coquelin to patrol the space in front of the centre backs.
This is where winning the midfield battle will be very important for us, as it will take out a key area for Aston Villa’s build up play. If the ball hits the midfield, their attempt will be to get the ball to the forward players are quickly as possible. The first way to stop this is to keep their back to goal, they can’t see the forwards that way. If we are pressing them with their back to goal, we will very rarely get turned (provided the other players close down the passing lanes) and this results usually in a turnover. The midfielder is in the same dilemma as the defenders here about whether to dribble/pass forward and risk a turnover or pass the ball back and break down the move. The most important part to consider here is that the defenders and midfielders have only a second or two to think this before the ball is taken off them and thus finding the right pass isn’t easy.

Attack:

In attack, we know that Aston Villa like to harass their opposition so our play is going to have to be quick and direct. The key to our attack will be the free roles we will give our forward 3 in attack – all 3 can play along the top and their movement and probing runs will be designed to drag defenders out of position and create spaces for their teammates. All 3 are as good at creating chances as they are finishing and they will be looking to feed each other in behind the defence instead of attempting solo efforts.

Behind them, Coquelin will sit with the centre backs allowing Paredes and Rode to get forward and cause problems. Paredes will drift around looking to make penetrating runs and feed through balls in for our forwards to collect while Rode will be looking to use his tenacity to forge a path in to the box and get himself a goal. On the flanks, Coentrao and Sagna will push up on the overlap to keep Aston Villa’s full backs occupied. Once they get the ball behind the defence they will be looking to drive low balls along the 6 yard box which cause chaos in the defence as the keeper can’t come to claim it and it’s awkward for defenders to clear it without making a mistake. Their runs will also serve the purpose of creating a bit more space in Aston Villa’s back line that our forwards can take advantage of.

Overview of our 4-4-2 formation V Chelsea (2nd 11)

Pens: Janssen
Free Kicks: Geis

---------------------------Karius
Piszczek---------Tah-------------Jedvaj----------Hector
Schöpf-----------Geis---------------Can-------------Pjaca
--------------------Fekir-------------Janssen


Subs: Rajkovic, Weiser, Wimmer, Dahoud, Calhanoglu, Öztunali, Mor

We are playing an attacking formation designed to outscore our opponent by including two strikers plus midfielders chipping with goals as well. Our formation includes four defenders; two centre-backs and two full-backs. In midfield, we have two central midfielders and two wide midfielders.

Using the right players for this formation, our team will expect to enjoy more possession than our opponent. Our centre-backs will hold a high defensive line while our full-backs push into the attacking half to link up with our wide midfielders.

Of our two central midfielders, Geis with his excellent ability on the ball, impressive vision and his ability to distribute the ball to all areas of the pitch, will be combined with his equally impressive ability to tackle and intercept without conceding too many fouls. While his defensive stats are impressive on their own; his positional sense and discipline add to his traits, especially if one or both of our full backs are moving up this pitch.

Geis is also our dead-ball specialist so watch out for his pin point accuracy from corners and free kicks.

Alongside Geis we find Can, a dynamic box to box midfielder and it’s on the ball is where he’s really going to excel in this match. A terrific passer of the ball, he pretty much has every pass imaginable in his locker. His short passing game nicely complements Geis’s ability to pick-out a long pass. Can will weigh his passes to perfection, whether in our own half, under pressure, or on the edge of our opponent’s box.

Geis and Can’s security on the ball will be compounded by their strong decision-making. In a side that attacks at speed such as ours, they will rarely fail to make the right decision when it comes to releasing the ball – expect their timing and pass selection to be flawless.

In the wide areas - Whilst Schöpf on the right will operate more as an orthodox winger - Pjaca on the left will operate as an inverted winger.

Both Pjaca and Schöpf are able to create a chance out of seemingly nothing at times and their direct running is a defender’s nightmare. Their dribbling speed is excellently-timed in tough situations and both are definitely not shy to contribute defensively out of possession too.

When we are on the attack Piszczek and Hector are instructed to creating overlaps, hence keeping the width down the flank in the final-third and look to supply crosses to the two strikers.

Piszczek and Hector’s positioning in the wide areas should pull the opposition full-back out wide, thereby opening the channels for Schöpf and Pjaca to exploit.

When we are on the defence Piszczek & Hector are expected to use their stamina and tackling ability to equally good effect.

Of our two forwards, Fekir will run the channels and drop into pockets of space in between our opponent’s defenders and midfielders, while Janssen works off the shoulder of their last defender, providing a target for the service from the flanks.

The opposition defenders will have to keep a straight defensive line when defending with no significant gaps in between them, so they cannot wander around chasing players into midfield. Their midfielders cannot get too close to the defensive line because they would be conceding a lot of ground in midfield, so we can expect a gap between their defenders and midfielders.

With Janssen already occupying the opposition central defenders, Fekir will aim to exploit the awkward spaces that defenders and midfielders cannot get into, without sacrificing the integrity of their defensive shape.

This is where the advantage of having two strikers comes from because the two strikers usually get good chances if they are efficient with their movement off the ball.

Subs: Fresh legs on 60 mins - we’re clearly playing an attacking brand of football and I want to keep that intensity up to the final whistle.
Weiser on for Piszczek, Mor on for Schöpf, and Dahoud on for Can

-----------------------Burki
Vrsaljko-----Pepe------Godin----Bertrand
------------------Krychowiak
---------Fabregas-----Nainggolan
Mane---------------------------------Gaitan
---------------------Suarez
Subs
Patricio, Bartra, Wendell, Hojberg, Tolisso, D.Suarez, Bellarabi

Tactical Overview
For the first 15 minutes of each half we are going to try and blitz the opposition, pressing them all over the pitch and using the pace in attack to try and catch them cold, then then settling down into a 3 quarter press allowing the opposition CB's and Keeper to have the ball as much as they want whilst still pressing the other areas of the pitch.





Full Backs

Defensively the objective is to sit back and tuck in slightly, looking to stop balls being played between them and the centre backs, with the secondary advantage of discouraging the wide men from cutting inside, forcing them to cross, which gives us a better chance of getting the ball back quickly and launching an attack of our own.

 Their objective when attacking will be to keep making runs past the winger on both the inside and outside, giving the opposition full back that split second of indecision on who they go with. They will only occasionally put floated crosses in, preferring to either play shorter passes to the wingers or players who have come out from the middle of the pitch to keep possession and let the pressure build up in the final third or run to the byline and put in fast and low crosses relying on both the faster reactions and control of our attackers and the pressure of the situation on their centre backs to hastily clear the ball without being in full control of the situation.

Centre Backs

Godin is the defensive leader and will be the one to control where the defensive line sets itself up on the pitch, if a team sets up to counter against us, we will always have at least 3 men back with either one of the full backs or the DM dropping in to make it a back 3, Godin will compete with the striker for the aerial balls played into him, with Pepe concentrating on winning the 2nd ball. When the ball is on the floor, Pepe will be the defender who looks to meet the striker, looking to stifle his space and rush his decisions, with Godin making the covering runs. When on the ball, if the opposition are giving them space to come out with the ball, then they should look to take it forward, if not, keep it simple and play it to a man in space and retain possession with the occasional long ball to the front 3 thrown in to use their pace and keep the opposition from setting up against one style of play.

Centre Mids


Krychowiak and Radja will be utilising their high energy, all action styles to get themselves around the middle of the pitch, being key figures in the pressing game with Fabregas hanging back pressing more sporadically and always making themselves available for a pass when we are in the final third to keep recycling the ball and shift the opposition defensive players that little bit more which could be the difference in getting a player behind them. They also all have an eye for a pass so will look to take advantage of the front 3 all flitting around and play them in with through balls and quick one touch play. When defending, they are looking to press the middle third of the pitch, pressing the opposition CMs/AMs as they are on the ball to rush their decisions and win the ball back.

Wingers


When they are off the ball, the emphasis for both wingers will be to drift around combining with the other attackers to get little areas of space before using their pace to make runs between the CB and FB and get in behind them. When they are on the ball the emphasis will be more on cutting inside with the occasional long shot to test the keeper, and only occasionally putting in crosses, getting involved in a fast intricate style of passing with the centre mids and Suarez, looking to create the passing triangles which will just take players out of the game. They should also look to run at players as they will be cautious not to give away a set piece due to the ability of our set piece takers. When the opposite winger has the ball, the winger without the ball should look to find space between the CB and FB to add an extra body in the box. When defending, they should be blocking the passing lines to the full backs as well as keeping track of them when they go forward.
















Striker


When attacking, he will look to constantly drift around the defenders looking to get himself a bit of space enough for him to get the ball and pass it along to another attacker or face up the defenders and take them on. When running onto a ball, He will also be looking to use his reactions to get ahead of the defender and then use his strength to cut in front of the defender, causing them to either stop their forward momentum completely, or make the foul, his unpredictable style when on the ball will look to cause a bit of doubt in the minds of the defenders as he has a knack of bouncing it off peoples shins and it landing in a perfect position for himself to create a chance for himself or others. He also has a knack of being the first to react to get onto rebounds or parries and taking those one touch chances..
When defending, he will be working with the wingers to cut off the passing lines for their CB's, forcing them or the keeper to launch it long.

Set Pieces


Corners - Fabregas takes the corners, most of the time looking to have the ball at an attackable height around 8-10 yards out inbetween the posts, the FB's stay back to prevent counters, the CB's and Suarez work in a group to make little blocks and cross-runs to lose a marker so 1 or 2 can get a freer run at the ball, Mane and Gaitan flit around away from the main attacking group looking to pounce on mistimed touches and flicks around the area. Krycowiak looks to limit the opposition keeper from moving too far off his line, looking to take a defender with him creating less space for the keeper and one less man in the main action area. Radja takes a position just outside the box to pick up weak clearances and occasionally providing the short option to try and draw 2 defenders out of the box.





Free Kicks - Suarez takes Direct FK's



For Indirect FK's, same instructions as Corners





Penalties - Suarez is the designated taker.





Subs



45 mins - Tolisso, D.Suarez + Bellarabi for Radja, Gaitan + Mane - like for like swaps