Comment deleted by Article Creator

----------------------- Dahlberg ----------------------
Maitland ---- Llorente ---- Manolas ---- S'segnon
--------- Pellegrini - Llorente - T.Cairney --------
Mboula --------------- Belotti ------------- D.Costa

Leno, Veltman, Danilo, Cyprien, M.Lopez, el Shaarawy, Mandzukic


In goal Dahlberg, a super confident young keeper, excellent shot stopper, who will close down strikers and reduce there shooting angels, look to spread the play from the back and release our wide men early. Many attacks will start from the goalkeeper.

Maitland Sessegnon have freedom to attack, but only one at a time, one always staying back so we will have a back 3, they will bomb down the line supporting the wingers, which will allow the winger to cut inside and support Belotti. They look to play one twos with the attacking midfield 3 which will get him beyond there fullback and whip in dangerous crosses. Both intelligent so know when to tackle and when just to try and shimmy out wide. When defending and on the cautious side and remain vigilant at all times in the line of four, keep it tight.. Manolas the more mobile and quicker CB will mark the CF, use his strength and speed to keep the CF away from the danger area. Llorente alongside is the spare defender and helps out where needed, both strong defenders, dominate in the air and good on the ball, so when in possession they can carry the ball out from defence and look to send our forwards away. Stay tight as a four and let nothing through. Manolas and Llorente up for corners, fullbacks and Marcos Llorente stay back. When we are in possession the ball will come from the back, so these guys must look for movement ahead of them so they can pick there pass, both Manolas and Llorente are comfortable with ball at feet and will take the ball out of defence to allow them to come on to us before he passes, this will create space as hew will force them to break away from the players they are marking..

Marcos Llorente's primary role is to win possession and then start an attacking phase. Within this he needs to cover spaces in between the midfield and defence where the opposition’s number 10 will likely to be operating whilst also being aware when the full-backs had pushed forward.Take care of of the No 10/SS is also a main focus, stick to him like glue and stop him becoming a threat

Pellegrini is our box-to-box midfielder and has responsibility throughout the pitch. He is expected to score goals and create chances for team mates, whilst also helping in the defensive third. One requirement of this role are high fitness levels due to the amount of running they are expected to do. The box-to-box midfielder is more likely to be found on the side of the pitch where the full-back that is less efficient in the attacking third plays to provide balance on both flanks. Cairney's main responsibility is to create chances for the three attackers in front of him. He will often find himself the furthest forward of the three midfielders and sometimes even in the number 10 role if the correct situation arises. The main requirement of Cairney is creativity; he needs to be able to play a pass that penetrates the opposition’s defense or dictates the direction of the attack These three should work well together and between them have everything a midfield needs.

Costa and Mboula are going to cause problems out wide, with the support they will have, they will look to push the fullbacks back and get into the danger area. both sides will definitely pose a threat with quick one twos, using Cairney and Pellegrini to play around them with the ball going in triangles quickly until the break is on. If fulbacks drives passed wingers they can cut inside looking to make a nuisance of himself centrally. Costa will use his tricks and flicks and pace to get him where he wants to be, again using Cairney to get into danger areas. Both wingers have a fantastic forward to aim for in Belotti so if they get to the bye line then get the crosses in for him to attack.Belotti will get plenty chances, however he must put away there side who will be solid at the back, however I want to target the slower of the two/three with the aid of the midfield and the wingers. Get into positions that he can go for goal or at very least drag players away for other players to drive into the space. Again, target the slower of the cbs, split them apart to create space, we are quick, so our forwards must hit them with pace to drag them all over the place. He can score from various angles/ranges with hopefully a few crosses coming in he can get up and above defenders for. Can hold it up and look for runners, in particular the wingers and Cairney will be making his runs also so be watchful of them just to lay it off to the side if he cant go for goal himself. But especially look for Costa as he times his runs perfectly so a little touch back to him allows him to go for goal.

Captain - Manolas
Pens - Belotti
Free Kicks - D.Costa
Corners - D.Costa

Subs

65 Mins - El Shaarawy for Mboula
70 Mins - M.Lopez fo rCairney

80 Mins
Losing - mandzukic for Pellegrini 442
Winning - Cyprien for Pellegrini
Drawing - Mandzukic for belotti

comment by Fan Gillhaus 1903 (U3339)
posted 7 hours ago
----------------------- J.Butland ------------------------
Carvajal ----- Sanchez ----- Laporte ----- A.Sandro
------------ Rabiot --- Paredes --- Pogba -------------
Mbappe -------------- G.Jesus -------------- Neymar

Muric, Lenglet, Tolisso, Mahrez, Poulsen, Draxler, Nmecha

We want to play high tempo football with plenty of possession, no point in long balls with the lack of height up front so lets start from the back and play through them, quick one touch, triangles to get beyond the lines of defence

In goal Butland a fantastic shot stopper and a keeper that instills confidence in the back four, shouting instructions to his defenders. Out very quickly to shut down strikers and close there shooting angles down. Punches clear what he cant catch from high balls and likes to release early to set up quick counters.

Sanchez and Laporte at CB, Laporte picks up th CF, Sanchez sits spare, keep the forward(s) away from the danger area, by getting onto them quickly and be strong, take the ball away from them and play it away, look to move it simply to Paredes or our fullbacks as we look to start our attacks from deep.

Sandro and Carvajal at fullback, we must keep the wingers quiet, stop them and we stop a lot of there attacks. Both are perfect for this, They will look to keep them away from shooting areas and stop them becoming dangerous in any position by standing tall against them and keeping them on there 'bad' foot. A lot of focus today is getting the ball wide, so both can attack, hence the three in midfield, they drive down the line in support of the wingers, Sandro gets outside Neymar to allow him to cut inside whereas Carvajal will support Mbappe by either pushing out wide or going inside to allow the winger to drive passed his man, but the two always make themselves available to the wingers.

Our midfield 3 are essential to our style of play, Paredes central sits a little deeper as he looks to pick up the ball from CBs or GK, a quick turn and head up he will look to get us moving with a ball either out wide to Sandro/Carvajal or a little further up to the wingers, if he is getting hounded down then he is physical enough to brush these players off him, having Rabiot and Pogba alongside allows him the time as they shield him, they don't allow anyone to get on top of Paredes which gives him that extra second to get the ball moving. We can move very quickly from defence to attack, so if the Italians are up field and lose it then we can counter very quickly,
like said Rabiot and Pogba are vital in both defensive and attacking mode, they with Paredes shield our back 4 but when we are in control they will push just up ahead of Paredes to support the attack, they will at times receive the ball from the fullbacks so a quick pass back or ahead to the wingers, playing the ball in triangles to get round the opposition quickly will get them away from the Italy fullbacks/midfielders. I want them to be a dominating midfield 3 in both defence and attack and work as a unit. Pogba will be the one furthest up field to support Jesus , looking to get him in on goal or indeed have a go himself,

In Mbappe and Neymar we will look to push them back up the pitch by pressing them, as everyone keeps reminding me these two aren't the best tacklers or at tracking back all I want them to do is get into the face of the fullbacks, stop them breaking up the pitch and getting up to support their own forwards. When attacking they will have the support from Carvajal/Sandro as we look to have a real go down the flanks, Mbappe is more of a 'winger' than Neymar so he will drive down the line with pace, beating his man along the way, can use Rabiot and Carvajal as the three look to eventually get the ball into Jesus or Neymar driving in from the left. Neymar himself does all the fancy stuff, but it does tend to come off, so we allow him to be free today, with Sandro in support and Pogba there making himself available like the right our left will be very dangerous

We want a high tempo game from our midfield 5 if you want to call it that, passing and moving, getting it out wide to where we see our strengths, push them back wards even when they have the ball, they may well have possession but if its in there own half they wont cause us many problems.

Jesus will get plenty chances, he must put away there side who will be solid at the back, Get into positions that he can go for goal or at very least drag players away for other players to drive into the space. Target the slower of the cbs, split them apart to create space, we are quick, so our forwards must hit them with pace to drag them all over the place. He can score from various angles/ranges Can hold it up and look for runners, in particular Mbappe and Neymar & Pogba, who will be making his runs also so be watchful of him just to lay it off to the side. But especially look for Neymar as he times his runs perfectly so a little touch back to him allows him to go for goal.If he cant go for goal he will look to bring others into the game with short passes or lay offs.

Captain - Pogba
Penalties - Neymar
Free Kicks - Neymar
Corners - Wingers

Subs
Winning -
70 Mins - Tolisso for Rabiot, straight swap, fresh legs v there subs
80 Mins - Poulsen and Mahrez for Jesus and Mbappe stay the sam formation but Poulsen will use his strength to hold things up

Drawing -
70 Mins - Draxler for Rabiot, Mahrez for Mbappe, more energy and attacking form CM as the clock ticks by
80 Mins - Poulsen for Jesus

Losing -
70 Mins - Poulsen for Rabiot 442
80 Mins - Nmecha for Jesus Mahrez for Sandro, he goes to the right and Mbappe up top 343
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment deleted by Article Creator

DELETE COMMENT ABOVE (WASN'T ATTACKING ENOUGH)

LEICESTER VS LIVERPOOL

Sorry for shouting.

Attacking 4-3-3

We look to take the game to Liverpool. A strong defence, with two strong defensive midfielders in front offering great energy. Importantly they offer the fbs great freedom to attack, which gives greater freedom to our wingers to get at Liverpool. We look to attack down the wings.

Key to our game plan today is attacking with pace down the wings. Can and Rafinha also both getting forward. Rafinha looking to link with the wide players creating, Can offering a more powerful runner from midfield. A late arrival into the box, offering great power in the air. Ander covering the midfiel but also offering a great option on the ball.

Ronaldo comes in up front. He scores for fun in Europe and we need to win today.

The midfield should never be flat. Create as many lines as possible to increase the options we have in possession, and to create gaps in the opposition. We go with two attacking fbs, stretching the game for us and creating space for our cms to have more time on the ball and pick their passes out wide.

We will also try the odd long ball, either direct to Ronaldo or Richarlison or over the top for the pace of our forwards to run on to.

We defend in a rigid defensive unit high up the pitch behind the ball, the two closest players pressing the ball, the others getting back and pressing the space so that they have no options to break.

------------------- Neuer
Odriozola – Stones - Otamendi – Marcelo
--------------- Can --- Herrera
------------------- Rafinha
--- Hazard ---------------------- Richarlison --
------------------ Ronaldo

Subs. Schmeichel, Ramos, Azpilicueta, Kante, Koke, Asensio, Costa

Key to our attack is quick attacking play. Varying our play and how we get the ball to our front three in space.

Defending high up the pitch

We look to control the opposition by pressing the space high up the pitch with a narrow rigid defensive unit. When we lose the ball the closest player presses the ball, the second closest presses the obvious passing channel. As they’re doing this everyone else bar Ronaldo gets behind the ball into position. Stop them breaking.

Force them in to positions where they have to take risks, and then try and win the ball back.

As the Liverpool advance into higher areas of the park and into our half, our shape will resemble a 4-5-1, narrowing to the side of play.

In this tight rigid formation, ensuring there are no gaps in the formation. Ander will be key, reading the play in between the defence and midfield, reading any dangers to get across.

Narrowing the play to the side the Liverpool are attacking, pushing them backwards and wide away from danger. When they switch play, we switch over.

Attack

Centre backs play out, they have the option to go long or have Ander and Can offering options. Spread the ball wide and attack.

The attacking trio up front will always be looking for space in between their midfield and attack. Odriozola and Marcelo will always be making themselves available advanced down the wings. Rafinha always getting in between the lines finding pockets of space to draw players in and release a forward.

We want quick passing and moving using the pace of our wingers. They'll always be looking to get in behind and the midfielders and fbs will always be looking for the killer ball.

Ronaldo has freedom to play his natural game and get the goals.

Subs.
If winning after 65 mins bring on Asensio for Hzard.
If winning after 70 mins bring on Costa for Ronaldo and Koke for Rafinha.

If drawing or losing after 60 mins bring on Costa for Rafinha. 4-2-4
If drawing or losing after 70 mins bring on Asensio and Koke for Can and Richarlison.

NEWCASTLE 4-3-3

Captain: Luis Suarez
Penalties: Luis Suarez
Corners: Miralem Pjanic
Freekicks: Miralem Pjanic
Crossing Freekick: Miralem Pjanic

—————————— Lloris
Florenzi — Hummels — Sule — Rose
————————— Pjanic
—————— Nainggolan — Keita
Salah ————————————————— Reus
——————————— Suarez

SUBS: Marquinhos, Robertson, N’Zonzi, Casemiro, Ozil, Kane, Firmino


We’ll press the opposition like Liverpool and win the ball as close to their goal as possible or move the ball up the pitch towards the opposition’s goal quickly. My 4-3-3 will overload his midfield and pin back his wing backs. We’ll use the quickness of our one touch, short passing game and using the pace & dribbling ability of the attacking players. However when the opposition get close to our box, we will revert to a defensive block to limit their chances. We defend and attack as a collective unit, limiting the space between the lines in which the opposition plays in.

We will start Pjanic in deep midfield to keep the ball rolling and take advantage of his penetrative passes.

When in attack we will get forward in numbers, using the footballing intelligence & movement of our attacking midfielders & striker to create passing angles and overloads in the opposition’s area of the pitch both out wide and in central zones, looking to drag the opposition’s players out of position and exploiting the space they leave open. When the opposition is using a deep defensive block to shut out our team we will use our fullbacks to create numbers out wide to stretch the opposition (this will be assisted by our CDM splitting the CBs wider allowing the FBs to move up the pitch) simultaneously using our wide-forward to cut inside to create overloads in the central areas giving us a number advantage. When creating chances from the wide areas with the FBs or WFs, we will send crosses in to feed the other forwards. Making runs behind the defence and beyond the striker is not prohibited by our attacking and central midfielders (minus CDM). There is a lot freedom in the movement of our attacking players. No player is restricted to a specific zone on the field or specific task. All four attackers (Nainggolan, Salah, Reus, Suarez) will either be provider or finisher with Nainggolan supporting and Pjanic sitting deep in midfield. Shooting from outside the box is encouraged. Our players will also press constantly from the front when we lose possession of the ball.

Offensive & Defensive Transitions:

This is the player's movements & reactions when moving between defence and attack, importantly the movement of the ball as this is arguably the most important aspect of our game. Winning the ball back when your opposition is disorganized is the perfect moment. We will aim for rapid movement up the pitch, with progressive passing to exploit the space left by the opposition. Whether it is from our defensive third of the pitch or whether we have won the ball back in our attacking third of the pitch we will exploit the disorganization of the opposition. We expect most of our attacking play will be as a result of our aggressive high press so we will use the following triggers for pressing the opponent:

1. The ball is played to a player facing his own goal

2. The ball is played to a player against the sidelines (using the sideline as an extra man in our favour)

3. A difficult bouncing ball is played to a player facing his own goal.

When any of these triggers happen, the players closest to the ball will press quickly and another 2 or 3 players will hold off slightly adding depth to the press and closing down their easy option pass. Once we win possession of the ball, we break in numbers again exploiting the opposition with either the pace of our attack. We also understand that we won't always get it right when pressing the opposition so we will employ a 10-second rule on pressing from the front after which, if we did not win back possession, we will revert to our defensive block. If we don’t win the ball after our initial phase of pressing it's imperative that the players work their way back into our defensive zone of the pitch and close the space that the opposition will look to play in. Close the space quickly and look to frustrate the opposition with intelligent positioning and hard tackling before winning the ball back and breaking forward at rapid speed. We will compact the central zones and force the opposition wide which limits the chances of breaking through our midfield. Long diagonal balls and quick releases from deep are encouraged when the opportunity arises. Our forwards have the pace to run onto through-balls.

We go into our defensive block if we cannot win the ball through our pressing. As a team we will defend deep in our half and close the space in the middle of the pitch. When forcing the opposition closer to the touchlines, we will use the touch line as an extra-man and press them so that we can win possession and result in us outnumbering them. If the play is on the left of the field the team will move towards the left and squeeze the space and vice versa on the right. We will try to force our opponents to play hopeful crosses into our box. If a cross is coming from their right our LB will also move into the box to help deal with crosses and vice versa if the cross is coming from the left. The midfielders will be around the box pressing the opponent should they try to play it central. Our wide forwards will help the midfield in closing the space in the centre and then proceed to help the fullback after we have moved the opponent towards the touchline. The wide-forwards are the real work horses in the team and I have 2 very good, hard-working wide-forwards. Our striker will also drop into our half to help the midfield press the opposition’s defence. Also the reasoning behind dropping the striker deep is to draw the opponent’s defence away from their goal creating ample space for us to counter attack.

Substitutions:

If winning after 80 mins bring on Casemiro for Pjanic. More physical presence in midfield, and gives greater defensive cover.

If drawing or losing after 65 mins bring on Ozil for Keita. Fresh creativity and legs.

If drawing or losing after 75 mins bring on Kane for Keita. Nainggolan will press higher to win the ball back quickly. Kane with more goal threat, plays up front with Suarez, in a 4-4-2.

——————————Svilar
Conti———Lindelof————Vallejo———R.Pereira
——————Fabinho———Ceballos
——Sabitzer————————————Lemar
————————Dybala
———————————Morata

Subs: Pope, Zagadou, A.Maier, Loftus-Cheek, Mount, Sancho, Abraham


In build up we look for the earliest possible ball forward, we need fast transitions to attack to quickly get Leicester players looking over their shoulders and chasing back towards their own goals, which in turns allows us to take advantage of our quick movement off of our markers. To do this as soon as we win the ball both FBs must push forward, this is the first area where we can find space to move forward as Leicester’s wingers aren’t the most hard working, and in particular, longer diagonals into Conti can be particularly effective, looking for him to flick it on to runners. As the Fbs push forward Fabinho drops in ball side of the defence, as the player looking to instigate attacks either with passes out to the FBs, or diagonals between the lines to Ceballos who will position himself between 1st and 2nd lines and act to bring Leicester’s press towards him then use his fine passing range to move the ball on to the attack as the space opens up for the runners. If these tactics don’t work then at times reverting to a back 3 with Fabinho means he and Vallejo/Lindelof can stretch right out and create a much bigger area for Leicester to have to press, whilst Sabitzer/Lemar/Dybala can drop deeper towards Ceballos to overload the space between the first two lines.

From there we have a front 5 to attack(ball side FB/CM included), always on the move looking to force the opposition into split decisions about whether to stay and pick up a new man, or follow their original man, hopefully leading to some slow decisions or confusion, any gaps that appear we must attack immediately. Sometimes our two strikers will split high and wide(splitting the CBs), on the move, ready to run out to in and attack the space thats opened up, whilst they make these runs, the wingers take up the space infield, the winger on the side of build up coming deeper to drag the FB away from the wing to open up the ball to the CF, and the opposite winger coming into the half spaces to attract the DM. Other times Dybala can drop to receive the ball into an 8 position and the other CF runs behind looking to drag the defensive lines apart and open the space for the wingers to come infield and play between the lines. Ceballos will be the orchestrator when attacks move forward, find space to receive from the build up and supply the attack. If the opposition press keeps us penned in, route one to Morata who either drops onto the DM or goes into the channels then get runners off him is a great way to bypass the opposition press and create more room between their lines and force the first lines of defence to have to retreat too, eventually opening up space for more precise build up.

When we lose the ball our defensive unit reacts depending on where it is lost. So if we lost it in build up or first forward pass we want the FBs to quickly squeeze infield to make everything congested and work alongside Fabinho and Ceballos to press the ball carrier and his passing lanes. If Leicester build from deeper we push up, FBs dropping in alongside the CBs to form a narrow line of 4 which compacts to the press. The 3 lines ahead form a ball orientated hexagon press, strikers covering the route into the DM, wingers tucked infield and covering the CBs vertical passing lanes, Cms pushed up onto the opposition CMs, outnumbering to direct their build up ourselves. Allow circulation between the CBs until they threaten to split too wide, at this stage, one CF will make a curved run to shut off the CBs pass back to his team mate, instead forcing them towards the FB, as soon as the CB shows us that he is going to play the ball, or dribble wide, we start our full press, the moving CF will continue his run round to cover the pass/run back central, whilst the winger on the side when the CB shows us what he will do, runs to press the ball, creating a 2 v 1 with touchline also there to help out, the two pressers blocking the horizontal and vertical lanes. We mainly look to direct them left. The block behind the two pressing then squeezes in, the opposite side winger tucking infield just behind the DM and the two Cms stepping up to stop balls into the opposition Cms, the FB tight to the winger too. We leave only a diagonal pass into the DM free, once they use it we have 3 players all hounding the DM, exploiting the weaker side of his game. Once the ball is won, we counter with the 4-5 players that were pressing.

Eventually, if we are forced too, we can defend deep with two banks of four, very narrow and compact, CFs stopping the DM from being an option.

Subs:

If Winning: Maier and Mount for Sabitzer and Lemar 70’, more of a diamond shape midfield, with Mount at the tip. Help us to suffocate Leicester when they have the ball, and all 4 are extremely comfortable on the ball to create chances. Abraham for Morata 80’.

If Drawing: Sancho for Sabitzer 60’, more direct runner. Loftus-Cheek for Ceballos 70’. Abraham for Morata 80’.

If Losing: Loftus-Cheek and Abraham for Conti and R.Pereira 60’, Fabinho drop into a back 3, Ceballos and Loftus-Cheek in front of them with Sabitzer, Lemar and Dybala behind Abraham and Morata. Sancho for Sabizter 70’.

—————————Rico
Laimer——Zouma--—Diop——Jorge
-----------------------Diawara
——————Fornals————————Lo Celso
Gelson————————Lukaku—————B.Keita

Subs: Dragowski, Gagnon, Bernardo, Soler, Oyarzabal, Bertrand Traore, Schick

Captain: Issa Diop
Corners: Carlos Soler
Free Kicks: David Neres
Penalties: Balde Keita

Patient, frustrate them and wait for the chance to attack in behind. We expect them to want to play out from the back, we will allow their CBs possession of the ball and instead focus on defending their attackers. Our aim is to force them wider as this is where they will be least dangerous. Defend in a 4-4-2, Lukaku and B.Keita as the first line of defence today will take up dealing with the DM, circle around him so that he cannot be effective in build up. That allows us to then get 8 players, two narrow banks of 4 to cover the rest of the space, making the centre of the field massively congested. Force them to try and build up wide and then shuffle across to use our same structure but in the wide areas, using the touchline as an extra weapon to press them.

Our midfield four will create a narrow zonal line, Gelson and Lo Celso occupying half spaces and Diawara and Fornals the central lanes. The back four will also be narrow and compact to the the midfield line to keep everything very tight. Each player then will have their zone, when the ball enters this zone, particularly the midfield line, they will press the ball carrier whilst the other 3 drops behind the ball so we can put pressure on but not lose ur shape, when one midfielder steps out to press the ball side CF will come to press from behind. The combination of 3 compact lines and zonal pressure should force the opposition to use the FBs more often, once this happens we can go 2 v 2 with wide man and FB, wide man pressing and FB behind to back him up. Keita will drop back in and create a staggered diamond with the remaining 3 midfielders, Keita at the tip moving towards ball side and Diawara at the base, not allowing gaps between the lines. Far side CM will step up to block any switches of play and the ball side CM will step across to block the route central. Any pass into this diamond and it narrows very quickly, all four players working hard to shut the ball carried and his passing lanes down. Keep the opposition down the flank, if it goes forward, wide man and FB press harder, if it goes backwards, wide man and Balde Keita press harder, working 2 vs 1. Back four should remain in their line at all times, when the ball side FB has to step out, the rest shuffle across. In Diop and Zouma we have the power and pace to deal with any type of CF.

Going forward we have a great amount of pace and we should be looking to target the opposition down the sides of their defence. Our two wingers love to burst forward and when we win the ball wide the first thing that needs to happen is that we take advantage of the space out wide, for example on the left, if Jorge wins it, Lo Celso/Balde Keita must make a run for him, if Lo Celso/Keita wins it, Jorge must overlap into the space behind. Lo Celso and Fornals will support offensive transitions from midfield, both have a lot of quality on the ball and the direct running to carry us forward and break through a midfield press, one looks to get close to Lukaku and the other stays a little deeper as a link man. Lukaku will be looking to pull on to the side of the CBs, he loves to get wide of them and drag them out of the centre to isolate them, and this is the run we want him to keep making. When we win it centrally then the first look must be for runners into wide areas. If its the wide men/FBs bringing it forward then we want a CM coming to support play and Lukaku running behind, sometimes swapping roles. Second option if we can’t attack the wide spaces is to use the CMs' dribbling through the middle, they have the beating of the opposition CMs for pace and skill and if he can take them out of the game it will force the CBs and FBs to leave their position and leave space for blind side runs for supporting players. Third option is longer balls into Lukaku, one touch lay offs to supporting players to burst beyond him, or lay offs into wider areas. He can also look to position himself for diagonal switches of play, attacking the free side of the pitch. Diawara works as a three with the CBs flanking him to keep things ticking over in the middle, switching between 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, 4-4-2 and 3-4-3 in attack, using a flexible shape designed to overload the areas we are working in.

Subs:

If Winning: Gagnon for Lo Celso 70’, 5-4-1, control the length of the pitch with a back 5 and keep the middle compact. Bernardo for Lo Celso 75’, Laimer into midfield, we can even use a diamond midfield at times to close down space. Soler for Fornals 80’.

If Drawing: Oyarzabal for Lo Celse, 4-4-2 70’, more speed, look to get in behind and down the sides. Bertrand Traore for B.Keita, Schick for Gelson 75’

If Losing: Change to a 3-4-3 with Laimer CB, Gelson RWB, Jorge LWB. Oyarzabal for Lo Celso 65’.Schick for Balde Keita 75’. B.Traore for Jorge 80'

Comment deleted by Article Creator

Champions League

Group A
Spain 1 - 0 Germany
Messi(Isco)
MOTM - isco

Leicester 2 - 1 Liverpool
Hazard(Ronaldo,18), Richarlison(Hazard,54)
Dybala(Morata,49)
MOTM - Hazard

Arsenal 2 - 1 Holland
Belotti(Costa), Costa(Cairney)
Dolberg
MOTM - Costa

Stoke 1 - 0 Portugal
Lukaku(Fornals)
MOTM - Fornals

Portsmouth 0 - 2 Newcastle

Hummels(Pjanic), Suarez(pen)
MOTM - Hummels

Updated Real Madrid/Barcelona tactics for knockout stage games

Cillesen
Semedo - Pique - T Silva - Alba
Isco - Paulinho - Iniesta
Messi - Alcacer - Bale

Subs: Casilla, S Roberto, T Hernandez, Vasquez

Playing a 4-3-3 today, with key players in their best positions to maximise our chances today.

Cillesen in goal, command your area and look to distribute with short passes, utilise the back four and midfield dropping deep to get on the ball.

Pique and Thiago Silva in central defence with Paulinho ahead of them, you three will be primarily keeping the opposition attack at bay, and to collect the ball off Cillesen to begin attacks.

Semedo and Alba providing the width as attacking fullbacks, drop deep on occasion to collect the ball but make attacking bursts to overlap Messi and Bale where you can.

Isco and Iniesta assisting Paulinho in midfield but also being the link between defence and attack, look to link up with Alcacer regularly and look for Messi and Bale making runs beyond the opposition defence.

Messi and Bale bringing the pace and width to stretch our opposition creating space and chances for Alcacer upfront, look to make runs inside their fullback, be ready for passes from Isco/Iniesta. When Alcacer drops deep or wide, at least one of you two push on into the centre forward role in his place.

Subs 70 mins:
If winning: Alcacer off, T Hernandez on. 4-4-2, with the 4 midfielders narrow and Hernandez providing extra DM support to Paulinho. Messi and Bale remain up top.

If losing: Paulinho off, Vasquez on. Vasquez to RW as we chase the game, allows Messi to be a little deeper and more central. Push for goals.

Italy (EL) v Portsmouth

------------------ Donnarumma ------------------
Calabria --- Caldara --- W.Hoedt --- Darmian
------------- Locatelli --- L.Biglia ---------------
A.Turan --------- Bonaventura --------- J.Ilicic
---------------------- Cutrone ---------------------

Zapata, Ramires, Orsolini, L.Alberto, Petagna, Gabbiadini, D.Tadic

Possession based football, try and keep the ball and attack when the chance arrives

Back four stay tight, Caldara man mark the stiker with Hoedt picking up any other forward coming into the danger area, no messing about just clear the lines. Fullbacks attack when in no immediate danger and support the wingers by pushing out wide. However as we will be under a lot of pressure stick to the back four and allow nothing through

Biglia the man marker in midfielder hound there players down give them no time on the ball to dictate play, once won, simple passes to those around him. Locatelli will also play like this but he when we have the ball can push further forward to support the front line, he will pass about and look to get those in front in on goal and he will hang around looking for it coming back out.

Wingers and Bonaventura will support Cutrone as much as possible, driving down the lines and through the heart of Pompeys defence, look to pass it about, quick one touch, triangles to get them beyond the markers. Wingers, Once pass look to fire in crosses to the middle two. Must help defensively so all three move back with Biglia also shgifting bck into a 4141 formation, press them quickly as they have an abundance of talent and we cannot afford them any time on the ball

A thankless task up front but we have gone for the quick energetic Cutrone, who will run the lines hopefully taking defenders out of position for others to fire into, will need to take his chances when they arrive as we may not get that many.

Play with no fear, close them down, give them no time on the ball to boss us..Just play football as it is meant to and the result will take care of itself

Captain - Caldara
Pens - Cutrone
Free Kicks - Bonaventura
Corners - Wingers

Subs -
65 Mins - Orsolini for Turan straight swap

Losing
75 Mins - Petagna for Ilicic, Bona to the left, Petagna a fearsome striker for tiring defenders to face
85 Mins - Gabbiadini for Cutron

Winning -
75 Mins - Bona to LM and Ramires for Ilicic, he moves into CM in a 451, Petagna for Cutrone at the same time

Drawing -
70 mins - Orsolini for Turan, Petagna for Cutrone
80 Mins - D.Tadic for Ilicic

Updated Bayern/Leipzig/Dortmund tactics for EL knockouts

Gulasci
Piszczek - Orban - Toprak - Alaba
Kimmich - Weigl - Kroos
Pulisic - Muller - Gotze

Subs: Weidenfeller, Rudy, Comper, Ilsanker, Demme, Larsen, Augustin

Playing 4-3-3 today to make the most of our trio of world class CM's, aiming to get into the opposition with our pacy wingers and the lethal finishing from Muller.

Gulasci in goal, command your area and look to distribute with short passes, primarily into the midfield or to one of our fullbacks.

Orban and Toprak will be solid if unspectacular, the aim being to keep the opposition attack at bay, but you will be supported by Weigl, Rudy and Kroos if under siege.

Piszczek and Alaba will provide an overlap to Pulisic and Gotze on occasion but will also slot into midfield when we have the ball to create space and options for our midfielders.

Kimmich, Weigl, and Kroos will run the show from midfield, assist the defence when under pressure, use your passing ability to link with Piszczek/Alaba, and with the front three. Don't be afraid to bring the ball forward.

Pulisic and Gotze will run at the opposition fullbacks and look to create chances for themselves and for Muller. Muller will be playing on the shoulder of the last defender looking for any opportunity that comes his way. Marking the defender should ensure you have a great chance of getting to through balls first while staying onside.

Subs 70 mins:
If winning: Gotze off, Rudy on. An extra DM to give us solidity, narrow 4-4-2 to absorb pressure.

If losing: Piszczek off, Augustin on. A more attacking approach with only Weigl and Kroos in midfield, Muller in a #10 role and Augustin playing up top with Pulisic and Gotze providing assistance in a wide forward role. Kimmich and Alaba move into wingback roles. Push for goals.

Updated Juventus/Roma/Napoli tactics for EL knockouts

Perin
Karsdorp - Benatia - Albiol - Vrsaljko
De Rossi - Oscar
Perotti - Pereyra - Insigne
Dzeko

Subs: L Florenzi, Moreno, Giaccherini, Hulk, Nkoudou, Defrel

Playing 4-2-3-1 to get the best out of our attacking players, while remaining solid defensively.

Perin in goal will command his area, look to distribute long and early to Dzeko, Perotti or Insigne to instigate counter attacks.

Benatia and Albiol in defence, keep the opposition at bay but no need to overcomplicate things when in possession, De Rossi and Oscar will assist in defence and attack to take the pressure off of the two CB's.

Karsdorp and Vrsaljko providing the solid support at fullback, on occasion get forward to overlap Perotti and Insigne so they can cut infield or so you can get crosses in for Dzeko, but be primarily defensive, look to stop the opposition wingers by forcing them wide.

De Rossi and Oscar will assist the defence but also when in possession link the play with Pereyra, look for Pereyra and Insigne making runs inside the fullback and Dzeko on the last defender's shoulder.

Pereyra is the link man at AM, drop deep on occasion to collect the ball from De Rossi/Oscar but also get up to support Dzeko and be able to provide chances for Perotti, Insigne and Dzeko.

Perotti and Insigne will be cutting infield as inverted wingers, shoot where you can but also look for Dzeko in the area, provide crosses on occasion and utilise our fullback overlapping you. Dzeko will mark the deepest defender to ensure he stays onside but also has a chance to get onto through balls first. Shoot on sight.

Subs 70 mins:
If winning: Pereyra off, Moreno on. Moreno a natural CB to fill in at DM, an extra layer ahead of the defence to see out what we have.

If losing: De Rossi off, Hulk on. 4-1-3-2, Hulk up top with Dzeko.

———————————Courtois
Toljan-----—-----—Lindelof——Umtiti———Gaya
————Tielemans——Torreira——Milinkovic
—Dybala———————Mariano——————Lemar

Subs: Gunn, Skriniar, Maier, Zinchenko, Bernardeschi, Philipp, Brandt

Captain: Thibaut Courtois
Corners: Youri Tielemans
Penalties: Paulo Dybala
Free Kicks: Paulo Dybala

Off the ball we look to take a more passive approach to defending, in order to maintain a compact set up, draw Villa forward then hit them on the break. Our front 3 will be charged with counter pressing and slowing opposition attacks down after turnovers. We want Dybala and Lemar to narrow to the area of play, so Mariano puts the initial press on and the wide men drop behind him, either blocking the route to the centre, or trapping the opposition build up out with the FB. This is designed to allow our CMs to recover their position in front of our defence. The main aim of the front three should be to make sure the opposition have to go wide to find space.

Once we have moved them wide we drop in to a 4-4-2, Lemar dropping back and Dybala + Mariano forming a block around the deepest midfielder, essentially creating a 6 vs 3 in the midfield in our favour. We focus on defending our own half zonally, giving their midfield no room to play in, Torreira and Milinkovic using their energy and strength to snuff out any attacks that begin to threaten our back 4. Tielemans and Lemar will then stay very narrow to these two, so that when Villa attack centrally we can make a diamond in midfield to suffocate their central players, and when they move wide Tielemans/Lemar can move out to help our FB whilst the other three maintain a trio centrally. When the opposition do have the ball by the touchline we shuffle across as a whole team to defend the flank, not allowing easy switches of play by maintaining our two man block around their deepest midfielder.

Dybala/Mariano are key defensively, they must insure that they don’t ever give the DM time or space, when the ball moves towards him, be quick in to him, test his touch, if we can rob him when they have players committed forward on either side they are going to be vulnerable. This two man block should force them to split their CBs and we should start to see gaps between them which the movement of Mariano and Dybala and pace of Lemar can exploit in transition periods.

The back four remains narrow to each other, no gaps between FBs and CBs, we know that they will throw everything forward and that their wide forwards want to play infield, so we want to keep a narrow defence to work alongside the narrow midfield block. Stand up strong to them and look to get a toe in, force the ball back towards midfield.

Going forward we look to create overloads in the opposition’s formation. The Cbs will support this style, with Lindelof able to bring the ball out of defence and draw opposition CMs on to him to help one of our midfielders find space, whilst Umtiti is able to use his laser passing from deep to find the gaps between the opposition lines. First port of call is to look for Lemar and Dybala drifting behind the opposition FBs/WBs where we think there will be a lot of space, or to use Milinkovic as a target man to bypass the press.

Torreira is to be disciplined, hold his position behind the attack in order to quickly snuff out any counter attacks, and then redistribute the ball. He will act as a 2nd passer, giving both the CBs and CMs/forwards a wall pass option to drag the opposition blocks out of their positions. Tielemans and Milinkovic will play box to box, Tielemans using his passing and Milinkovic his powerful dribbling.

Further into their half we must use plenty of vertical movements, always playing between the lines in order to insure the opposition is facing our build up, allowing us to play in their blind sides. Vertical movement also means that defenders must make a decision whether to stick to defending the ball, or tracking runs, tackling a player or allowing them the ball, thus we can distort their preferred defensive shape. We have a whole host of vertical movements possible, with Tielemans and Milinkovic to use the half spaces, forcing defenders to move out of position, particularly down the right where with Pereira occupying their FB we can get Tielemans and Dybala in the right half space and channel, linking up together. Mariano will be the same, he can drop deep, or run behind, this will either draw defenders out of the back line which opens up space for others to run into, particularly Lemar who will look to play on the shoulder of FB and CB, one ball through to him and we are away, or Mariano makes a passing lane for the man on the ball so he can get in on goal himself. Dybala coming in to the right half space looks to provide a spark, he can pass, he can move, he can beat a man, he has total freedom. Verticality means we are not afraid to go backwards, that can be used to our advantage too to create time to open up extra passing lanes and players to change their runs. The FBs can also get forward, one at a time with the other dropping to make a back 3, this way we use our attacking FB to occupy the opposition FB whilst the wingers comes infield into the half space.

Subs:

If Winning: Maier for Tielemans 70’, keeps midfield secure. Skriniar for Gaya 75’, Umtiti to LB, back 3 when needed. Bernardeschi for Dybala 80’, Bernardeschi RWB and Toljan LWB to shore things up.

If Drawing: Brandt for Mariano 70’, Dybala go to CF and we can see complete versatility in the front three, if they go with three at the back our movement should create big gaps. Philipp for Tielemans 75’, 4-2-3-1, get Philipp running into the gaps the other three create.

If Losing: Philipp for Tielemans 60’, 4-2-3-1. Bernardeschi for Toljan 70’, get forward from RB and stretch the game. Brandt for Milinkovic 75’, 4-1-3-2.

——————----—Rico
———Elvedi—-—Gnagnon——Wober
Almamy—Diawara——Dendoncker———Jorge
————Gelson——Lukaku——B.Keita

Subs: Dragowski, Chilwell, Fornals, Laimer, Lo Celso, Oyarzabal, Schick

Captain: Leander Dendoncker
Corners: Gelson Martins
Free Kicks: Jorge/Gelson Martins
Penalties: Romelu Lukaku

Off the ball we are looking to make the most of our structures ability to suffocate space and make the opposition feel like they have limited time and space, without taking an aggressive approach to pressing and leaving ourselves open. The front three will be the first line of our defence, falling back towards our midfield line, with Lukaku on top of their deepest midfielder, using his physical presence to dissuade the opposition from using him as an orchestrator for their attacks. The SS’s will drop behind and create a staggered 2-2 midfield, allowing us to overcrowd their midfield and make it difficult for them to pass through us. None of the front three need to be particularly good at tackling, they are simply their to fill space and make sure there’s no space within our defensive lines. The aim of this initial phase is to stop the opposition trying to play through the middle and to force them out wide, by insuring that their CBs have no passing lanes open centrally, force them to use the FBs to build, both of whom a fairly slow.

Once they go wide this is where we can start to create triangles and diamonds within our shape to really suffocate the man on the ball, without breaking our structure. When the ball goes to the opposition FB it is the WB who steps forward and presses the space in front of the ball carrier, not allowing the FB to pass or run forward, with the ball side CM and SS stepping up behind to give the FB cover and close the diagonal passing lanes, whilst the wide CB steps forward to create the base of the diamond, sticking tight to the wide forward, both Elvedi and Wober have pace but what they will have bags of over their opposition is physicality, so they must be strong, stand up to the wingers and bully them into going wide or giving the ball away. Use this diamond to suffocate the build up and make the opposition feel like they have no where to go, with Lukaku always on the DM to stop him being an option to change the direction of the attack, make them go back to the CBs and lose valuable time. When one side is defending build up, the other side is dropped slightly deeper so that longer diagonal balls are easily crowded out, and if they go back to the CBs to switch side it means that when the opposite side push forward to press the other side has time to drop back in behind.

Whenever they have possession deep inside our half we drop into a 5-4-1, the back 5 allowing us to control the full width of the field and with spare men against their forwards, and the line of 4 allows to make things congested in the middle, with Gelson and Keita always tucked in by the CMs. Here we defend zonally both in midfield and defence, so Lukaku on the DM and then when a CM has it, our zonal CM steps up and forces him back or side, with SS’s and CMs dropping behind this CM to cover the space behind, and when they go wide, WB steps up to do the same whilst the midfield drop behind. When a forward gets the ball, our nearest CB/WB steps up to put pressure on, again forcing them sideways or backwards, whilst the rest of the defence drops back so we always have a back 4 behind the man pressuring the ball carrier.

Going forward we look to play with lots of pace on the counter, and key to this will be the WBs and SSs. As soon as we win it back we looking to transition to a front 5, our WBs pushing high up the field looking to maintain the width and stretch the opposition back line right across the field, stop their FBs being able to tuck in and help deal with our SS’s, if they do this they leave the flanks wide open and our WBs will take advantage, both fast and love driving into space, particularly Jorge who we will look to play through they do hold a narrow defensive line. The WBs aim is to link up with the SS’s, CMs and wide CBs to create quick interplay, beat the FBs out wide and whip in crosses, as well as making runs between FB and CB when the chance arises. This leaves the SS’s total freedom in attack, with no one to mark they they can pick the ball up in pockets of space and use their pace and trickery to drive at the defence, their job is to draw players towards them, which will pull defenders out of their natural positions and either beat them with trickery, or play the WBs/Lukaku into the space that opens up in their back line. Lukaku is their to use his physicality and movement, battle their CBs, attack crosses, and make runs into space.

Diawara and Dendoncker provide an energetic base in midfield, when we attack the ball side CM must be behind play at all times in order to step in and put immediate pressure on if we lose the ball, he will be supported by the ball side CB who will be aggressive when we lose the ball, looking to snuff out any counters particularly dominating the space behind the WB. Opposite CM is there to be a link man, if the attacks needs to switch sides he provides that outlet. This leaves the two remaining CBs behind to deal with the striker and keep him isolated.

Subs:

If Winning: Fornals for Gelson 70’, 3-5-2. Schick for Keita 75’, two powerful hold up players.

If Drawing: Oyarzabal for Keita 70’, like for like. Fornals for Dendoncker 75’, more adventurous. Schick for Lukaku 80’.

If Losing: Oyarzabal for Almamy 60’, more offensive wide player. Fornals and Lo Celso for Diawara and Wober 70’, Dendoncker to CB.

----------------------- Ederson
Walker --- Alderweir'd --- Javi.M ---- Ghoulam
----------------------- Khedira
------------ De Bruyne ------- Verratti
O.Dembele ------ Lewandowski --------- Mertens

Subs: Meret, Zappacosta, Tah, Dier, Partey, Ox, Werner

Possession play with purpose, efficient on the ball with constant movement from the attackers ahead.

Plenty of width in the side, attack Italy down the flanks

It should draw them out to the wider areas, which will allow our CM trio to control the game in central areas.

Mertens come in-field and look to partner Lewandowski up front, Ghoulam burst forward as an outlet on the left flank. Walker stays slightly back.

4-3-3 - Possession based:
It starts from the back. Ederson is very able with his hands and feet and should look to find our players in space.

The CB duo are excellent on the ball, very good passing success rates and should look to move the ball into mf quickly. At times collecting short from Ederson and getting their heads up, looking for movement from the attackers and attempting diagonal or long balls into feet, using Lewandowski as a target man to bypass their mf.

Khedira & Verratti, a midfield pair that will provide plenty of energy and will work their socks off for the side to allow others around them to express themselves. They should look to stamp their authority with their work rate and power looking to take a grip on mf and shielding our defence, oppressing the opposition midfielders and covering every blade of grass out there.

When attacking, Khedira sits just infront of the defence and makes himself available for a pass back. A passing outlet if we are being vigorously pressed whilst also allowing us to create space when working the ball around in triangles, also prevent counter attacks.

KDB will look to play more the AM role and inbetween the lines, roaming in the oppositions half and and looking to act as the link between midfield and attack. Pick up pockets of space and use his awareness to dictate the play, never afraid to play a key pass in behind to unlock their defence.

Defensively will look to work in a 3, looking to work in tandem with Khedira and Verratti to close down quickly and cutting out passing lanes. At times sitting deeper and dictating the tempo allowing Verratti/Khedira to go on beyond and link with our forwards.

Flanks will be key as we look to expose them in wide areas and create space in midfield.

Ousmane and Mertens need to get involved as much as possible looking to influence the game, both two footed & excellent dribblers that more often than not will beat their man, need to get their heads down and accelerate with pace, linking with our fullbacks as they hug the touchline and open up the space ahead.

Always on the move and being unpredictable, never stay idle and easy to mark. Making off the ball runs and taking defenders with you, keeping them in two minds whether to stay or go.

When in possession, our fullbacks take it in turns to burst forward. One sits slightly back allowing the other to roam forward looking to provide the width, allowing the wingers space to drive into or an option on the outside.

Lewandowski has a big role today, very prolific and great killer instinct but one of those strikers that influences the play even without the ball at his feet. He should look to come deep often and link with others, hold up play and take the CB with you, opening up the game and space for our wingers and KDB to run into beyond.

When Italy are in possession we will initially look to press from front with our attacking trio and then drop off deeper with men behind the ball if they bypass with a strong block in midfield.

Don’t allow them to play out from the back and hurry their passes. Our attackers form a trio looking to cut avenues into midfield as one goes to press the ball, force them into tight spots with their backs to goal towards the touchline.

The reason we want our attackers to press is to force Italy to play long and concede possession, we feel they lack any sort of aerial presence in the side so are less likely to win contested duels.

If they advance we then form a rigid structure looking to press the space and dropping off with men behind the ball, only allowing them to play where we want them too, stifle the midfield with our 3 and stop them from picking their passes into an attacker, Verratti man-man their AM, looking to harass him and using his physical prowess to really put him off his game, Khedira and KDB cutting off passing lanes either side.

Key is leaving no gaps or space to get in behind, working as a staunch unit so their quick attackers have to come deeper to get involved making their first point of contact with the ball much deeper than they anticipated and notably further away from our final third.

When we have them deep we have more to work with, we can plug at them and tactically foul in areas that will prevent them from playing with any flow, breaking up the game.

If we manage to win the ball we must immediately look to counter and hit the opposition hard. FB’s can come up to support the play and provide the width. The front 4 burst forward, Khedira & Verratti holding.

C - Lewandowski
FK's - KDB/ close - Lewandowski
Corners - KDB
Pens - Lewandowski

Subs: (like for like)
Werner > Lewandowski - 60th min
Partey > Verratti - 70th min
Zappa > Walker (if winning after 75th min)

-------------------------Lloris
---------Manolas---Kompany---Llorente
Danilo-------Goretzka---Carvalho----Maitland-Niles
--------Malcolm---------------------Costa
-------------------------Cavani
Pickford, Blind, M Llorente, Sessegnon, Iheanacho, Fabregas, Veltman

Our setup today is one that combines strong and stable defence with quick and incisive attacks on either the counter or with the ball under control. We feel that the formation makes us both tough to break down, capable of the high press, and also allows us plenty of pace and flair when going forward, whether that be from the wingers or the full backs. We also have power in our team, and shouldn’t be dominated physically or in the air.
I intend to set up the team playing it out of the back, and think that Lloris is exactly the kind of keeper we need to employ this system. He will play a sweeper role, allowing the defence to adopt a higher line, and will always look short to his centre backs or full backs, and will only go long when he deems it absolutely necessary. When he does this, he should aim to get the ball to Cavani.
Manolas, Kompany and Llorente will work well as a three, with Kompany providing the experience and organising them. All three are capable of playing the ball out from the back, and they should be provided plenty of options by each other, the full backs and the centremids, who will drop deep to provide shorter options. When the opposition attacks, the three should stay flat and organised, allowing the full backs and centre mids to press, and not leaving space at the back that can be exploited. They need to be disciplined.
Danilo and Maitland Niles are both full backs who like to bomb forward, and I will allow them license to do this when we are on the ball. They will provide overlapping runs to the wingers and will stay out wide, not cutting inside, or underlapping. This is done under the proviso that they should get themselves back as quickly as possible when we lose possession. When the opposition have the ball, they should harry the opponent wingers and not allow them time on the ball, instead forcing them out wide or onto their weaker foot. They must avoid allowing crosses to be got into the box. Both are good with both feet, quick and strong, so they have advantages that they can utilise against their opponent.
A lot of faith is being shown in Carvalho and Goretzka. As previously mentioned, they will sit deep and drop deeper when the defence pick up the ball, providing options. When the opposition have the ball then they will work as a team to press and harry them, with one going forward to combat the other player, whilst the other covers runs and potential passes. Whn we are on the ball, Goretzka will be given license to move forward and commit to the attack, whilst Carvalho will sit deep and protect the defence from any quick counter attacks. Goretzka helping in the attack will open up more space for us to exploit going forward and might even pose a goal threat.
Malcolm comes into the side today with the injury to Callejon, and should demonstrate the strength in depth that we have out wide. He will play a similar role to Callejon and Costa, being capable of running wide with the ball, cutting inside, swapping flanks and pulling off tricks and flicks to help get our attackers into advantageous positions. He provides the flair. As I said, he and Costa will bamboozle the opposition defence by mixing up their runs, utilising the full backs running wide and switching flanks. These different styles will hopefully help create space for Cavani and Goretzka to exploit.
Cavani is the last piece of the jigsaw, offering a capable figurehead to our attack. When the wide men have the ball he will look to make a nuisance of himself in the opposition penalty area, using his physical presence to wi aerial balls and get to second balls first. When the opponents have the ball at the back then he will use his energy to press them, preventing them from playing it out from the back fluidly and also pressurising them into making a mistake.
Substitutions
If drawing/losing
Carvalho off Fabregas on 65 mins
Fabregas moves into a more advanced role further up the pitch, playing more as a number 10 who can put his foot on the ball and dictate the game with through balls out wide.
Llorente off Iheanacho on 75 mins
Convert to a more traditional 4-4-2 in the hunt of a goal, with Iheanacho playing off Cavani.
Malcolm off Sessegnon on 80 mins
Fresh legs and a dynamic player on to help push us more forward in attack
If winning
Carvalho off M Llorente on 65 mins
Llorente plays a similar role to Carvalho, but provides fresher legs playing it, should Carvalho have tired during the game. Goretzka will also drop back further and attack less.
Maitland Niles off Blind on 75 mins
Wewill sacrifice the attacking adventure of AMN for a more stable Blind, as the full backs retreat slightly as a part of a flatter back five.
Costa off Sessegnon on 85 mins
Fresh legs up front to hit them on the counter attack.

Italy (EL) 1-2 Portsmouth
Mertens 12 (De Bruyne)
Ilicic 23 (Turan)
Mertens 74 (Werner)
MOTM: Mertens

Aston Villa vs Liverpool (4-4-2 Diamond)

Injuries:
Angel Di Maria
Claudio Marchisio
Jorge Mere
Adam Lallana



…………………………………Oblak…………………………
Hysaj………….Godin………..Chiellini…….F.Luis
…………………………Gagliardini………………
……………….Kessie………………..Pellegrini………..
……………………………Hamsik……………………….
…………………..Higuain………..Griezmann……….

Subs: Forster, Rugani, De Vrij, Neves, Chiesa, El Shaarawy, Belotti

Why the choice of a diamond, there’s various strengths and weaknesses but I think it’s worth trying something a lil different, move away from 3 at the back but still manage to keep 2 up-top
The main problem the traditional 4-4-2 formation is the numerical inferiority in the middle of the park. In the era of the three-man midfield a traditional 4-4-2 is outnumbered in the centre. In the diamond formation, however, this is reversed, giving us a 4v3 advantage in the middle of the park. This superiority in numbers means that we should find ourselves in control of the middle of the pitch.

The diamond is an extremely good attacking formation. Not only do the two box-to-box midfielders allow for quick transitions, each one of the four man midfield has an attacking role to play, from the orthodox number 10 at the ‘tip’ of the diamond to the deep-lying playmaker at the base.

It is not only in the midfield area that the diamond formation could be considered to be an attacking system. The fact that it allows for two strikers is a not insignificant advantage as it usually leaves opponents with the choice of leaving their centre-backs in a 1v1 match-up against the forward, or pulling some of their other defenders back to cover.
With the two strikers, the number 10, the box-to-box midfielders and attacking fullbacks on each flank, the diamond formation can have up to seven players in advanced attacking positions at any one time whilst retaining sufficient cover in the case of a loss of possession.

There are a couple of main weaknesses to the diamond formation. Firstly, if the two central midfielders are narrow, it lacks a lot of width and concedes dangerous overlap opportunities on the flanks. However, should one of the central midfielders pull wide to cover the full-back, large spaces can appear in the middle of the pitch. This means that the formation can be extremely vulnerable defensively.
The diamond formation also demands a huge workload. On the full-backs, who are given the sole responsibility for an entire wing of the pitch; on the box-to-box players, who have to make a huge effort in both defence and attack; and finally, on the deep-lying playmaker. In this system, the deepest midfielder is the start point of the attacks, but often also has to act as the last line of defence…. That said Kessie and Pellegrini have great engines on them and both play box to box for Milan and Roma respectively.

Basically this formation saw Milan dominate in Italy and Europe for a few years under Carlito and I think we at Little Aston have the playing staff to pull this off.

Oblak > Dida
Luis > Jankulovksi
Chiellini < Maldini
Godin < Nesta
Hysaj > Oddo
Gagliardini < Pirlo
Pellegrini < Gattuso
Kessie > Ambrosini
Hamsik > Seedorf
Griezmann = Kaka
Higuain > Inzaghi
6 in my favour
4 in Milans
1 draw

In summary we’re better equipped than the all-conquering Milan side

Arsenal 2-1 Italy CL
Malcom(Cavani), Cavani (Costa),; Dzeko (Insigne)

The Arsenal team were well balanced, had that bit more quality in attack and at home were good value for the win.

AC Villa 2-2 Liverpool
Griezmann (Hamsik), Higuain (Griezmann); Mariano (Lemar), Dybala

Both teams played narrow, even if Tino was helpful enough they document his weaknesses, making for a congested game. Played at a high tempo though it made for good entertainment as both attacks created.

Stoke City 1-2 Germany
Lukaku (Rico) ; Muller (Pulisic), Kroos (Alaba)

The away teams midfield bossed the game, Stoke couldn’t get to grips with them as the away teams experience showed and their game plan came off. Stoke still troubled the German defence but will have a touch job in the second leg.

Italy (EL) 1-2 Portsmouth
Mertens 12 (De Bruyne)
Ilicic 23 (Turan)
Mertens 74 (Werner)
MOTM: Mertens

————————Courtois
——Christensen—Skriniar—Umtiti
Conti-—————Fabinho—————Gaya
———Torreira——————Milinkovic
————————Dybala
———————Mariano

Subs: Gunn, Zagadou, Tielemans, Zinchenko, Sisto, Lemar, Philipp

Captain: Fabinho
Free Kicks: Fabinho/Paulo Dybala
Corners: Fabinho
Penalties: Fabinho

We want to play a more counter attacking style today against Villa, they have to come out and beat us, or get a very high scoring draw, our job is to limit their chances.

We will look to defend in a very compact manner, we know that Villa’s main threat is through the middle so we have flooded this area with two banks of 3 and a two, narrow to each other. We will hold a low-mid defensive block, looking to initiate pressure in our own half by keeping our lines tight to each other so that we always have plenty of men around the ball to get to any loose balls first. Dybala and Mariano will look to pick up Villa’s deepest midfielder, double team him, stop him dictating the game and being the out-ball to launch attacks, make them play with their CBs and CM’s stretched out, making it harder to connect their passes, force longer, more risky balls that allow us to pounce on any mistakes. This will then allow the rest of the team to function zonally and put pressure on anyone that carries the ball in their zones. Fabinho, Torreira and Milinkovic will go head to head with Villa’s CMs and AM/SS, Torreira and Milinkovic are in to provide muscle and running, constantly in the face of the Villa midfield, don’t give them an inch, whilst Fabinho is more disciplined, holds his position in front of our defence and mops up anything around him, don’t allow them to play between the lines. The back 5 zonal press also, which will allow us to control the width of the pitch, any quick switches of play are negated with a 5 man backline as our WBs are able to cut them out. If a player enters one of the defenders zones they look to go out to them and put them under pressure whilst the rest of the defence drop back so that players can’t run in behind us, force Villa back into the midfield area with this press before dropping back into the 5 and allowing the next defender/our midfielders to go and win the ball. We have a difficult task defending this Villa team but by remaining compact we can limit the space to use their pace, and most importantly we must stand up to them, never dive in. Umtiti and Christensen will man mark the CFs, using their reading of the game to win this battle, both are rolls royce defenders. Skriniar plays in the middle for this one, largely as we feel his positioning defending crosses is much better than Christensen’s, and we want him there getting rid of anything, as well as covering if either wide CB is beaten.

Going forward we must break with real pace and purpose. The CBs can start these counters, all 3 are excellent passers of the ball and if at any stage Villa drop off them they can act as our playmakers and look to split the lines with driven passes in to Savic and Dybala. When Villa do press high then we must exploit the space behind their forwards and behind their CMs, as well as trying to attack their FBs. Key to this is using our overload, likely 3 CBs vs 2 CFs, with Skriniar in the middle it allows Christensen and Umtiti to stretch right out, and the WBs to push higher, with Torreira and Fabinho dropping in to 6 positions to create a 5 deep and 5 forward. Christensen and Umtiti being stretched out will take players away from Torreira and Fabinho who can then build the attack, opening up space allows us to go back to the CMs, with more space to find the WBs or Ams advanced, likewise at times we can go out to the WBs and get Savic/Dybala moving wide to double up, with a wide CB stepping in to midfield to maintain our overload. Savic and Dybala further forward will look to both position themselves in the half spaces, creating diagonal passing lanes between the lines for the CBs/CMs to find them.

Once we get into their half we must use clever movement and rotations to unlock Villa. Our WBs will hold a mid line in the opposition half, give the opposition FBs a decision of whether to push up or stay deeper and cover space behind. If they stay deep, our WBs become a good base to establish possession and find the half space players, if they push up, the half space players have a great chance to run in behind and drag the CBs into uncomfortable positions, likewise, the dribbling of Gaya and the pace and height of Conti give them an advantage over their FBs. Dybala has a free role in attack to get the best out of him, at times he goes towards ball side and overloads play with Savic and Gaya/Conti who can overlap and underlap, and at other times he allows the midfield 3 to overload play on one side of the field and looks to take up position in the underloaded half space, knowing that we can use Conti’s height/Gaya’s pace to switch things and work one two’s between the WB and Dybala. Other times he’s working with Mariano and occupying the CBs, when one drops deep, the other must run behind, push the defence both ways in a search to create space between them. When Dybala drops deep Savic will also run the other way to get into the box and use his physicality. Main aim should be to get Dybala and Savic 2 v 1 against defenders and CMs and draw their CBs out so that Mariano can find space in the box.

Subs:

If Winning: Zagadou for Gaya 70’. Philipp for Mariano 75’, high work rate, won’t let Villa settle. Tielemans for Dybala 80’, Milinkovic AM, Tielemans CM.

If Drawing: Lemar for Mariano 70’, Dybala upfront and we can shift into a 3-4-2-1, as Villa go more offensive, we can break with the front 3. Zagadou for Gaya 75’. If 2-2, Sisto for Torreira 80’, Milinkovic CM.

If Losing: Lemar and Sisto for Christensen and Torreira 60’, 4-3-3. Philipp for Gaya 75’, 3-2-3-2.

Pens:

1. Paulo Dybala
2. Mariano Diaz
3. Thomas Lemar
4. Sergei Milinkovic-Savic
5. Fabinho
6. Pione Sisto
7. Maximilian Philipp
8. Andrea Conti