——————----—Rico
———Zouma—-—Diop——Wober
Bernardo—Diawara——Dendoncker———Jorge
————Neres——Schick——Oyarzabal
Subs: Dragowski, Elvedi, Fornals, Laimer, Lo Celso, B.Keita, B.Traore
Captain: Leander Dendoncker
Corners: Gelson Martins
Free Kicks: Jorge/David Neres
Penalties: Patrick Schick
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 Schick 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 Zouma 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 Schick 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 Oyarzabal and Neres always tucked in by the CMs. Here we defend zonally both in midfield and defence, so Schick 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/Schick into the space that opens up in their back line. Schick 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 Neres 70’, 3-5-2. Keita for Oyarzabal 75’, two powerful hold up players.
If Drawing: Keita for Oyarzabal 70’, like for like. Fornals for Dendoncker 75’, more adventurous. B.Traore for Schick 80’.
If Losing: B.Traore for Bernardo 60’, more offensive wide player. Fornals and Lo Celso for Diawara and Wober 70’, Dendoncker to CB.
--------------------------------Lloris
----------------Manolas----Kompany---Llorente
Danilo-------------Goretzka-------Carvalho------Rodriguez
---------Callejon--------------------------------Costa
---------------------------------Cavani
Pickford, Veltman, Maitland-Niles, Fabregas, Malcolm, Aspas, Sessegnon
I’ve chosen to pick a similar starting eleven to the one that brought us some good results last week. In come Rodriguez and Callejon to replace Maitland-Niles and Maitland Niles. We are looking to play with some pace on the counter, but also with men getting behind the ball. This means that we should be strong defensively as a priority, but look to break with both pace and reasonable numbers when the time is right. This will be achieved mostly down the wing, and I expect the team to utilise this wide presence and concentrate the attacking and possession by getting the ball to these outlets as often as possible.
Defensively I have picked a back three that combines a physical presence with being capable of playing out of the back. Kompany and Lloris are experienced professionals, and will help to marshal the defence and make sure that positioning is sorted and that there is little space to work in behind them. Lloris will play the role of a sweeper keeper, especially when we are on the ball, providing an additional outlet for us to utilise. Despite this, I want us to play with a deeper defensive line, partly so that we can be more certain defensively, but also because we have a narrow lead to defend. When on the ball the players will look to distriburte forwards if possible. They will be provided options by both CMs, the FBs, Lloris, and each other. We don’t want to be playing the ball around the back too much, however, as we want to attack with speed on the counter.
In Danilo and Rodriguez I have two full backs that are very capable of getting up and down the line. They will be our widest players. When attacking they will get forward and overlap the wide players, getting themselves into good positions to get balls into the box. Rodriguez will make good use of his wicked left foot when he gets into these positions. The energy that both of these players bring to this position means that they should also be capable of getting back and contributing defensively with pace, should the attack not lead to anything in the final third and the ball gets lost. They will do this by showing their attacker out wide and as far away from the box as they can.
Goretzka and Carvalho will play a similar role in midfield to that which they always do. Both of them are neat and tidy on the ball, meaning they can spread it out wide and start attacks quickly when the ball is won. They will both press the opposition attackers with intensity, which the CB’s wont be doing, and will use their energy to keep this up. When we pick the ball up, Goretzka will advance forward, to around the edge of the opposition penalty area to prey on loose balls or weak clearances. When he does this, Carvalho will sit deep in front of the defence, acting as if he was a footballing Gandalf and not allowing the opponent to pass him by.
Callejon and Costa are, once again, playing slightly further inside than normal wingers do. This is done for two reasons. Firstly to create more space. Either the opponents full backs will have to start coming inside, allowing space for our overlapping fullbacks, or they will be left in a free pocket of space in between the midfield and the defence, allowing them to pick up the ball and use their pace to charge down the opposition. Both have pace in spades, and can also rely on their tricks and direct running to cause havoc and create space in the opposition backline. As I said before, this is apce that can be exploited by the players themselves, Cavani up front, or the attacking full backs.
Speaking of Cavani, I expect him to use and abuse that physical presence that he provides, as well as the boundless energy that is a key part of this game. He will use this to press the opposition high, either forcing them into a mistake that he can pounce on, or simply not allowing them to easily play it out from the back. He’ll also make a nightmare of himself in the box, looking to pounce on any cross, whether its whipped or floated, high or low, back post or near post. He will use his instinctive finishing and footballing brain to get himself into goalscoring positions.
Substitutions
If losing/drawing
Callejon off and Malcolm on 65 mins
Malcolm offers us fresh legs going forward, and can work specifically on defenders that Callejon has tired out. He’s you ng and desparate to prove himself.
Carvalho off and Aspas on 75 mins
We will sacrifice one of our holding midfielders for another attacker, in the hopes of grabbing a key goal. This means that Goretzka will sit deeper, and that Aspas will be playing off Cavani.
Costa off Sessegnon on 85 mins
A last throw of the dice with fresh legs in the attacking third.
If winning
Callejon off and Maitland-Niles on
Switch to Costa playing a more central role as a shadow striker behind Cavani. AMN goes in alongside Carvalho and Goretzka as a holding midfielder.
Rodriguez off Sessegnon on 80 mins
Fresh legs on the left.
Aston Veela vs Liverpool (4-3-3)
Injuries: Pellegrini, El Shaarawy, Kent, Rugani
…………………………………..Oblak…………………………
Hysaj……………..Godin………….Chiellini…………….Luis
………………………………….Neves………………………………
Di Maria…………………….……………………………Griezmann
……………………Higuain……Zlatan……Belotti…………………………
Subs: Forster, De Vrij, Gagliardini, Kessie, Lallana, Hamsik, Marchisio
Second leg, we need goals….so win or bust really.
The diamond didn’t work out too well last week in a 2-2 draw so this week we’ve gone all out, bags of width and shed loads of firewpower up front to make up the 2 away goals we conceded.
First leg was a tight congested affair, we have to evolve and add more width to proceedings, especially if Liverpool continue their use of 3 at the back, lets get the ball out wide quickly and really stretch the scouse defence.
Fast paced direct footy orchestrated by Rubinho Neves, the lad has a tremendous range of passing so with him sitting as the QB today spreading the ball about, we can transition quickly from back to front – the ball will travel much faster than Liverpool’s retreating legs. Neves is no soft touch, think he’s on 10 booking’s this season for Wolves, showing he can do the dirty work as well.
Oblak is a great shot stopper and his big frame will look to dominate the box, will look to collect any crosses into the box and then go long and fast,
Hysaj and Luis I want pushing high up the pitch as often as possible, Liverpool’s threat will come from their wing-backs stretching their legs, so we have to push them back, with our own FB’s plus our wingers upfield they will have to stay back, resorting in hopeful long balls.
Godin and Chiellini will hold the line, don’t push past 18yards line, no need to get drawn out and lose out in a sprint back towards goal, just defend the box and make Sparta proud, with the ball it’s the long raking diagonals they need to be hitting, we’re not here for ball retention.
Di Maria and Griezmann have the pace and trickery to cause Liverpool all kinds of problems on the break, get it down and drive forwards or try their luck from distance. Without the ball I want both men coming in off the wing and tucking in as auxiliary centre mids, leave the width for our FB’s to cover we want to hold the middle ground, so they’ll come in and give us 3 CM’s defensively.
The pay off come now, if LSTD goes 3 at the back we match them up man for man he has no spare man at the back, if he goes with a flat-back 4 then we murder him, have the extra man so he has to see his DM drop deeper to cover.
Zlatan comes in as a 9.5 – slightly deeper than his usual role. He really is a big game player and has all the attributes to be the link up man for such a big game, will bring the ball down or win the aerial battles, before playing Higuain or Belotti in.
Higuain and Belotti – 2 out and out goalscorers, in a game where we need goals with these two operating in and around the box, we have the firepower to put this game to bed and progress to the next round.
When the Liverpool keeper has the ball I want the 3 CB’s man marked by a striker each, if it’s 2 at the back then Higgy and Belotti take one each with Zlatan marking the DM.
Subs:
60 Mins
Kessie > Neves
Hamsik > Zlatan – moves to a traditional #10
Liverpool v Germany (CL)
Portsmouth/Italy(EL) v Arsenal
Newcastle v Leicester
Spain v Chelsea
-------------------------- Ederson
-------- Alderweir'd ---- Javi.M ------- Varane
Oxlade ---------- D.Silva ----- Verratti ------ Ghoulam
------------------------- O.Dembele
-------------- Lewandowski --- Timo Werner
Subs: Dier, Mendy, Fernandinho, Partey, KDB, A.Sanchez, Mertens
3-5-2 today, at home so aiming to dominate possession whilst looking to use the front 3 as couter attacking outlets as Italy look to chase the game.
When in possesion , Javi.M moves out to more of a anchoring role, sitting deep and spreading the play allowing us to go back if and when needed.
Look to control the pace of the game and use our wg-backs to stretch the opposition, allowing Silva and Verratti more time to operate in the middle of the park.
Press initially from the front allowing them no easy route to play out from at the back so they have to go long and contest possession. Lewa and Werner constantly working off each other to pressure their CBs on and off the ball.
3-4-1-2 - 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 trio 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 Lewa/Werner and co as target men to bypass their mf.
Alderweireld & Varane should shift slightly wider when on the offense allowing our wing-backs to push up in a bank of 4 in mf.
Verratti and D.Silva, 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, Javi.M 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.
O.Dembele 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, running at their backline and using his pace to commit defenders.
Defensively will look to work in a 3, looking to work in tandem with our forwards to close down quickly and cutting out passing lanes. At times going deeper to support our midfielders if they manage to beat the initial press.
Flanks will be key as we look to expose them in wide areas and create space in midfield.
Two quick & powerful WG-backs in Ox and Ghoulam, need to hug the touchline and provide the width allowing us to stretch the opposition. Always on the move so we can get them in behind and use them as outlets going forward when picking a pass.
Very possession orientated, comfortable playing quick 1-2's and accelerating into space, overlapping often and getting early deliveries into the box for our striker/s to attack.
When Italy are in possession we will initially look to press from front as a side and then drop off deeper with men behind the ball if they bypass with a strong block of 5 in midfield.
Don’t allow them to play out from the back and hurry their passes. Our attackers form a duo/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, our WG-backs on their fullbacks and midfield higher up, man-marking.
The reason we want to press higher is to exert pressure on the away side, allow no easy possession and tire them throughout, working tirelessly to chase the ball and game whilst we dictate the tempo.
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 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, Silva and O.Dembele cutting off passing lanes.
Essentially a 3-5-2, 5 in mf working to minimise the space in midfield zones and preventing them from finding their attackers. Our wing-backs then drop off to mark the oppositions wingers and help our CB's to prevent any space being left in behind.
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. Ox & Ghoulam can come up to support the play and provide the width. The front 3 & Vidal burst forward.
Subs:
If winning :
Fernandinho > D.Silva - 70th min
Mertens > Werner - 70th min
Draw:
De Bruyne > D.Silva - 60th min
A.Sanchez > O.Dembele - 60th min
Mendy > Ghoulam (80th min)
If losing:
Mertens > Werner - 60th min
A.Sanchez > O.Dembele - 60th min
KDB > D.Silva - 70th min
C - Lewandowski
FK's - KDB / shoot - Lewandowski
Corners - KDB
Pens – Lewandowski
---------------------- De Gea ---------------------
Carvajal ---- Varane ---- Umtiti ---- Emerson
--------------------- Busquets --------------------
--------------- Tolisso ---- Eriksen --------------
Mbappe --------------------------------- Neymar
---------------------- Aguero ----------------------
Butland, Caldara, Tousart, Pellegrini, Lemar, Coman, Jesus
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, and if not get it out quickly to our wide men, we have the players in the midfield to dictate this game today, quick one touch, triangles to get beyond the lines of defence, Essentially still 433 but can easily shift to 343 with Busquets dropping back into a 3rd CB if need be.
De Gea is an imposing figure between the sticks with excellent reflexes to make him a commanding shot-stopper and comfortable with the ball at his feet, 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.
A new partnership at CB but they know each other very well, Umtiti picks up the CF, Varane sits spare picking up a 2nd CF/AM, 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 out of defence, no need to panic, look to move it simply to Busquets who is just in front of them or our fullbacks as we look to start our attacks from deep. Both are very comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass to get us moving forward. Carvajal and Emerson 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, Emerson 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. I want both CBs to go up for corners, with the fullbacks and Busquets sitiing back.
Our midfield 3 are essential to our style of play, Busquets central sits a little deeper just in front of the CB's as he looks to pick up the ball from them or GK, a quick turn and head up he will look to get us moving with a ball either out wide to Carvajal/Emerson 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 Tolisso and Eriksen just in front allows him the time as they shield him, they don't allow anyone to get on top of Busquets which gives him that extra second to get the ball moving. We can move very quickly from defence to attack, so if Barca are up field and lose it then we can counter very quickly, like said Tolisso and Eriksen are vital in both defensive and attacking mode, they with Busquets shield our back 4 but when we are in control they will push just up ahead of Busquets 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 Barca fullbacks/midfielders. I want them to be a dominating midfield 3 in both defence and attack and work as a unit. Eriksen will be the one furthest up field to support Aguero, looking to get him in on goal or indeed have a go himself.
In Mbappe and Neymar we will look to push full/wing backs back up the pitch by pressing them, we will be playing a high line as we have Busquets sitting in, they have an abundance of pace for this, All I want them to do is get into the face of them, stop them breaking up the pitch and getting up to support their own forwards. When attacking they will have the support from Carvajal and Emerson as we look to have a real go down the flanks, Mbappe will play more of a 'winger' than Neymar so he will drive down the line with pace,(he is extremely quick) beating his man along the way, can use Tolisso and Carvajal as the three look to eventually get the ball into Aguero or Neymar driving in from the left. Neymar himself does all the fancy stuff, he will dribble passed players and cut inside, so we allow him to be free today, with Emerson in support and Eriksen there making himself available like the right, the left will be very dangerous, we need to use our pace to our advantage get beyond the fullbacks and drive into support Aguero. They have so much pace and are versatile up front then they can interchange at any time Must help the defence tho by tracking the fullbacks or wingbacks
We want a high tempo game from our midfield 5 and fullbacks, passing and moving, getting it out wide to where we see our strengths, push them back wards, I want to press (all ten players) them back into there own half, they may well have possession but if its in there own half they wont cause us many problems.
Aguero will get plenty chances, he must put away there side who will be solid at the back,however they have a very inexperienced goalkeeper today so we must pressurize him. 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, they may be big and strong but with a low centre of gravity he can push passed them hopefully, 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, who will be making there runs also so be watchful of them 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 - Busquets
Penalties - Neymar
Free Kicks - Neymar
Corners - Wingers
Losing -
60 Mins - Lemar for Eriksen - we go 4231 with Lemar to RW and Mbappe supporting Aguero
70 Mins - Jesus for Mbappe, goes up top with Aguero 442
Winning -
75 Mins - Tousart for Eriksen he sits in beside Busquets and Tolisso
82 Mins - Caldara for Mbappe, 5 at the back and Neymar into a free role behind Aguero
86 Mins - Jesus for Aguero
Drawing -
70 Mins - Lemar for Mbappe straight swap
80 Mins - Aouar for Eriksen and Jesus for Aguero
Aouar should be on the bench Not Coman
Counter attacking 4-5-1
We spring a few changes as we look to give us the best side to deal with Toon's strengths and exploit their weaknesses. Leaving a few of our best players out, so that our players fit the tactics.
Up against a team that thrives on space in attack, we look to deprive them of any space by playing a strong defensive structure and hitting them on a counter with the fantastic pace we have in attack. We defend in a narrow structure as well seeing their wingers will be looking to come inside.
Using our great pace in attack to support and create space for Ronaldo. We feel he can get at their cbs and will fancy his chances of getting the better of their cbs and keeper and get on the scoresheet.
A counter attacking 4-5-1 effectively, Luiz comes in at dm, he will play in a deep role, we look to use his strong defensive play in helping the cbs and importantly his ability to play out from the back and set us on the counter quickly. Use his long balls to put us on the front foot immediately, and get in behind the Toon midfield as they all press up.
Azpi moves to lb, a defensive move he'll be perfect against Salah who will be looking to drift inside. Odriozola at rb also gives us fantastic pace which we'll need in dealing with their wingers and will also be perfect on the counter.
At cm, Bernardo comes in for his pace and strong defensive work ethic. James gets the nod again for his creativity, long passing ability and also for his ability to score a screamer. With Toon missing their goalkeeper, we feel we can target their rusty backups who are prone to errors. The front 3 pick themselves.
Direct and counter attacking football. We have a hard working midfield, and Hazard, who we wont pretend is going to press, so we wont tell him to. With Azpi at lb staying reserved giving him the freedom to attack.
On the attacking side, we look to find space in between their defence and midfield as they press forward.
Up against a team that wants to press high, we seek to use Luiz, Neuer, James' ability to play accurate long passes. Ramos and Ota obv can hoof it fairly well too.
We have a midfield full of players who are excellent at creating, we will be direct in attack. Get players forward quickly, create for and support Ronaldo.
------------------- Neuer
Odriozola - Ramos - Otamendi - Azpilicueta
------------------- D.Luiz -------------
-------------- B.Silva - James.R
- L.Sane ------------------------------ Hazard -
----------------- C.Ronaldo
Subs. Schmeichel, Marcelo, Kante, Thiago, Richarlison, Guedes, D.Costa
Strong Defensive Lines
We defend with two banks of four behind the ball, leave no space, make it difficult for them to create. When we defend the midfield narrows, giving us bodies to the side of the park we are defending. James drops to the left side of the narrow four. Hazard simply sits on their dm to take away that option. In this narrow structure we leave no space.
In a narrow, rigid formation, we will look to press the space, not allowing them options. Draw them in to positions where they can’t hurt us, and then try and win the ball back. Then get forward quickly.
Of the cms, Bernardo seeks to defend diagonally ahead of Luiz, pressing the ball, Luiz always goal side of Bernardo. With James and Sane either side of Bernardo, pressing as a unit. Luiz slightly deeper, in a position to sweep in and clean up if they get past the first press. This will make it difficult for Newcastle to find space, force them to try and play in tight areas.
We don't leave much space between the lines. Two compact lines of four. Always looking to have 9 players behind the ball. Happy to defend deep, we look to get players behind the ball.
Ramos captain. Neuer and Ramos keep the defence and structure tight.
Attack.
We will be direct with our attacking play, get at them quickly in behind their midfield before they get back. Bypass their attempts to press by simply going long. Get shots in at the keeper.
We are happy for our defenders and Neuer to go long at times.
Ronaldo up top loves a European goal.
Subs. If drawing or winning after 70 mins bring on Kante for James. Bring on energy to give us extra drive. They'll be knackered from their pressing.
If drawing or winning after 75 mins bring on Guedes for Hazard. Fresh power and pace.
If winning after 80 mins bring on Marcelo for Bernardo. Fresh energy in cm.
If losing after 60 mins bring on Costa and Kante for Hazard and James. 4-4-2. Kante does the running of two men in cm next to Luiz, Sane left and Bernardo right.
If losing after 70 mins bring on Marcelo for Azpi.
-------------------------- Ederson
-------- Alderweir'd ---- Javi.M ------- Bonucci
Dier ---------- De Bruyne ----- Verratti ----- Alex Sandro
----------------------- Alexis Sanchez
-------------- Lewandowski --- Timo Werner
Subs: Meret, Tah, Ghoulam, Fernandinho, Partey, O.Dembele, Mertens
3-5-2 today, aiming to dominate possession, playing with two forwards and Sanchez in behind to ensure we have plenty of attacking threat going forward, play with purpose, always looking to probe and convert chances/possesion into goals in this first leg.
When on the ball, Javi.M moves out to more of a anchoring role, sitting deep and spreading the play allowing us to go back when needed if pressed.
Look to control the pace of the game and use our wg-backs to stretch the opposition, allowing KDB and Verratti more time to operate in the middle of the park, dicating.
Press initially from the front allowing them no easy route to play out from at the back so they have to go long and contest possession. Lewa and Werner constantly working off each other to pressure their CBs on and off the ball.
3-4-1-2 - 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 trio 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 Lewa/Werner and co as target men to bypass their mf press.
Alderweireld & Bonucci should shift slightly wider when on the offense allowing our wing-backs to push up in a bank of 4 in mf.
Verratti and KDB, 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, Javi.M 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.
Alexis Sanchez 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, running at their backline and using his pace to commit defenders.
Defensively will look to work in a 3, looking to work in tandem with our forwards to close down quickly and cutting out passing lanes. At times going deeper to support our midfielders if they manage to beat the initial press.
Flanks will be key as we look to expose them in wide areas and create space in midfield.
Two quick & skilful WG-backs in Dier and Alex Sandro, need to hug the touchline and provide the width allowing us to stretch the opposition. Always on the move so we can get them in behind and use them as outlets going forward when picking a pass.
Very possession orientated, comfortable playing quick 1-2's and accelerating into space, overlapping often and getting early deliveries into the box for our striker/s to attack.
When Arsenal are in possession we will initially look to press from front as a side and then drop off deeper with men behind the ball if they bypass with a strong block of 5 in midfield.
Don’t allow them to play out from the back and hurry their passes. Our attackers form a duo/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, our WG-backs on their fullbacks and midfield higher up, man-marking.
The reason we want to press higher is to exert early pressure and allow then no time on the ball, no easy possession and tire them throughout pressing our players, working tirelessly to chase the ball and game whilst we dictate the tempo.
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 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, KDB and A.Sanchez cutting off passing lanes.
Essentially a 3-5-2, 5 in mf working to minimise the space in midfield zones and preventing them from finding their attackers. Our wing-backs then drop off to mark the oppositions wingers and help our CB's to prevent any space being left in behind.
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. Dier & Sandro can come up to support the play and provide the width. The front 3 & KDB burst forward.
Subs:
IF WINNING: 70th minute – (3-5-2)
- Fernandinho > Verratti
- O.Dembele > A.Sanchez
IF DRAW: 70th minute – (3-4-3 - wide)
- O.Dembele > Werner
- Fernandinho > Verratti
- Mertens > Lewa (75th min)
IF LOSING: 75th minute – (4-4-2 - direct)
- O.Dembele > Javi.M
- Fernandinho > Verratti
- Mertens > Werner
C - Lewandowski
FK's - KDB / shoot - Lewandowski
Corners - KDB
Pens – Lewandowski
————————Ter Stegen
Fabinho——Christensen—Skriniar——Zagadou
———————Torreira——Pogba
——————————Dybala
Bernardeschi————Morata—————Philipp
Subs: Gunn, Gaya, Tielemans, Milinkovic-Savic, Sisto, Sabitzer, Mariano
Captain: Fabinho
Free Kicks: Paulo Dybala
Penalties: Fabinho
Corners: Federico Bernardeschi
Control the game today, moving the ball quickly to manipulate the opponent. Firstly we drop players deep in build up to draw Germany forward, Torreira a 6 between the first two lines of opposition press. Fabinho will tuck in, just ahead of Torreira and Pogba in the same line to create a diamond midfield, using Fabinho and Pogba to draw two of their CMs forward, freeing Dybala up to find space between the lines, with the CBs and CMs aim to work the ball to him in space. Zagadou will stretch out to the touchline as an out ball when we need to distort their pressing. Plan B is using long diagonals from the back to the opposite side winger, looking to get immediately behind the opponents FB with their pace. Christensen can bring the ball into midfield.
They key is to retain strong positional play, using a strong triangular structure throughout to find gaps in the oppositions formation and advance the ball into them, advancing in a 3-4-3 diamond structure. Fabinho and Pogba are the key to our structure as they can widen and narrow as the game plays out, stretching wide to find space to link with the winger, but also able to narrow, overloading the opposition midfield, creating triangles and making driving runs through the heart of the field and into the channels. Torreira is always ball side, in position to act as the 2nd passer and a screen to cover any defenders out of position.
Pogba and Dybala give us great flexibility in attack. Dybala will look to take advantage of having 3 midfielders alongside him to free himself up between the lines, looking to get space either side of the DM in the half spaces, receiving the ball from his team mates and looking to turn and link up quickly with the front three, or looking to move out wide to double up with our wingers and overload them down the flanks, at times with the CM also joining. Another key aim will be to win the half space battle by overloading with both Dybala and Pogba stepping up, Zagadou moving into the midfield line to cover the change in shape. Draw the opposition towards them when they receive in the half space, make the opposition narrow to this area, cause indecision about who goes to deal with the threat and this allows us to get our wingers to receive the ball with space to turn and run directly at the narrowed defence, put them on the back foot, draw the oppositions attention whilst Pogba, Dybala, Morata and the opposite winger make blind space runs in behind.
The front three occupy the opposition back line, the wingers looking to keep the FBs pegged back and keep them in a 1 v 1 battle, keep them pushed back so they can’t help their midfield. Bernardeschi looks to be direct and link up quickly, run at defenders, where as Philipp will look to play between FB and CB and will often be the furthest forward, using his pace to get in behind and into the box to finish chances. Morata looks to act as a point of reference for attacks, dropping closer to the midfield to aid overloads and make build up more fluid. He’s also great at drifting to the left, allowing Philipp to drift in behind the defence. His main aim though is to be in the box to finish the attacks, looking to attack the crosses from the wing overloads, and make runs in the channels for our midfielders to pick him out.
When we lose it we counterpress with 5 defensive organisers, and 5 hunters. The hunters press immediately, don’t allow the opponents time to decide how they will transition. The CF will look to press the ball side CB, using his cover shadow to block t’other CB, whilst the wingers press the FB/far side CB depending on the side they’re on. Behind them CM’s pushes onto the deep midfielders, in particular both will focus on the midfielder carrying the ball, and one will use his cover shadow to block the other midfielder, essentially this creates a diamond around the ball allowing us to really squeeze the opponents ball carrier and win it back quickly.
The organisers will be pushed close to our offensive line in order to retain strong vertical compactness to add to the opponents difficulty in playing through us. The 5 create a staggered 2-3 bowl shape, allowing us to form a block around their forwards. This should create a 5 vs 3/4 in our favour meaning that even if a forward gets hold of the ball, we have the numbers around him to win it back quickly, be it from knock downs or a striker looking to use his pace. Focus firstly on blocking passing lanes behind the press, and then squeezing opponents if they get it forward, ball side FB in the half space to cover multiple options using his energy, far side FB shutting off his winger, Torreira positioned to cover the space between AM and CF, Skriniar marking the CF and Christensen deep as the covering defender, using his reading of the game to cover off the flanks if needed The key here is Zagadou, Pulisic is their biggest threat on the counter, we want him stepped up on to him at all times and quick to close him off as an option. Drop to a flat 4-3-3 when defending deep.
Subs:
If Winning: Milinkovic-Savic for Morata 70’, Dybala up front, 4-3-3. Tielemans and Gaya for Pogba and Philipp 75’, can drop into a 5-4-1 when needed, when Zagadou/Gaya pairing on the left.
If Drawing: Gaya for Zagadou 65’, provide extra width down the left to allow Philipp more freedom. Sabitzer and Sisto for Bernardeschi and Philipp 75’, fresh legs out wide to get at tiring defenders.
If Losing: Milinkovic-Savic for Torreira 60’ 3-5-2, Fabinho into midfield. Play the ball longer into the forwards and then press with a pentagon and be the first to loose balls. Sisto for Bernardeschi and Mariano for Pogba 70’, 3-4-1-2.
NEWCASTLE 4-3-3
Captain: Luis Suarez
Penalties: Luis Suarez
Corners: Miralem Pjanic
Freekicks: Miralem Pjanic
Crossing Freekick: Miralem Pjanic
—————————— Chesney
Trent — Marquinhos — Koulibaly — Robertson
————————— Casemiro
—————— Radja — Pjanic
Salah ————————————————— Mane
——————————— Firmino
SUBS: Milner, Sule, Keita, Rose, Coutinho, Ozil, Suarez
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 Casemiro 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 (Pjanic, Salah, Mane, Firmino) will either be provider or finisher with Radja supporting and Casemiro 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 Keita for Pjanic. More physical presence in midfield, and gives greater defensive cover.
If drawing or losing after 65 mins bring on Ozil for Pjanic. Fresh creativity and legs.
If drawing or losing after 75 mins bring on Suarez for Casemiro. Radja will press higher to win the ball back quickly. Firmino with more goal threat, plays up front with Suarez, in a 4-4-2.
-------------------------Lloris
---------Manolas---Kompany---D. Llorente
Danilo-------Goretzka---M. Llorente----Maitland-Niles
--------Malcolm---------------------Costa
-------------------------Cavani
Pickford, Tuanzebe, Maitland-Niles, Fabregas, Callejon, Aspas, Danilo Perreira
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 Rodriguez 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 quick and strong, so they have advantages that they can utilise against their opponent.
A lot of faith is being shown in Llorente 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. When we are on the ball, Goretzka will be given license to move forward and commit to the attack, pushing to the edge of the penalty area, to pick up balls that drop loose around here, whilst Llorente 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 after impressing last time out, 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
M Llorente 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 Aspas on 75 mins
Convert to a more traditional 4-4-2 in the hunt of a goal, with Iheanacho playing off Cavani.
Malcolm off Callejon on 80 mins
Fresh legs and a dynamic player on to help push us more forward in attack
If winning
M Llorente off, Maitland-Niles on 65 mins
Maitland-Niles provides fresh legs in the CM position, and will allow more pressing to take place in the midfield.
Costa off Callejon on 85 mins
Fresh legs up front to hit them on the counter attack
---------------------- De Gea -----------------------
Carvajal ---- Varane ---- Caldara ---- B.Mendy
--------------------- Busquets ----------------------
--------------- Tolisso ----- Eriksen ---------------
T.Lemar ---------------------------------- Neymar
---------------------- Aguero -----------------------
Butland, Sanchez, Tousart, Aouar, Bailey, B.Traore, Jesus
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, and if not get it out quickly to our wide men, we have the players in the midfield to dictate this game today, quick one touch, triangles to get beyond the lines of defence, Essentially still 433 but can easily shift to 343 with Busquets dropping back into a 3rd CB if need be.
De Gea is an imposing figure between the sticks with excellent reflexes to make him a commanding shot-stopper and comfortable with the ball at his feet, 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.
At the back Caldara picks up the CF, Varane sits spare picking up a 2nd CF/AM, 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 out of defence, no need to panic, look to move it simply to Busquets who is just in front of them or our fullbacks as we look to start our attacks from deep. Both are very comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass to get us moving forward I f Caldara struggles then switch roles with Varane. Carvajal and Mendy 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, but be cautious hence the three in midfield, they drive down the line in support of the wingers, Mendy gets outside Neymar to allow him to cut inside whereas Carvajal will support Lemar 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. I want both CBs to go up for corners, with the fullbacks and Busquets sitiing back.
Our midfield 3 are essential to our style of play, Busquets central sits a little deeper just in front of the CB's as he looks to pick up the ball from them or GK, a quick turn and head up he will look to get us moving with a ball either out wide to Carvajal/Mendy 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 Tolisso and Eriksen just in front allows him the time as they shield him, they don't allow anyone to get on top of Busquets which gives him that extra second to get the ball moving. We can move very quickly from defence to attack, so if Barca are up field and lose it then we can counter very quickly, like said Tolisso and Eriksen are vital in both defensive and attacking mode, they with Busquets shield our back 4 but when we are in control they will push just up ahead of Busquets 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 Barca fullbacks/midfielders. I want them to be a dominating midfield 3 in both defence and attack and work as a unit. Eriksen will be the one furthest up field to support Aguero, looking to get him in on goal or indeed have a go himself.
In Lemar and Neymar we will look to push full/wing backs back up the pitch by pressing them, we will be playing a high line as we have Busquets sitting in, they have an abundance of pace for this, All I want them to do is get into the face of them, stop them breaking up the pitch and getting up to support their own forwards. When attacking they will have the support from Carvajal and Mendy as we look to have a real go down the flanks, Lemar will play more of a 'winger' than Neymar so he will drive down the line with pace,(he is extremely quick) beating his man along the way, can use Tolisso and Carvajal as the three look to eventually get the ball into Aguero or Neymar driving in from the left. Neymar himself does all the fancy stuff, he will dribble passed players and cut inside, so we allow him to be free today, with Mendy in support and Eriksen there making himself available like the right, the left will be very dangerous, we need to use our pace to our advantage get beyond the fullbacks and drive into support Aguero. They have so much pace and are versatile up front then they can interchange at any time Must help the defence tho by tracking the fullbacks or wingbacks
We want a high tempo game from our midfield 5 and fullbacks, passing and moving, getting it out wide to where we see our strengths, push them back wards, I want to press (all ten players) them back into there own half, they may well have possession but if its in there own half they wont cause us many problems.
Aguero will get plenty chances, he must put away there side who will be solid at the back,however they have a very inexperienced goalkeeper today so we must pressurize him. 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, they may be big and strong but with a low centre of gravity he can push passed them hopefully, 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 Lemar and Neymar, who will be making there runs also so be watchful of them 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 - Busquets
Penalties - Neymar
Free Kicks - Eriksen/Neymar
Corners - Wingers
Losing -
70 Mins - Jesus and Bailey for Eriksen and Lemar, we go 4-4-2 with Jesus up top with Aguero
80 Mins - Bertand Traore for Mendy, 3 at the back, Bailey to LM, Traore to RM and Neyamr up top
Carvajal - Varane - Caldara
Traore - Tolisso - Busquets - Bailey
G.Jesus - Aguero - Neymar
Winning -
70 Mins - Tousart for Eriksen, he and Tolisso go either side of Busquets to close down the midfiled
80 Mins - Bailey for Lemar fresh legs down the right to help track back
85 Mins - Aouar for Aguero, Aouar to LM 4-5-1 Neymar running at everything up top
Drawing -
IF 1 - 1
80 Mins - Tousart for Eriksen and into midfield defensive role to see the game out
85 Mins Jesus for Aguero to run at everything in there half
IF 2 - 2
80 Mins - Aouar for Eriksen fresh legs in that role
Extra Time -
95 Mins - Bailey for Lemar, Jesus for Aguero
Counter attacking 4-5-1
We pick a side we think will give us the best side to deal with Toon's strengths and exploit their weaknesses. Leaving a few of our best players out, so that our players fit the tactics.
Up against a team that thrives on space in attack, we look to deprive them of any space by playing a strong defensive structure and hitting them on a counter with the fantastic pace we have in attack. We defend in a deep, narrow structure as well seeing their wingers will be looking to come inside. Not allowing space in behind the defenders, Vallejo gets the nod for his pace completing an all Spanish back 4, communication will be key in keeping tight at the back.
Using our great pace in attack to support and create space and opportunities for Ronaldo. Newcastle have to attack, and so we go with great pace in attack, hit them quickly and take advantage of the space they leave as they throw players forward.
A counter attacking 4-5-1 effectively, Luiz comes in at dm, he will play in a deep role, we look to use his strong defensive play in helping the cbs and importantly his ability to play out from the back and set us on the counter quickly. Use his long balls to put us on the front foot immediately, and get in behind the Toon midfield as they all press up. Kante next to him looks to press the opposition. Willian the advanced cm, also seeks to press the opposition with Kante
Azpi moves to lb, a defensive move as he'll be perfect against Salah who will be looking to drift inside. Odriozola at rb also gives us fantastic pace which we'll need in dealing with their wingers and will also be perfect on the counter.
At cm, Willian comes in for his pace and strong defensive work ethic. He supports the front 3 that pick themselves.
Direct and counter attacking football. We have a hard working midfield, and Hazard, who we wont pretend is going to press, so we wont tell him to. With Azpi at lb staying reserved giving him the freedom to attack.
On the attacking side, we look to find space in between their defence and midfield as they press forward.
Up against a team that wants to press high, we seek to use Luiz, and Neuer's ability to play accurate long passes. Ramos can hoof it fairly well too.
We have a midfield full of pace, we will be direct in attack. Get players forward quickly, create for and support Ronaldo.
------------------- Neuer
Odriozola - Ramos - Vallejo - Azpilicueta
-------------- Kante -- D.Luiz -------------
------------------- Willian
- L.Sane --------------------------- Hazard -
----------------- C.Ronaldo
Subs. Schmeichel, Marcelo, Stones, Thiago, Correa, Guedes, D.Costa
Strong Defensive Lines
We defend relatively deep with two banks of four behind the ball, leave no space, make it difficult for them to create. When we defend the midfield narrows, giving us bodies to the side of the park we are defending. Willian drops to the left side of the narrow four. Hazard simply sits on their dm to take away that option. In this narrow structure we leave no space.
In a narrow, rigid formation, we will look to press the space, not allowing them options. Draw them in to positions where they can’t hurt us, and then try and win the ball back. Then get forward quickly.
Of the cms, Kante seeks to defend diagonally ahead of Luiz, pressing the ball, Luiz always goal side of Kante. With Willian and Sane either side of Kante, pressing as a unit. Luiz slightly deeper, in a position protecting the cbs, to sweep in and clean up if they get past the first press. This will make it difficult for Newcastle to find space, force them to try and play in tight areas.
We don't leave much space between the lines. Two compact lines of four. Always looking to have 9 players behind the ball. Happy to defend deep, we look to get players behind the ball.
Ramos captain. Neuer and Ramos keep the defence and structure tight.
Attack.
We will be direct with our attacking play, get at them quickly in behind their midfield before they get back. Bypass their attempts to press by simply going long.
We are happy for our defenders and Neuer to go long at times.
Ronaldo up top loves a European goal.
Subs. If drawing or winning after 70 mins bring on Marcelo for Willian. Bring on fresh pace. Plays lcm.
If drawing or winning after 75 mins bring on Costa for Ronaldo. Injects energy to lift the side and offer fresh power to open Toon up.
If winning after 80 mins bring on Guedes for Hazard. Fresh pace in attack.
If losing after 60 mins bring on Costa and Thiago for Kante and Hazard. 4-4-2. Sane left, Willian right.
If losing after 70 mins bring on Marcelo for Azpi.
-------------------------- Ederson
-------- Alderweir'd ---- Javi.M ------- Bonucci
Walker ------ De Bruyne ----- Fernandinho --- Alex Sandro
------------------------ O.Dembele
-------------- Lewandowski --- Timo Werner
Subs: Meret, Zappacosta, Tah, Partey, Verratti, Oxlade, Mertens
3-5-2 , aiming to dominate possession, playing with two forwards and O.Dembele in behind to ensure we have plenty of attacking threat going forward, play with purpose, Arsenal will be looking to chase the game so look to pick them off as and when the opportunity presents itself
When on the ball, Javi.M moves out to more of a anchoring role, sitting deep and spreading the play allowing us to go back when needed if pressed.
Look to control the pace of the game and use our wg-backs to stretch the opposition, allowing KDB and Fernandinho more time to operate in the middle of the park, De Bruyne often looking to play that first time pass into the forwards
Press initially from the front allowing them no easy route to play out from at the back so they have to go long and contest possession. Lewa and Werner constantly working off each other to pressure their CBs on and off the ball.
3-4-1-2 - 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 trio 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 Lewa/Werner and co as target men to bypass their mf press.
Alderweireld & Bonucci should shift slightly wider when on the offense allowing our wing-backs to push up in a bank of 4 in mf.
Fernandinho and KDB, 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, Javi.M 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.
O.Dembele 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, running at their backline and using his pace to commit defenders.
Defensively will look to work in a 3, looking to work in tandem with our forwards to close down quickly and cutting out passing lanes. At times going deeper to support our midfielders if they manage to beat the initial press.
Flanks will be key as we look to expose them in wide areas and create space in midfield.
Two quick & skilful WG-backs in Walker and Alex Sandro, need to hug the touchline and provide the width allowing us to stretch the opposition. Always on the move so we can get them in behind and use them as outlets going forward when picking a pass.
Very possession orientated, comfortable playing quick 1-2's and accelerating into space, overlapping often and getting early deliveries into the box for our striker/s to attack.
When Arsenal are in possession we will initially look to press from front as a side and then drop off deeper with men behind the ball if they bypass with a strong block of 5 in midfield.
Don’t allow them to play out from the back and hurry their passes. Our attackers form a duo/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, our WG-backs on their fullbacks and midfield higher up, man-marking.
The reason we want to press higher is to exert early pressure and allow then no time on the ball, no easy possession and tire them throughout pressing our players, working tirelessly to chase the ball and game whilst we dictate the tempo.
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 and stop them from picking their passes into an attacker, Fernandinho man-man their AM, looking to harass him and using his physical prowess to really put him off his game, KDB and O.Dembele cutting off passing lanes.
Essentially a 3-5-2, 5 in mf working to minimise the space in midfield zones and preventing them from finding their attackers. Our wing-backs then drop off to mark the oppositions wingers and help our CB's to prevent any space being left in behind.
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. Walker & Sandro can come up to support the play and provide the width. The front 3 & KDB burst forward.
Subs:
IF WINNING: 70th minute – (3-5-2)
- Partey > O.Dembele
- Mertens > Werner
IF DRAW: 70th minute – (3-4-3 - wide)
- Verratti > Fernandinho
- Mertens > Werner
- Zappacosta > Walker (78th min)
IF LOSING: 75th minute – (4-4-2 - direct)
- Mertens > Bonucci
- Verratti > Fernandinho
- Ox > Werner
C - Lewandowski
FK's - KDB / shoot - Lewandowski
Corners - KDB
Pens – Lewandowski
NEWCASTLE
-----------------------Alisson
-----Marquinhos-----Sule-----Koulibaly
Trent-----Keita------Pjanic-------Robertson
-------Salah-------Firmino---------Mane
Subs
Rose, Reus, Casemiro, Jorginho, Coutinho, Suarez, Kane
Sule is the defensive leader and will be the one to set the defensive line on the pitch, the centre backs will always stay back to stop counter attacks, The CB’s will communicate with each other so they are clear in where the attacking threats are. When dealing with the opposition, we will avoid sliding tackles unless necessary instead looking to use our experience to just guide players off the ball. When on the ball, if the opposition are giving them space to come out with the ball, then they should take it forward, if not, keep it simple and play it to a man in space with the occasional long ball to the front 3 or the wing backs thrown in to keep the opposition from setting up against one style of play.
For the wing backs today the objective is to provide the width for the team and keep the oppositon stretched as much as possible, both still have a defensive mindset so will be getting back into a back 5 if we lose the ball. They will only occasionally put floated crosses in, preferring to either play shorter passes to the 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.
The focus of the midfield 2 will be to use their high energy, all action styles to get themselves around the middle of the pitch, working to control the midfield battle whilst still having the attacking nous to create chances for us. When we are in the attacking third, they will always be looking to make themselves available for a pass to keep recycling the ball, keeping the pressure up with us looking to use the movement of the other CM's and the front 3 to drag 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. We will also occasionally take the occasional long shot, with the aim being to make sure defenders aren't content to sit back and forcing them to make a decision. When defending, they are looking to press the middle third of the pitch, pressing the opposition CMs/Wingers in conjunction with other players as they are on the ball to rush their decisions and win the ball back.
Both wingers today will be looking will be to drift around when deeper players are in possession, looking to combine with the other attacking players to get little areas of space before using their pace and trickery respectively to drift 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 one 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 stopping the passing lines to the full backs primarily, then focus on ensuring our full backs dont get outnumbered.
When Firmino is 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, then using his tireless energy reserves to work back and press their centre mids.
Set Pieces
Corners - Pjanic takes the corners, most of the time looking to have the ball at an attackable height around 8-10 yards out between the posts, the WB's stay back to prevent counters, 2 of the CB's and Firmino work in a group to make little blocks and cross-runs to lose a marker so 1 or 2 can get a run at the ball.
Free Kicks - Pjanic takes Direct FK's
For Indirect FK's, same instructions as Corners
Penalties - Salah is the designated taker.
Subs
If Winning
70 mins - Rose for Robertson - The wing backs stay back, but look to get out quickly and counter if the opposition over-commit for a route back into the game.
80 + 82 Mins - Casemiro for Keita and Coutinho for Mane - Actively time waste and Mourinho the opposition.
If Drawing
70 Mins - Jorginho for Keita - Add a bit more urgency into attacks, show the opposition we are going for the win.
If Losing
67 Mins - Coutinho and Suarez for Keita and Robertson - The wings backs act as wingers and just pile forward in numbers.
————————Ter Stegen
Conti———Skriniar———Romagnoli——Zinchenko
——————————Rodri
B.Silva———Harit—————Pogba———Philipp
——————————Dybala
Subs: Gunn, Gaya, Loftus-Cheek, Cristante, Sisto, Brandt, Morata
Captain: Alessio Romagnoli
Free Kicks: Paulo Dybala/Paul Pogba
Corners: Amine Harit/Bernardo Silva
Penalties: Paulo Dybala
Control the game today, moving the ball quickly to manipulate the opponent. Firstly we drop players deep in build up to draw Germany forward, Rodri a 6 between the first two lines of opposition press. Zinchenko will act as a false FB, tucking inside, with both CBs stretching out to the corners of the penalty box, Zinchenko provides a diagonal passing option in build up, and gives them an extra player to deal with centrally to facilitate build up. Conti stays wide to stretch the opponent and Harit and Pogba can stay further up the pitch in advanced areas, Pogba moving into channel and wide space, freeing himself up when Germany go to press Rodri and Zinchenko, and Harit plays in the half space, with a diagonal link to Conti, Silva, Rodri and Zinchenko, between the opponent lines.
They key is to retain strong positional play, using a strong triangular structure throughout to find gaps in the oppositions formation and advance the ball into them via diagonal links between the lines, as this forces more of a response from the opponents defensive set up. When the CMs are in the half space, FBs stretch wide and wingers run behind the defence, when the CM goes wide, FB remain deep and narrow, and winger go into the half space, creating triangles in every attack. The FBs are the key to our structure, with Conti offering width that will allow Silva to come and use the half space and double up on the opposition with Harit and Dybala, with Conti himself offering a great outball to shift the opponent. Zinchenko will stay more central and look to use his passing range to break the lines and create more space for Pogba, but both can change roles as the teams shape rotates. Rodri is always ball side, in position to act as the 2nd passer and a screen to cover any defenders out of position.
Pogba and Harit give us great flexibility in midfield. They can move wide to create overloads down the flank, which we want to use regularly today as they can either free themselves up, or draw Germany CMs out of the middle and out of their comfort zone, leaving them vulnerable to the skill of our CMs but also to Dybala dropping deep into the freed up space. Another key aim will be to win the half space battle, draw the opposition towards them when they receive in the half space, make the opposition narrow to this area, cause indecision about who goes to deal with the threat and this allows us to get our FBs overlapping down the side of the narrowed defence, or Zinchenko with powerful underlapping runs, and with Dybala dropping deep and pulling the CBs forward, the two wingers can make out to in runs to get in behind, our CM from there can split the defence open, get the FB to the byeline and they can cross for the winger to finish, simples. Both can drop deep to instigate attacks and both can get in the box to finish them.
The front three occupy the opposition back line, the wingers looking to keep the FBs pegged back and keep them in a 1 v 1 battle, keep them pushed back so they can’t help their midfield. Silva looks to be direct and link up quickly, run at defenders, where as Philipp will look to play between FB and CB and will often be the furthest forward, using his pace to get in behind and into the box to finish chances. Dybala is a false 9, at times dropping into a 10 position to help link attacks together and draw Germany’s CBs forward to open space for the wingers behind, other times he can drift wide and let Pogba/Philipp as a target in the middle, other times he makes runs behind or looks to take the CBs on with his speed and dribbling, he adds real versatility to our attacks.
We counterpress whenever we lose it, using a 2-3-2-3 with narrowed FBs offering extra protection centrally to allow Harit and Pogba to be aggressive and on the front foot, pressing one side of the pitch together to overload them, with the front three pressing from behind, wingers arching their press to box the ball carrier in and Dybala stopping the backwards passing lane. Trap the play ball side and force the mistakes or longer less accurate passes that our 5 narrow players behind the press can easily mop up. Our far side FB will usually be a little closer to the wing to cover the opponents free side attacker.
When the opponent build we also play a high press, initial phase sees the FBs tucked in alongside Rodri again to provide protection behind the Ams. The wingers will press the CBs with curved runs from the wing, designed to pressure the ball carrying CB and make wide passes difficult to execute, whilst Dybala drops in with Pogba and Harit to form a 3 man block to stop any vertical passes into midfield. Force their CBs to split really wide and create more distance for passes to cover, making their build up slower. We have all 10 outfielders narrow which means we are impossible to break down centrally and they are forced to try use the wide areas and go round us, again taking longer and allowing us the time to adapt our shape as needed. When they do go wide towards their FBs, our FBs will initiate a harder press on the ball carrier, by shutting off the vertical ball to their winger, with our winger moving back to press the FB and our ball side AM and CF going to press him and close the diagonal route to the centre. Far side winger and AM drop back to keep us compact and covered against switches of play. When they peat the press, 4-5-1.
Subs:
If Going through: Cristante and Loftus-Cheek for Harit and Pogba 70’, fresh legs in CM and two players with good appetite to win the ball quickly. Gaya for Philipp 75’.
If going out: Gaya for Zinchenko 60’, provide extra width on the left. Morata for Pogba 70’, Dybala into AM and Morata in the box for crosses. Brandt for Harit 75’.
-------------------------------Lloris
----------------Manolas---Kompany---D Llorente
Maitland-Niles----------------------------------------Telles
--------------------------Goretzka-----Fabregas
---------------Malcolm--------------------------Costa
---------------------------------Cavani
Pickford, Veltman, Rodriguez, Carvalho, Callejon, Wood, Sessegnon
A bit more attacking for our side today, as we know that we need to go all out to try and get ourselves a win against a tough Portsmouth side. Cavani and Mailand-Niles are in for the injured Aspas and Danilo, and we return to a three at the back formation that has served us well up to this point. The CMs are playing a more advanced role than usual, and I have opted to start Fabregas ahead of the more defensive William Carvalho, to offer us something a bit better going forward.
Lloris and Kompany, as always, provide the experience at the back, hence why Lloris is playing as the middle of the three centre backs. We will be looking to play the ball out from the back, wide to the wing backs or forward to the centre mids. Manolas and Llorente have the license to step out rom the back and press, due to the absence of holding midfielders, and then Kompany will come across and cover their position. They will then revert to a standard three at the back as soon as it is possible to do so.
Maitland-Niles and Telles have been selected today due to their energy, pace and ability to get up and down the line. Due to the lack of holding midfielders, their defensive duties are more important than usual, and they will look to press opposition wingers and push them further out wide. When we have possession of the football, I expect both to bomb forward and overlap their winger, providing runs down the outside. When one gets the ball in a crossing position, the other will make a darting run towards the back post, so as to get as many players into the box as we can. Balls should be swung in, with the primary target being Cavani, but we will have numerous players in the box to pick out, and also pick up second balls, should they drop.
Goretzka will be playing a sort of box to box playmaker role today. He will be comfortable pressing deep to pick up the ball, but also confident enough to carry the ball forward when he does retrieve it. He is the engine in the midfield, compensating for a lack of running and energy from Fabregas. Goretzka is also comfortable distributing the ball, and will look to play balls over the top of the defence to either our wingers or our wing backs, who will be making these runs. When this is done, he will sit on the edge of the penalty area, looking to pick up any balls that drop here, so as to lay Fabregas off, o0r have a shot himself.
Speaking of Fabregas, he will play a playmaker role, sitting deep to pick up the ball and dictate the ball when necessary, but also pushing forward to contribute to attacks, and also to control the ball and the play further forward, should we need a little bit more finesse and passing precision in the final third. He won’t look to spend long on the ball, as he may get closed down, but will instead look to release the ball over the top to any one of our runners, or lay it off for Goretzka to carry forward.
Our wingers provide the flair in this team selection. They play slightly more narrow a role than conventional wingers do. I suppose you could call them inside forwards, as their primary role is to run at and beyond the opposition centre backs, not targeting the full backs. This occupies the attention of the centre backs more, who tend to be slower and less capable of dealing with that sense of pace. It should also create a bit more space for Cavani to exploit against these centre backs. The full backs won’t have an easy game, though, as they will still have to deal with our wing backs. Malcolm and Costa will look to make runs beyond Cavani, so that whenj he has the ball he can lay it off to them, or balls can be played over the top by Fabregas or Goretzka.
Cavani returns today and brings back his physical game, and we will look to utilise his presence for today. He will occupy the attention of defenders whilst our wide players make quick, darting runs beyond them. He will also look to get into the box as much as possible, and is a constant threat both aerilally and with the ball on the ground. When off the ball, he will press the opposition defenders, looking to force a mistake, and preventing them from starting attacks out from the back. He will be helped in doing this by Costa and Malcolm.
Substitutions
If drawing/losing/winning by 1
D Llorente off Chris Wood on 65 mins
Change to a more standard 4-4-2 with Wood and Cavani working together as a powerhouse strength unit up front, with the wide men playing off him
Malcolm off Callejon on 75 mins
Fresh legs on the right hand side of the attack
Fabregas off Sessegnon on 85 mins
Switch to Costa, Sessegnon and Callejon playing in behind Wood and Cavani, with Goretzka as a holding midfielder. An all out attempt to get bodies into the box.
If winning by 2
Fabregas off Carvalho on 65 mins
Switch to a holding midfielder that sits in front of the back three.
Telles off, Rodriguez on 75 mins
A more sound defensive option than tells, and fresh legs for when going forward.
Malcolm off Callejon on 85 mins
Fresh legs on the right/
EL Second Leg Results
Germany 0(1) v (1)1 Liverpool
Liverpool win 2 -1 on Agg
Dybala(Pogba,49)
MOTM - Skriniar
Arsenal 0(0) v (2)1 Portsmouth
Portsmouth win 3-0 on Agg
Lewandowski(KDB,17)
MOTM - Fernandinho
EL Final will be
Liverpool v Portsmouth - The Parc Olympique Lyonnais - 26th May 2018
--------------------- DeGea ---------------------
------------- Varane ----- Caldara ------------
Carvajal --------- Busquets -------- B.Mendy
-------------- Tolisso ---- Eriksen -------------
Mbappe ------------------------------- Neymar
--------------------- Aguero --------------------
Butland, Sanchez, Tousart, Lemar, Bailey, Jesus, Traore
Massive game, a must win. 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, and if not get it out quickly to our wide men, we have the players in the midfield to dictate this game today, quick one touch, triangles to get beyond the lines of defence, Essentially still 433 but can easily shift to 343 with Busquets dropping back into a 3rd CB if need be.
De Gea is an imposing figure between the sticks with excellent reflexes to make him a commanding shot-stopper and comfortable with the ball at his feet, 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.
Varane and Caldara CB, Caldara picks up the CF, more than likely Costa so Caldara must be strong and aggressive against him and be the bully and not to be bullied, Varane sits spare picking up a 2nd CF/AM, 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 out of defence, no need to panic, look to move it simply to Busquets who is just in front of them or our fullbacks as we look to start our attacks from deep. Both are very comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass to get us moving forward. Carvajal and Mendy 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, Mendy 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. I want both CBs to go up for corners, with the fullbacks and Busquets sitiing back.
Our midfield 3 are essential to our style of play, Busquets central sits a little deeper just in front of the CB's as he looks to pick up the ball from them or GK, a quick turn and head up he will look to get us moving with a ball either out wide to Carvajal/Mendy 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 Tolisso and Eriksen just in front allows him the time as they shield him, they don't allow anyone to get on top of Busquets which gives him that extra second to get the ball moving. We can move very quickly from defence to attack, so if Leicester are up field and lose it then we can counter very quickly, like said Tolisso and Eriksen are vital in both defensive and attacking mode, they with Busquets shield our back 4 but when we are in control they will push just up ahead of Busquets 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 Newcastle fullbacks/midfielders. I want them to be a dominating midfield 3 in both defence and attack and work as a unit. Without Kante we will have more time on the ball to pick our passes. Eriksen will be the one furthest up field to support Aguero, looking to get him in on goal or indeed have a go himself.
In Mbappe and Neymar we will look to push full/wing backs back up the pitch by pressing them, we will be playing a high line as we have Busquets sitting in, they have an abundance of pace for this, All I want them to do is get into the face of them, stop them breaking up the pitch and getting up to support their own forwards. When attacking they will have the support from Carvajal and Mendy look to have a real go down the flanks, Mbappe will play more of a 'winger' than Neymar so he will drive down the line with pace,(he is extremely quick) beating his man along the way, can use Tolisso and Carvajal as the three look to eventually get the ball into Aguero or Neymar driving in from the left. Neymar himself does all the fancy stuff, he will dribble passed players and cut inside, so we allow him to be free today, with Mendy in support and Eriksen making himself available as a pivot, like the right the left will be very dangerous, we need to use our pace to our advantage get beyond the fullbacks and drive into support Aguero have so much pace and are versatile up front then they can interchange at any time Must help the defence tho by tracking the fullbacks or wingbacks
We want a high tempo game from our midfield 5 and fullbacks if you want to call it that, passing and moving, getting it out wide to where we see our strengths, push them back wards, I want to press them back into there own half, they may well have possession but if its in there own half they wont cause us many problems.
Aguero will get plenty chances, he must put away there side who will be solid at the back,however they have a very inexperienced goalkeeper today so we must pressurize him. 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, they may be big and strong but with a low centre of gravity he can push passed them hopefully, 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, who will be making there runs also so be watchful of them 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 - Busquets
Penalties - Neymar
Free Kicks - Neymar
Corners - Wingers
Losing -
65 Mins - Jesus for Tolisso, he will play up top with Aguero 442
75 Mins - Lemar and Bailey for Aguero and Mendy
Carvajal Varane Caldara
Bailey Busquets Eriksen Lemar
Mbappe Jesus Neymar
Winning -
75m Tousart for Eriksen, he and Tolisso either side of Busquets
80 Mins - Jesus for Aguero
87 Mins - Bailey for Neymar, track back
Drawing -
70 Mins - Jesus for Aguero
80 Mins - Bailey for Mbappe
105 Mins - Lemar for Eriksen and he goes to a No.10 role 4231
Pens (whoever is on)
Neymar
Eriksen
Aguero
Jesus
Mbappe
Bailey
Lemar
Tolisso
Busquets
———————Ter Stegen
Toljan——Skriniar———Romagnoli——Gaya
————————Torreira
———Cristante——————Milinkovic
—B.Silva————Mariano————Dybala
Subs: Gunn, Zagadou, Rodri, Harit, Brandt, Lozano, Morata
Captain: Alessio Romagnoli
Free Kicks: Paulo Dybala
Penalties: Mariano Diaz
Corners: Bernardo Silva
We will set up with a high block, the front three narrow to each other and positioned between first and 2nd lines of build up, looking to block the route central, with the two CMs pushed up on to the opponents deepest midfielders. Behind them we have our rest defence, who look to overload the opposition centrally, so if they play 2 up front, ball side FB tucks in with the CBs and the other sits next to Torreira, and if they play 1 CF and 2 SS’s/AMs/wingers, both FBs tuck in alongside Torreira. We use this solid central structure to block the middle ground and force the opponents to build wide. Forwards press on at a time as they push the opposition CBs towards their WBs/FBs. Once the FB gets the ball we set a pressing trap, our FB stepping up to press the WB from his central position and covering the vertical pass towards an AM/winger, with the ball side forward using his momentum in the press to go out to the ball carrier and push him towards the touchline, creating a 2 v 1, leaving only a diagonal pass into the ball side DM or a backwards pass to the CB dropping close to offer support, behind or to the side. If the ball goes to the CB, all 3 of our forwards immediately press him and look to win the ball back in the danger area, whilst if it goes to the CM, both CMs, ball side FB and Mariano will all go to press him from all sides and force a turnover or a long ball.
If the WBs/FBs successfully avoid the press then their attack still has to go around us, which isn’t as dangerous too us as it takes longer and allows us the time to adapt our shape as needed. They are a good team so they will likely beat the press at times, which means we have to be quick to regain shape, we have selected the two CMs today for this very reason, they are excellent at working backwards and cover a lot of ground and with the inverted FBs offer protection in the second phase, they can slow the game down, force play out wide and allow the CMs to drop back as we take up a compact 4-4-2, Silva dropping into the midfield line, with Dybala coming central. The shape from here is flexible, if they attack centrally we can quickly become a diamond to suffocate the ball carrier, if they go wide, Milinkovc and Silva support the FBs, all the while keeping 2 CFs up to stop them committing their CBs to the attacking phase, allowing us to defend deeper with 8 vs 7 in our favour.
When we build attacks we drop players deep to draw Portsmouth forward, Torreira will drop between the CBs so that we can build through the width of the pitch, CBs splitting the edges of the box, Gaya holding width out by the touchline and Toljan tucking inside providing a diagonal passing option in build up, with Cristante also dropping back.
They key in attack is to retain strong positional play, using a strong triangular structure throughout to find gaps in the oppositions formation and advance the ball into them via diagonal links between the lines, as this forces more of a response from the opponents defensive set up. When the FBs go wide, the wingers can push high infield and the CMs drop deeper, when the FBs are narrow, wingers stay wide and CMs push up etc. The FBs are the key to our structure, with Gaya offering width that will allow Dybala to come and use the half space and double up on the opposition with Milinkovic, with Gaya himself offering a great outball to shift the opponent and also ready to make diagonal runs in behind for longer balls forward from the opposite side. Toljan will be more adaptable, at times covering centrally as Cristante pushes into a 10 role, other times moving wide to allow Silva to come inside. Torreira is always ball side, in position to act as the 2nd passer and a screen to cover any defenders out of position.
Cristante and Milinkovic give us great flexibility in midfield. They can drop deep or move wide to help keep attacks fluid, both strong passer and they are both excellent off the ball. Most importantly they are both a huge goal threat from midfield and allow for dynamic link up with the forwards. Portsmouth tend to go for three at the back so their ability to arrive late in the box will be key, particularly when our FBs stretch wide, we want Silva and Dybala coming into the half space where they are most dangerous, drawing players towards them and creating split second decisions between wide CBs and CMs on who to go with. Dybala and Silva can take advantage of this to earn themselves the extra time and space to drive at the defence or split them open with a pass/go for goal, but the movement of Milinkovic/Cristante to attack the box with the off the ball runs can allow us to get in behind the opponent and in on goal. The Cms are great at at arriving late too, so when we build up through one flank/half space we expect the opposite side CM to be ready to make a late run into the box. Dybala and Silva will be charged with creating in this game, leaving their wide roles to unmark themselves and see plenty of the ball.
Mariano is there to use his physical nature to occupy the CBs always ready to run down the side of the middle CB if a wide CB is pulled out, but also attacking crosses and using his predatory instincts in the box to find space. He can also drop deeper to turn and run.
Subs:
If Winning: Rodri for Cristante 70’, Rodri into DM with Torreira’s workmate positioned a little further up. Zagadou for Silva 75’, 5-3-2. Harit for Dybala 90’.
If Drawing: Morata for Mariano 70’, looks to be the focal point from crosses that draw their CBs towards him and open space up for the midfield runners to get into the box unmarked. Harit and Lozano for Silva and Cristante 80’, fresh legs in attacking positions to try and win this game.
If Losing: Morata for Silva 60’, 4-3-1-2, start to go longer and look to win the loose balls, two CFs challenging to defence for the balls forward with Dybala and Milinkovic sniffing around. Brandt and Lozano for Gaya and Cristante 70’, 3-2-1-4 in attack, Brandt and Lozano coming back to make up numbers in defence.
Pens:
1. Hirving Lozano
2. Lucas Torreira
3. Alvaro Morata
4. Sergeij Milinkovic-Savic
5. Paulo Dybala
6. Mariano Diaz
7. Julian Brandt
8. Amine Harit
9. Jose Gaya
10. Alessio Romagnoli
4-3-3 Total Football
A quick and direct game centered around numerical supremacy and the idea of overwhelming the opposition based on the speed of our transitions and pace. We feel we can get in between the lines against them and out number them when we get forward.
High tempo football played at pace. Seamless interchanging of positions in attack, and relentless pressing in our own half when defending. Attacking at pace.
Everyone attacks, everyone defends. Well everyone attacks bar the cbs and Kante. Great pace throughout our side. Fabinho the dm, Thiago the playmaker, Willian the attacking cm. A midfield trio all strong defensively and going forward, all capable of beating a man and creating. Using the pace of our wide players and powerful running of Costa to create
We look to play our usual game and take the game to Chelsea. Find space in between the opposition lines. Knock the ball about the opposition, tiring them out, and allowing us to push players forward into attack. Isolate their attacking players.
Marcelo the fb that we look to get attacking, Azpi more reserved. Marcelo linking up with Hazard will be a key part of our attack. Marcelo also offers Hazard the freedom to go inside, link up with Costa and find space in and around the box.
As soon as we get the ball to our midfield, we look to move the ball quickly, quick passing and moving.
Fabinho the dm reading the play looking to win the ball back, Thiago offers an inteligent defensive player next to him with Willian's energy also important for pressing. Get Willian on the ball and looking to play neat one twos in between the lines to open up the opposition using the pace of our attacking trio. Can's power going forward adding a further element to our attack.
--------------------- Neuer
Azpilicueta - Ramos - Otamendi - Marcelo
------------- Fabinho - Thiago.A
-------------------- Willian
- L.Sane -------------------------- E.Hazard -
-------------------- D.Costa
Subs. Schmeichel, Odriozola, Ndidi, Koke, James.R, Guedes, Richarlison
Defence
We have a quick defence and energy and pace in midfield to stop quick breaks.
We defend in a 4-4-1-1 formation. Willian drops to LM. Sane RM. Allow Hazard the freedom of staying further forward. Hazard he sits on the deepest cm of the midfielders, likely Busquets, don't let him dictate play by simply standing on his toes.
Control the opposition by pressing the space with a narrow, compact rigid defensive unit, only allowing them to play in areas we want them to. When we lose the ball the closest player presses the ball, the second closest presses the obvious passing channel. Looking to stop any attacks before they begin.
Look to leave no space for them in between the lines, make it difficult for them to create. Their great dribblers and so if they beat a man, they'll run into another. The wide midfielders will track any forward runs made by their fbs/wbs, and Fabinho presses the space in front of our cbs, sweeping up danger in front of the defence when it gets through, Thiago pressing the ball.
In this tight formation narrowing to the side of play, ensuring there are no gaps in the formation. Fabinho will be key, reading the play in between the defence and midfield, getting across to cut out any danger. The winger opposite play comes inside and picks up the other cm.
As we drop deeper we are really compact. No space in between the lines. Isolate their attackers and force them to take risks.
Attack
We will counter using our pace to break where possible, where it's not we build possession from the back. The defenders will be a bit more patient on the ball taking care with their passing. When the midfielders get the ball they look to move it quickly, playing quick one twos or spreading the play to our wingers/forwards.
Positional structure, in addition to our technical players will be key to our quick passing gameplan going forward. Our approach in build up is to play a flexible asymmetric shape, 2 cbs with Azpi next to them, the next line will be Fabinho and Marcelo, coming deep to the first line to provide strong connection in order to transit the ball between the lines. Thiago will also drop deep to this line at times to help in the build up.
Thiago seeks to support Willian where possible with one of the wingers staying in this line. Marcelo also continues to progress offering an option wide.
These players will look to find spaces in between the Chelsea lines. As we progress to this next line Fabinho stays in the dm position. Looking to push more players further forward as we progress, the fbs looks to overlap the wingers. Fabinho, Willian and Thiago seeking to link up with the fbs and wingers.
We let our attackers play natural game in the final third. Create chances and score. Simple.
Subs. If winning after 66 mins bring on Koke for Willian. Fresh legs and pace in important areas.
If winning after 75 mins bring on Guedes for Sane. Fresh pace.
If winning after 85 mins bring on Ndidi for Thiago. Fresh power to see out the game.
If drawing after 70 mins bring on James.R for Willian.
If drawing after 75 mins bring on Odriozola for Azpilicueta.
If drawing after 80 mins bring on Koke for Thiago.
If losing after 60 mins bring on Odriozola for Azpi and James for Willian. Attacking rb, his great pace to offer us a new outlet. James offering goals and a final ball.
If losing after 75 mins bring on Koke for Fabinho.
4-3-3 Total Football
A quick and direct game centered around numerical supremacy and the idea of overwhelming the opposition based on the speed of our transitions and pace. We feel we can get in between the lines against them and out number them when we get forward.
High tempo football played at pace. Seamless interchanging of positions in attack, and relentless pressing in our own half when defending. Attacking at pace.
Everyone attacks, everyone defends. Well everyone attacks bar the cbs and Kante. Great pace throughout our side. Fabinho the dm, Thiago the playmaker, Willian the attacking cm. A midfield trio all strong defensively and going forward, all capable of beating a man and creating. Using the pace of our wide players and powerful running of Costa to create
We look to play our usual game and take the game to Chelsea. Find space in between the opposition lines. Knock the ball about the opposition, tiring them out, and allowing us to push players forward into attack. Isolate their attacking players.
Marcelo the fb that we look to get attacking, Azpi more reserved. Marcelo linking up with Hazard will be a key part of our attack. Marcelo also offers Hazard the freedom to go inside, link up with Costa and find space in and around the box.
As soon as we get the ball to our midfield, we look to move the ball quickly, quick passing and moving.
Fabinho the dm reading the play looking to win the ball back, Thiago offers an inteligent defensive player next to him with Willian's energy also important for pressing. Get Willian on the ball and looking to play neat one twos in between the lines to open up the opposition using the pace of our attacking trio.
--------------------- Neuer
Azpilicueta - Ramos - Otamendi - Marcelo
------------- Fabinho - Thiago.A
-------------------- Willian
- L.Sane -------------------------- E.Hazard -
-------------------- D.Costa
Subs. Schmeichel, Odriozola, Ndidi, Koke, James.R, Guedes, Richarlison
Defence
We have a quick defence and energy and pace in midfield to stop quick breaks.
We defend in a 4-4-1-1 formation. Willian drops to LM. Sane RM. Allow Hazard the freedom of staying further forward. Hazard he sits on the deepest cm of the midfielders, likely Busquets, don't let him dictate play by simply standing on his toes.
Control the opposition by pressing the space with a narrow, compact rigid defensive unit, only allowing them to play in areas we want them to. When we lose the ball the closest player presses the ball, the second closest presses the obvious passing channel. Looking to stop any attacks before they begin.
Look to leave no space for them in between the lines, make it difficult for them to create. Their great dribblers and so if they beat a man, they'll run into another. The wide midfielders will track any forward runs made by their fbs/wbs, and Fabinho presses the space in front of our cbs, sweeping up danger in front of the defence when it gets through, Thiago pressing the ball.
In this tight formation narrowing to the side of play, ensuring there are no gaps in the formation. Fabinho will be key, reading the play in between the defence and midfield, getting across to cut out any danger. The winger opposite play comes inside and picks up the other cm.
As we drop deeper we are really compact. No space in between the lines. Isolate their attackers and force them to take risks.
Attack
We will counter using our pace to break where possible, where it's not we build possession from the back. The defenders will be a bit more patient on the ball taking care with their passing. When the midfielders get the ball they look to move it quickly, playing quick one twos or spreading the play to our wingers/forwards.
Positional structure, in addition to our technical players will be key to our quick passing gameplan going forward. Our approach in build up is to play a flexible asymmetric shape, 2 cbs with Azpi next to them, the next line will be Fabinho and Marcelo, coming deep to the first line to provide strong connection in order to transit the ball between the lines. Thiago will also drop deep to this line at times to help in the build up.
Thiago seeks to support Willian where possible with one of the wingers staying in this line. Marcelo also continues to progress offering an option wide.
These players will look to find spaces in between the Chelsea lines. As we progress to this next line Fabinho stays in the dm position. Looking to push more players further forward as we progress, the fbs looks to overlap the wingers. Fabinho, Willian and Thiago seeking to link up with the fbs and wingers.
We let our attackers play natural game in the final third. Create chances and score. Simple.
Subs. If winning after 66 mins bring on Koke for Willian. Fresh legs and pace in important areas.
If winning after 75 mins bring on Guedes for Sane. Fresh pace.
If winning after 85 mins bring on Ndidi for Thiago. Fresh power to see out the game.
If drawing after 70 mins bring on James.R for Willian.
If drawing after 75 mins bring on Odriozola for Azpilicueta.
If drawing after 80 mins bring on Koke for Thiago.
If losing after 60 mins bring on Odriozola for Azpi and James for Willian. Attacking rb, his great pace to offer us a new outlet. James offering goals and a final ball.
If losing after 75 mins bring on Koke for Fabinho.
-------------------------- Ederson
-------- Alderweir'd ---- Javi.M ------- Bonucci
Walker -------- Khedira ----- Verratti ------ Alex Sandro
------------------------ O.Dembele
-------------- Lewandowski --- Timo Werner
Subs: Meret, Tah, Ghoulam, Fernandinho, D.Silva, Alexis, Mertens
3-5-2 , aiming to dominate possession, playing with two forwards and O.Dembele in behind to ensure we have plenty of attacking threat going forward, staying solid at the back
When on the ball, Javi.M moves out to more of a anchoring role, sitting deep and spreading the play allowing us to go back when needed if pressed.
Look to control the pace of the game and use our wg-backs to stretch the opposition, allowing Khedira and Verratti more time to operate in the middle of the park, Verratti often looking to play that first time pass into the forwards
Press initially from the front allowing them no easy route to play out from at the back so they have to go long and contest possession. Lewa and Werner constantly working off each other to pressure their CBs on and off the ball.
3-4-1-2 - 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 trio 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 Lewa/Werner and co as target men to bypass their mf press.
Alderweireld & Bonucci should shift slightly wider when on the offense allowing our wing-backs to push up in a bank of 4 in 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, Javi.M 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.
O.Dembele 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, running at their backline and using his pace to commit defenders.
Defensively will look to work in a 3, looking to work in tandem with our forwards to close down quickly and cutting out passing lanes. At times going deeper to support our midfielders if they manage to beat the initial press.
Flanks will be key as we look to expose them in wide areas and create space in midfield.
Two quick & skilful WG-backs in Walker and Alex Sandro, need to hug the touchline and provide the width allowing us to stretch the opposition. Always on the move so we can get them in behind and use them as outlets going forward when picking a pass.
Very possession orientated, comfortable playing quick 1-2's and accelerating into space, overlapping often and getting early deliveries into the box for our striker/s to attack.
When Liverpool are in possession we will initially look to press from front as a side and then drop off deeper with men behind the ball if they bypass with a strong block of 5 in midfield.
Don’t allow them to play out from the back and hurry their passes. Our attackers form a duo/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, our WG-backs on their fullbacks and midfield higher up, man-marking.
The reason we want to press higher is to exert early pressure and allow then no time on the ball, no easy possession and tire them throughout pressing our players, working tirelessly to chase the ball and game whilst we dictate the tempo.
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 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 O.Dembele cutting off passing lanes.
Essentially a 3-5-2, 5 in mf working to minimise the space in midfield zones and preventing them from finding their attackers. Our wing-backs then drop off to mark the oppositions wingers and help our CB's to prevent any space being left in behind.
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. Walker & Sandro can come up to support the play and provide the width. The front 3 & Verratti burst forward.
Subs:
IF WINNING: 60th minute – (3-5-2)
- Alexis > O.Dembele
- Fernandinho > Khedira
- Mertens > Werner (80th min)
Compact 3-5-2, Fernandinho fresh legs in mf, Sanchez look to pick up pockets of space and drive, Mertens get in behind.
IF DRAW: 70th minute – (3-4-3 - wide)
- D.Silva > Verratti
- Mertens > Werner
- Ghoulam > Sandro (75th min)
Like for like changes, play with plenty of width and attack this tiring Liverpool side.
IF LOSING: 75th minute – (4-4-2 - direct)
- Mertens > Bonucci
- D.Silva > Verratti
- A.Sanchez > Werner
4-4-2, direct. long balls into the box and constantly looking for the two strikers.
Flood forward and look for an equalizer/winner.
C - Lewandowski
FK's - Verratti / shoot - Lewandowski
Corners - O.Dembele
Pens – Lewandowski
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Europe
Page 11 of 19
12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16
posted on 12/4/18
——————----—Rico
———Zouma—-—Diop——Wober
Bernardo—Diawara——Dendoncker———Jorge
————Neres——Schick——Oyarzabal
Subs: Dragowski, Elvedi, Fornals, Laimer, Lo Celso, B.Keita, B.Traore
Captain: Leander Dendoncker
Corners: Gelson Martins
Free Kicks: Jorge/David Neres
Penalties: Patrick Schick
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 Schick 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 Zouma 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 Schick 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 Oyarzabal and Neres always tucked in by the CMs. Here we defend zonally both in midfield and defence, so Schick 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/Schick into the space that opens up in their back line. Schick 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 Neres 70’, 3-5-2. Keita for Oyarzabal 75’, two powerful hold up players.
If Drawing: Keita for Oyarzabal 70’, like for like. Fornals for Dendoncker 75’, more adventurous. B.Traore for Schick 80’.
If Losing: B.Traore for Bernardo 60’, more offensive wide player. Fornals and Lo Celso for Diawara and Wober 70’, Dendoncker to CB.
posted on 13/4/18
--------------------------------Lloris
----------------Manolas----Kompany---Llorente
Danilo-------------Goretzka-------Carvalho------Rodriguez
---------Callejon--------------------------------Costa
---------------------------------Cavani
Pickford, Veltman, Maitland-Niles, Fabregas, Malcolm, Aspas, Sessegnon
I’ve chosen to pick a similar starting eleven to the one that brought us some good results last week. In come Rodriguez and Callejon to replace Maitland-Niles and Maitland Niles. We are looking to play with some pace on the counter, but also with men getting behind the ball. This means that we should be strong defensively as a priority, but look to break with both pace and reasonable numbers when the time is right. This will be achieved mostly down the wing, and I expect the team to utilise this wide presence and concentrate the attacking and possession by getting the ball to these outlets as often as possible.
Defensively I have picked a back three that combines a physical presence with being capable of playing out of the back. Kompany and Lloris are experienced professionals, and will help to marshal the defence and make sure that positioning is sorted and that there is little space to work in behind them. Lloris will play the role of a sweeper keeper, especially when we are on the ball, providing an additional outlet for us to utilise. Despite this, I want us to play with a deeper defensive line, partly so that we can be more certain defensively, but also because we have a narrow lead to defend. When on the ball the players will look to distriburte forwards if possible. They will be provided options by both CMs, the FBs, Lloris, and each other. We don’t want to be playing the ball around the back too much, however, as we want to attack with speed on the counter.
In Danilo and Rodriguez I have two full backs that are very capable of getting up and down the line. They will be our widest players. When attacking they will get forward and overlap the wide players, getting themselves into good positions to get balls into the box. Rodriguez will make good use of his wicked left foot when he gets into these positions. The energy that both of these players bring to this position means that they should also be capable of getting back and contributing defensively with pace, should the attack not lead to anything in the final third and the ball gets lost. They will do this by showing their attacker out wide and as far away from the box as they can.
Goretzka and Carvalho will play a similar role in midfield to that which they always do. Both of them are neat and tidy on the ball, meaning they can spread it out wide and start attacks quickly when the ball is won. They will both press the opposition attackers with intensity, which the CB’s wont be doing, and will use their energy to keep this up. When we pick the ball up, Goretzka will advance forward, to around the edge of the opposition penalty area to prey on loose balls or weak clearances. When he does this, Carvalho will sit deep in front of the defence, acting as if he was a footballing Gandalf and not allowing the opponent to pass him by.
Callejon and Costa are, once again, playing slightly further inside than normal wingers do. This is done for two reasons. Firstly to create more space. Either the opponents full backs will have to start coming inside, allowing space for our overlapping fullbacks, or they will be left in a free pocket of space in between the midfield and the defence, allowing them to pick up the ball and use their pace to charge down the opposition. Both have pace in spades, and can also rely on their tricks and direct running to cause havoc and create space in the opposition backline. As I said before, this is apce that can be exploited by the players themselves, Cavani up front, or the attacking full backs.
Speaking of Cavani, I expect him to use and abuse that physical presence that he provides, as well as the boundless energy that is a key part of this game. He will use this to press the opposition high, either forcing them into a mistake that he can pounce on, or simply not allowing them to easily play it out from the back. He’ll also make a nightmare of himself in the box, looking to pounce on any cross, whether its whipped or floated, high or low, back post or near post. He will use his instinctive finishing and footballing brain to get himself into goalscoring positions.
Substitutions
If losing/drawing
Callejon off and Malcolm on 65 mins
Malcolm offers us fresh legs going forward, and can work specifically on defenders that Callejon has tired out. He’s you ng and desparate to prove himself.
Carvalho off and Aspas on 75 mins
We will sacrifice one of our holding midfielders for another attacker, in the hopes of grabbing a key goal. This means that Goretzka will sit deeper, and that Aspas will be playing off Cavani.
Costa off Sessegnon on 85 mins
A last throw of the dice with fresh legs in the attacking third.
If winning
Callejon off and Maitland-Niles on
Switch to Costa playing a more central role as a shadow striker behind Cavani. AMN goes in alongside Carvalho and Goretzka as a holding midfielder.
Rodriguez off Sessegnon on 80 mins
Fresh legs on the left.
posted on 13/4/18
Aston Veela vs Liverpool (4-3-3)
Injuries: Pellegrini, El Shaarawy, Kent, Rugani
…………………………………..Oblak…………………………
Hysaj……………..Godin………….Chiellini…………….Luis
………………………………….Neves………………………………
Di Maria…………………….……………………………Griezmann
……………………Higuain……Zlatan……Belotti…………………………
Subs: Forster, De Vrij, Gagliardini, Kessie, Lallana, Hamsik, Marchisio
Second leg, we need goals….so win or bust really.
The diamond didn’t work out too well last week in a 2-2 draw so this week we’ve gone all out, bags of width and shed loads of firewpower up front to make up the 2 away goals we conceded.
First leg was a tight congested affair, we have to evolve and add more width to proceedings, especially if Liverpool continue their use of 3 at the back, lets get the ball out wide quickly and really stretch the scouse defence.
Fast paced direct footy orchestrated by Rubinho Neves, the lad has a tremendous range of passing so with him sitting as the QB today spreading the ball about, we can transition quickly from back to front – the ball will travel much faster than Liverpool’s retreating legs. Neves is no soft touch, think he’s on 10 booking’s this season for Wolves, showing he can do the dirty work as well.
Oblak is a great shot stopper and his big frame will look to dominate the box, will look to collect any crosses into the box and then go long and fast,
Hysaj and Luis I want pushing high up the pitch as often as possible, Liverpool’s threat will come from their wing-backs stretching their legs, so we have to push them back, with our own FB’s plus our wingers upfield they will have to stay back, resorting in hopeful long balls.
Godin and Chiellini will hold the line, don’t push past 18yards line, no need to get drawn out and lose out in a sprint back towards goal, just defend the box and make Sparta proud, with the ball it’s the long raking diagonals they need to be hitting, we’re not here for ball retention.
Di Maria and Griezmann have the pace and trickery to cause Liverpool all kinds of problems on the break, get it down and drive forwards or try their luck from distance. Without the ball I want both men coming in off the wing and tucking in as auxiliary centre mids, leave the width for our FB’s to cover we want to hold the middle ground, so they’ll come in and give us 3 CM’s defensively.
The pay off come now, if LSTD goes 3 at the back we match them up man for man he has no spare man at the back, if he goes with a flat-back 4 then we murder him, have the extra man so he has to see his DM drop deeper to cover.
Zlatan comes in as a 9.5 – slightly deeper than his usual role. He really is a big game player and has all the attributes to be the link up man for such a big game, will bring the ball down or win the aerial battles, before playing Higuain or Belotti in.
Higuain and Belotti – 2 out and out goalscorers, in a game where we need goals with these two operating in and around the box, we have the firepower to put this game to bed and progress to the next round.
When the Liverpool keeper has the ball I want the 3 CB’s man marked by a striker each, if it’s 2 at the back then Higgy and Belotti take one each with Zlatan marking the DM.
Subs:
60 Mins
Kessie > Neves
Hamsik > Zlatan – moves to a traditional #10
posted on 13/4/18
Liverpool v Germany (CL)
Portsmouth/Italy(EL) v Arsenal
posted on 13/4/18
Newcastle v Leicester
Spain v Chelsea
posted on 14/4/18
-------------------------- Ederson
-------- Alderweir'd ---- Javi.M ------- Varane
Oxlade ---------- D.Silva ----- Verratti ------ Ghoulam
------------------------- O.Dembele
-------------- Lewandowski --- Timo Werner
Subs: Dier, Mendy, Fernandinho, Partey, KDB, A.Sanchez, Mertens
3-5-2 today, at home so aiming to dominate possession whilst looking to use the front 3 as couter attacking outlets as Italy look to chase the game.
When in possesion , Javi.M moves out to more of a anchoring role, sitting deep and spreading the play allowing us to go back if and when needed.
Look to control the pace of the game and use our wg-backs to stretch the opposition, allowing Silva and Verratti more time to operate in the middle of the park.
Press initially from the front allowing them no easy route to play out from at the back so they have to go long and contest possession. Lewa and Werner constantly working off each other to pressure their CBs on and off the ball.
3-4-1-2 - 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 trio 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 Lewa/Werner and co as target men to bypass their mf.
Alderweireld & Varane should shift slightly wider when on the offense allowing our wing-backs to push up in a bank of 4 in mf.
Verratti and D.Silva, 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, Javi.M 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.
O.Dembele 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, running at their backline and using his pace to commit defenders.
Defensively will look to work in a 3, looking to work in tandem with our forwards to close down quickly and cutting out passing lanes. At times going deeper to support our midfielders if they manage to beat the initial press.
Flanks will be key as we look to expose them in wide areas and create space in midfield.
Two quick & powerful WG-backs in Ox and Ghoulam, need to hug the touchline and provide the width allowing us to stretch the opposition. Always on the move so we can get them in behind and use them as outlets going forward when picking a pass.
Very possession orientated, comfortable playing quick 1-2's and accelerating into space, overlapping often and getting early deliveries into the box for our striker/s to attack.
When Italy are in possession we will initially look to press from front as a side and then drop off deeper with men behind the ball if they bypass with a strong block of 5 in midfield.
Don’t allow them to play out from the back and hurry their passes. Our attackers form a duo/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, our WG-backs on their fullbacks and midfield higher up, man-marking.
The reason we want to press higher is to exert pressure on the away side, allow no easy possession and tire them throughout, working tirelessly to chase the ball and game whilst we dictate the tempo.
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 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, Silva and O.Dembele cutting off passing lanes.
Essentially a 3-5-2, 5 in mf working to minimise the space in midfield zones and preventing them from finding their attackers. Our wing-backs then drop off to mark the oppositions wingers and help our CB's to prevent any space being left in behind.
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. Ox & Ghoulam can come up to support the play and provide the width. The front 3 & Vidal burst forward.
Subs:
If winning :
Fernandinho > D.Silva - 70th min
Mertens > Werner - 70th min
Draw:
De Bruyne > D.Silva - 60th min
A.Sanchez > O.Dembele - 60th min
Mendy > Ghoulam (80th min)
If losing:
Mertens > Werner - 60th min
A.Sanchez > O.Dembele - 60th min
KDB > D.Silva - 70th min
C - Lewandowski
FK's - KDB / shoot - Lewandowski
Corners - KDB
Pens – Lewandowski
posted on 24/4/18
---------------------- De Gea ---------------------
Carvajal ---- Varane ---- Umtiti ---- Emerson
--------------------- Busquets --------------------
--------------- Tolisso ---- Eriksen --------------
Mbappe --------------------------------- Neymar
---------------------- Aguero ----------------------
Butland, Caldara, Tousart, Pellegrini, Lemar, Coman, Jesus
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, and if not get it out quickly to our wide men, we have the players in the midfield to dictate this game today, quick one touch, triangles to get beyond the lines of defence, Essentially still 433 but can easily shift to 343 with Busquets dropping back into a 3rd CB if need be.
De Gea is an imposing figure between the sticks with excellent reflexes to make him a commanding shot-stopper and comfortable with the ball at his feet, 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.
A new partnership at CB but they know each other very well, Umtiti picks up the CF, Varane sits spare picking up a 2nd CF/AM, 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 out of defence, no need to panic, look to move it simply to Busquets who is just in front of them or our fullbacks as we look to start our attacks from deep. Both are very comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass to get us moving forward. Carvajal and Emerson 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, Emerson 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. I want both CBs to go up for corners, with the fullbacks and Busquets sitiing back.
Our midfield 3 are essential to our style of play, Busquets central sits a little deeper just in front of the CB's as he looks to pick up the ball from them or GK, a quick turn and head up he will look to get us moving with a ball either out wide to Carvajal/Emerson 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 Tolisso and Eriksen just in front allows him the time as they shield him, they don't allow anyone to get on top of Busquets which gives him that extra second to get the ball moving. We can move very quickly from defence to attack, so if Barca are up field and lose it then we can counter very quickly, like said Tolisso and Eriksen are vital in both defensive and attacking mode, they with Busquets shield our back 4 but when we are in control they will push just up ahead of Busquets 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 Barca fullbacks/midfielders. I want them to be a dominating midfield 3 in both defence and attack and work as a unit. Eriksen will be the one furthest up field to support Aguero, looking to get him in on goal or indeed have a go himself.
In Mbappe and Neymar we will look to push full/wing backs back up the pitch by pressing them, we will be playing a high line as we have Busquets sitting in, they have an abundance of pace for this, All I want them to do is get into the face of them, stop them breaking up the pitch and getting up to support their own forwards. When attacking they will have the support from Carvajal and Emerson as we look to have a real go down the flanks, Mbappe will play more of a 'winger' than Neymar so he will drive down the line with pace,(he is extremely quick) beating his man along the way, can use Tolisso and Carvajal as the three look to eventually get the ball into Aguero or Neymar driving in from the left. Neymar himself does all the fancy stuff, he will dribble passed players and cut inside, so we allow him to be free today, with Emerson in support and Eriksen there making himself available like the right, the left will be very dangerous, we need to use our pace to our advantage get beyond the fullbacks and drive into support Aguero. They have so much pace and are versatile up front then they can interchange at any time Must help the defence tho by tracking the fullbacks or wingbacks
We want a high tempo game from our midfield 5 and fullbacks, passing and moving, getting it out wide to where we see our strengths, push them back wards, I want to press (all ten players) them back into there own half, they may well have possession but if its in there own half they wont cause us many problems.
Aguero will get plenty chances, he must put away there side who will be solid at the back,however they have a very inexperienced goalkeeper today so we must pressurize him. 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, they may be big and strong but with a low centre of gravity he can push passed them hopefully, 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, who will be making there runs also so be watchful of them 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 - Busquets
Penalties - Neymar
Free Kicks - Neymar
Corners - Wingers
Losing -
60 Mins - Lemar for Eriksen - we go 4231 with Lemar to RW and Mbappe supporting Aguero
70 Mins - Jesus for Mbappe, goes up top with Aguero 442
Winning -
75 Mins - Tousart for Eriksen he sits in beside Busquets and Tolisso
82 Mins - Caldara for Mbappe, 5 at the back and Neymar into a free role behind Aguero
86 Mins - Jesus for Aguero
Drawing -
70 Mins - Lemar for Mbappe straight swap
80 Mins - Aouar for Eriksen and Jesus for Aguero
posted on 24/4/18
Aouar should be on the bench Not Coman
posted on 25/4/18
Counter attacking 4-5-1
We spring a few changes as we look to give us the best side to deal with Toon's strengths and exploit their weaknesses. Leaving a few of our best players out, so that our players fit the tactics.
Up against a team that thrives on space in attack, we look to deprive them of any space by playing a strong defensive structure and hitting them on a counter with the fantastic pace we have in attack. We defend in a narrow structure as well seeing their wingers will be looking to come inside.
Using our great pace in attack to support and create space for Ronaldo. We feel he can get at their cbs and will fancy his chances of getting the better of their cbs and keeper and get on the scoresheet.
A counter attacking 4-5-1 effectively, Luiz comes in at dm, he will play in a deep role, we look to use his strong defensive play in helping the cbs and importantly his ability to play out from the back and set us on the counter quickly. Use his long balls to put us on the front foot immediately, and get in behind the Toon midfield as they all press up.
Azpi moves to lb, a defensive move he'll be perfect against Salah who will be looking to drift inside. Odriozola at rb also gives us fantastic pace which we'll need in dealing with their wingers and will also be perfect on the counter.
At cm, Bernardo comes in for his pace and strong defensive work ethic. James gets the nod again for his creativity, long passing ability and also for his ability to score a screamer. With Toon missing their goalkeeper, we feel we can target their rusty backups who are prone to errors. The front 3 pick themselves.
Direct and counter attacking football. We have a hard working midfield, and Hazard, who we wont pretend is going to press, so we wont tell him to. With Azpi at lb staying reserved giving him the freedom to attack.
On the attacking side, we look to find space in between their defence and midfield as they press forward.
Up against a team that wants to press high, we seek to use Luiz, Neuer, James' ability to play accurate long passes. Ramos and Ota obv can hoof it fairly well too.
We have a midfield full of players who are excellent at creating, we will be direct in attack. Get players forward quickly, create for and support Ronaldo.
------------------- Neuer
Odriozola - Ramos - Otamendi - Azpilicueta
------------------- D.Luiz -------------
-------------- B.Silva - James.R
- L.Sane ------------------------------ Hazard -
----------------- C.Ronaldo
Subs. Schmeichel, Marcelo, Kante, Thiago, Richarlison, Guedes, D.Costa
Strong Defensive Lines
We defend with two banks of four behind the ball, leave no space, make it difficult for them to create. When we defend the midfield narrows, giving us bodies to the side of the park we are defending. James drops to the left side of the narrow four. Hazard simply sits on their dm to take away that option. In this narrow structure we leave no space.
In a narrow, rigid formation, we will look to press the space, not allowing them options. Draw them in to positions where they can’t hurt us, and then try and win the ball back. Then get forward quickly.
Of the cms, Bernardo seeks to defend diagonally ahead of Luiz, pressing the ball, Luiz always goal side of Bernardo. With James and Sane either side of Bernardo, pressing as a unit. Luiz slightly deeper, in a position to sweep in and clean up if they get past the first press. This will make it difficult for Newcastle to find space, force them to try and play in tight areas.
We don't leave much space between the lines. Two compact lines of four. Always looking to have 9 players behind the ball. Happy to defend deep, we look to get players behind the ball.
Ramos captain. Neuer and Ramos keep the defence and structure tight.
Attack.
We will be direct with our attacking play, get at them quickly in behind their midfield before they get back. Bypass their attempts to press by simply going long. Get shots in at the keeper.
We are happy for our defenders and Neuer to go long at times.
Ronaldo up top loves a European goal.
Subs. If drawing or winning after 70 mins bring on Kante for James. Bring on energy to give us extra drive. They'll be knackered from their pressing.
If drawing or winning after 75 mins bring on Guedes for Hazard. Fresh power and pace.
If winning after 80 mins bring on Marcelo for Bernardo. Fresh energy in cm.
If losing after 60 mins bring on Costa and Kante for Hazard and James. 4-4-2. Kante does the running of two men in cm next to Luiz, Sane left and Bernardo right.
If losing after 70 mins bring on Marcelo for Azpi.
posted on 28/4/18
-------------------------- Ederson
-------- Alderweir'd ---- Javi.M ------- Bonucci
Dier ---------- De Bruyne ----- Verratti ----- Alex Sandro
----------------------- Alexis Sanchez
-------------- Lewandowski --- Timo Werner
Subs: Meret, Tah, Ghoulam, Fernandinho, Partey, O.Dembele, Mertens
3-5-2 today, aiming to dominate possession, playing with two forwards and Sanchez in behind to ensure we have plenty of attacking threat going forward, play with purpose, always looking to probe and convert chances/possesion into goals in this first leg.
When on the ball, Javi.M moves out to more of a anchoring role, sitting deep and spreading the play allowing us to go back when needed if pressed.
Look to control the pace of the game and use our wg-backs to stretch the opposition, allowing KDB and Verratti more time to operate in the middle of the park, dicating.
Press initially from the front allowing them no easy route to play out from at the back so they have to go long and contest possession. Lewa and Werner constantly working off each other to pressure their CBs on and off the ball.
3-4-1-2 - 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 trio 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 Lewa/Werner and co as target men to bypass their mf press.
Alderweireld & Bonucci should shift slightly wider when on the offense allowing our wing-backs to push up in a bank of 4 in mf.
Verratti and KDB, 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, Javi.M 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.
Alexis Sanchez 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, running at their backline and using his pace to commit defenders.
Defensively will look to work in a 3, looking to work in tandem with our forwards to close down quickly and cutting out passing lanes. At times going deeper to support our midfielders if they manage to beat the initial press.
Flanks will be key as we look to expose them in wide areas and create space in midfield.
Two quick & skilful WG-backs in Dier and Alex Sandro, need to hug the touchline and provide the width allowing us to stretch the opposition. Always on the move so we can get them in behind and use them as outlets going forward when picking a pass.
Very possession orientated, comfortable playing quick 1-2's and accelerating into space, overlapping often and getting early deliveries into the box for our striker/s to attack.
When Arsenal are in possession we will initially look to press from front as a side and then drop off deeper with men behind the ball if they bypass with a strong block of 5 in midfield.
Don’t allow them to play out from the back and hurry their passes. Our attackers form a duo/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, our WG-backs on their fullbacks and midfield higher up, man-marking.
The reason we want to press higher is to exert early pressure and allow then no time on the ball, no easy possession and tire them throughout pressing our players, working tirelessly to chase the ball and game whilst we dictate the tempo.
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 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, KDB and A.Sanchez cutting off passing lanes.
Essentially a 3-5-2, 5 in mf working to minimise the space in midfield zones and preventing them from finding their attackers. Our wing-backs then drop off to mark the oppositions wingers and help our CB's to prevent any space being left in behind.
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. Dier & Sandro can come up to support the play and provide the width. The front 3 & KDB burst forward.
Subs:
IF WINNING: 70th minute – (3-5-2)
- Fernandinho > Verratti
- O.Dembele > A.Sanchez
IF DRAW: 70th minute – (3-4-3 - wide)
- O.Dembele > Werner
- Fernandinho > Verratti
- Mertens > Lewa (75th min)
IF LOSING: 75th minute – (4-4-2 - direct)
- O.Dembele > Javi.M
- Fernandinho > Verratti
- Mertens > Werner
C - Lewandowski
FK's - KDB / shoot - Lewandowski
Corners - KDB
Pens – Lewandowski
posted on 28/4/18
————————Ter Stegen
Fabinho——Christensen—Skriniar——Zagadou
———————Torreira——Pogba
——————————Dybala
Bernardeschi————Morata—————Philipp
Subs: Gunn, Gaya, Tielemans, Milinkovic-Savic, Sisto, Sabitzer, Mariano
Captain: Fabinho
Free Kicks: Paulo Dybala
Penalties: Fabinho
Corners: Federico Bernardeschi
Control the game today, moving the ball quickly to manipulate the opponent. Firstly we drop players deep in build up to draw Germany forward, Torreira a 6 between the first two lines of opposition press. Fabinho will tuck in, just ahead of Torreira and Pogba in the same line to create a diamond midfield, using Fabinho and Pogba to draw two of their CMs forward, freeing Dybala up to find space between the lines, with the CBs and CMs aim to work the ball to him in space. Zagadou will stretch out to the touchline as an out ball when we need to distort their pressing. Plan B is using long diagonals from the back to the opposite side winger, looking to get immediately behind the opponents FB with their pace. Christensen can bring the ball into midfield.
They key is to retain strong positional play, using a strong triangular structure throughout to find gaps in the oppositions formation and advance the ball into them, advancing in a 3-4-3 diamond structure. Fabinho and Pogba are the key to our structure as they can widen and narrow as the game plays out, stretching wide to find space to link with the winger, but also able to narrow, overloading the opposition midfield, creating triangles and making driving runs through the heart of the field and into the channels. Torreira is always ball side, in position to act as the 2nd passer and a screen to cover any defenders out of position.
Pogba and Dybala give us great flexibility in attack. Dybala will look to take advantage of having 3 midfielders alongside him to free himself up between the lines, looking to get space either side of the DM in the half spaces, receiving the ball from his team mates and looking to turn and link up quickly with the front three, or looking to move out wide to double up with our wingers and overload them down the flanks, at times with the CM also joining. Another key aim will be to win the half space battle by overloading with both Dybala and Pogba stepping up, Zagadou moving into the midfield line to cover the change in shape. Draw the opposition towards them when they receive in the half space, make the opposition narrow to this area, cause indecision about who goes to deal with the threat and this allows us to get our wingers to receive the ball with space to turn and run directly at the narrowed defence, put them on the back foot, draw the oppositions attention whilst Pogba, Dybala, Morata and the opposite winger make blind space runs in behind.
The front three occupy the opposition back line, the wingers looking to keep the FBs pegged back and keep them in a 1 v 1 battle, keep them pushed back so they can’t help their midfield. Bernardeschi looks to be direct and link up quickly, run at defenders, where as Philipp will look to play between FB and CB and will often be the furthest forward, using his pace to get in behind and into the box to finish chances. Morata looks to act as a point of reference for attacks, dropping closer to the midfield to aid overloads and make build up more fluid. He’s also great at drifting to the left, allowing Philipp to drift in behind the defence. His main aim though is to be in the box to finish the attacks, looking to attack the crosses from the wing overloads, and make runs in the channels for our midfielders to pick him out.
When we lose it we counterpress with 5 defensive organisers, and 5 hunters. The hunters press immediately, don’t allow the opponents time to decide how they will transition. The CF will look to press the ball side CB, using his cover shadow to block t’other CB, whilst the wingers press the FB/far side CB depending on the side they’re on. Behind them CM’s pushes onto the deep midfielders, in particular both will focus on the midfielder carrying the ball, and one will use his cover shadow to block the other midfielder, essentially this creates a diamond around the ball allowing us to really squeeze the opponents ball carrier and win it back quickly.
The organisers will be pushed close to our offensive line in order to retain strong vertical compactness to add to the opponents difficulty in playing through us. The 5 create a staggered 2-3 bowl shape, allowing us to form a block around their forwards. This should create a 5 vs 3/4 in our favour meaning that even if a forward gets hold of the ball, we have the numbers around him to win it back quickly, be it from knock downs or a striker looking to use his pace. Focus firstly on blocking passing lanes behind the press, and then squeezing opponents if they get it forward, ball side FB in the half space to cover multiple options using his energy, far side FB shutting off his winger, Torreira positioned to cover the space between AM and CF, Skriniar marking the CF and Christensen deep as the covering defender, using his reading of the game to cover off the flanks if needed The key here is Zagadou, Pulisic is their biggest threat on the counter, we want him stepped up on to him at all times and quick to close him off as an option. Drop to a flat 4-3-3 when defending deep.
Subs:
If Winning: Milinkovic-Savic for Morata 70’, Dybala up front, 4-3-3. Tielemans and Gaya for Pogba and Philipp 75’, can drop into a 5-4-1 when needed, when Zagadou/Gaya pairing on the left.
If Drawing: Gaya for Zagadou 65’, provide extra width down the left to allow Philipp more freedom. Sabitzer and Sisto for Bernardeschi and Philipp 75’, fresh legs out wide to get at tiring defenders.
If Losing: Milinkovic-Savic for Torreira 60’ 3-5-2, Fabinho into midfield. Play the ball longer into the forwards and then press with a pentagon and be the first to loose balls. Sisto for Bernardeschi and Mariano for Pogba 70’, 3-4-1-2.
posted on 29/4/18
NEWCASTLE 4-3-3
Captain: Luis Suarez
Penalties: Luis Suarez
Corners: Miralem Pjanic
Freekicks: Miralem Pjanic
Crossing Freekick: Miralem Pjanic
—————————— Chesney
Trent — Marquinhos — Koulibaly — Robertson
————————— Casemiro
—————— Radja — Pjanic
Salah ————————————————— Mane
——————————— Firmino
SUBS: Milner, Sule, Keita, Rose, Coutinho, Ozil, Suarez
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 Casemiro 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 (Pjanic, Salah, Mane, Firmino) will either be provider or finisher with Radja supporting and Casemiro 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 Keita for Pjanic. More physical presence in midfield, and gives greater defensive cover.
If drawing or losing after 65 mins bring on Ozil for Pjanic. Fresh creativity and legs.
If drawing or losing after 75 mins bring on Suarez for Casemiro. Radja will press higher to win the ball back quickly. Firmino with more goal threat, plays up front with Suarez, in a 4-4-2.
posted on 29/4/18
-------------------------Lloris
---------Manolas---Kompany---D. Llorente
Danilo-------Goretzka---M. Llorente----Maitland-Niles
--------Malcolm---------------------Costa
-------------------------Cavani
Pickford, Tuanzebe, Maitland-Niles, Fabregas, Callejon, Aspas, Danilo Perreira
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 Rodriguez 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 quick and strong, so they have advantages that they can utilise against their opponent.
A lot of faith is being shown in Llorente 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. When we are on the ball, Goretzka will be given license to move forward and commit to the attack, pushing to the edge of the penalty area, to pick up balls that drop loose around here, whilst Llorente 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 after impressing last time out, 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
M Llorente 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 Aspas on 75 mins
Convert to a more traditional 4-4-2 in the hunt of a goal, with Iheanacho playing off Cavani.
Malcolm off Callejon on 80 mins
Fresh legs and a dynamic player on to help push us more forward in attack
If winning
M Llorente off, Maitland-Niles on 65 mins
Maitland-Niles provides fresh legs in the CM position, and will allow more pressing to take place in the midfield.
Costa off Callejon on 85 mins
Fresh legs up front to hit them on the counter attack
posted on 8/5/18
---------------------- De Gea -----------------------
Carvajal ---- Varane ---- Caldara ---- B.Mendy
--------------------- Busquets ----------------------
--------------- Tolisso ----- Eriksen ---------------
T.Lemar ---------------------------------- Neymar
---------------------- Aguero -----------------------
Butland, Sanchez, Tousart, Aouar, Bailey, B.Traore, Jesus
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, and if not get it out quickly to our wide men, we have the players in the midfield to dictate this game today, quick one touch, triangles to get beyond the lines of defence, Essentially still 433 but can easily shift to 343 with Busquets dropping back into a 3rd CB if need be.
De Gea is an imposing figure between the sticks with excellent reflexes to make him a commanding shot-stopper and comfortable with the ball at his feet, 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.
At the back Caldara picks up the CF, Varane sits spare picking up a 2nd CF/AM, 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 out of defence, no need to panic, look to move it simply to Busquets who is just in front of them or our fullbacks as we look to start our attacks from deep. Both are very comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass to get us moving forward I f Caldara struggles then switch roles with Varane. Carvajal and Mendy 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, but be cautious hence the three in midfield, they drive down the line in support of the wingers, Mendy gets outside Neymar to allow him to cut inside whereas Carvajal will support Lemar 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. I want both CBs to go up for corners, with the fullbacks and Busquets sitiing back.
Our midfield 3 are essential to our style of play, Busquets central sits a little deeper just in front of the CB's as he looks to pick up the ball from them or GK, a quick turn and head up he will look to get us moving with a ball either out wide to Carvajal/Mendy 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 Tolisso and Eriksen just in front allows him the time as they shield him, they don't allow anyone to get on top of Busquets which gives him that extra second to get the ball moving. We can move very quickly from defence to attack, so if Barca are up field and lose it then we can counter very quickly, like said Tolisso and Eriksen are vital in both defensive and attacking mode, they with Busquets shield our back 4 but when we are in control they will push just up ahead of Busquets 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 Barca fullbacks/midfielders. I want them to be a dominating midfield 3 in both defence and attack and work as a unit. Eriksen will be the one furthest up field to support Aguero, looking to get him in on goal or indeed have a go himself.
In Lemar and Neymar we will look to push full/wing backs back up the pitch by pressing them, we will be playing a high line as we have Busquets sitting in, they have an abundance of pace for this, All I want them to do is get into the face of them, stop them breaking up the pitch and getting up to support their own forwards. When attacking they will have the support from Carvajal and Mendy as we look to have a real go down the flanks, Lemar will play more of a 'winger' than Neymar so he will drive down the line with pace,(he is extremely quick) beating his man along the way, can use Tolisso and Carvajal as the three look to eventually get the ball into Aguero or Neymar driving in from the left. Neymar himself does all the fancy stuff, he will dribble passed players and cut inside, so we allow him to be free today, with Mendy in support and Eriksen there making himself available like the right, the left will be very dangerous, we need to use our pace to our advantage get beyond the fullbacks and drive into support Aguero. They have so much pace and are versatile up front then they can interchange at any time Must help the defence tho by tracking the fullbacks or wingbacks
We want a high tempo game from our midfield 5 and fullbacks, passing and moving, getting it out wide to where we see our strengths, push them back wards, I want to press (all ten players) them back into there own half, they may well have possession but if its in there own half they wont cause us many problems.
Aguero will get plenty chances, he must put away there side who will be solid at the back,however they have a very inexperienced goalkeeper today so we must pressurize him. 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, they may be big and strong but with a low centre of gravity he can push passed them hopefully, 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 Lemar and Neymar, who will be making there runs also so be watchful of them 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 - Busquets
Penalties - Neymar
Free Kicks - Eriksen/Neymar
Corners - Wingers
Losing -
70 Mins - Jesus and Bailey for Eriksen and Lemar, we go 4-4-2 with Jesus up top with Aguero
80 Mins - Bertand Traore for Mendy, 3 at the back, Bailey to LM, Traore to RM and Neyamr up top
Carvajal - Varane - Caldara
Traore - Tolisso - Busquets - Bailey
G.Jesus - Aguero - Neymar
Winning -
70 Mins - Tousart for Eriksen, he and Tolisso go either side of Busquets to close down the midfiled
80 Mins - Bailey for Lemar fresh legs down the right to help track back
85 Mins - Aouar for Aguero, Aouar to LM 4-5-1 Neymar running at everything up top
Drawing -
IF 1 - 1
80 Mins - Tousart for Eriksen and into midfield defensive role to see the game out
85 Mins Jesus for Aguero to run at everything in there half
IF 2 - 2
80 Mins - Aouar for Eriksen fresh legs in that role
Extra Time -
95 Mins - Bailey for Lemar, Jesus for Aguero
posted on 12/5/18
Counter attacking 4-5-1
We pick a side we think will give us the best side to deal with Toon's strengths and exploit their weaknesses. Leaving a few of our best players out, so that our players fit the tactics.
Up against a team that thrives on space in attack, we look to deprive them of any space by playing a strong defensive structure and hitting them on a counter with the fantastic pace we have in attack. We defend in a deep, narrow structure as well seeing their wingers will be looking to come inside. Not allowing space in behind the defenders, Vallejo gets the nod for his pace completing an all Spanish back 4, communication will be key in keeping tight at the back.
Using our great pace in attack to support and create space and opportunities for Ronaldo. Newcastle have to attack, and so we go with great pace in attack, hit them quickly and take advantage of the space they leave as they throw players forward.
A counter attacking 4-5-1 effectively, Luiz comes in at dm, he will play in a deep role, we look to use his strong defensive play in helping the cbs and importantly his ability to play out from the back and set us on the counter quickly. Use his long balls to put us on the front foot immediately, and get in behind the Toon midfield as they all press up. Kante next to him looks to press the opposition. Willian the advanced cm, also seeks to press the opposition with Kante
Azpi moves to lb, a defensive move as he'll be perfect against Salah who will be looking to drift inside. Odriozola at rb also gives us fantastic pace which we'll need in dealing with their wingers and will also be perfect on the counter.
At cm, Willian comes in for his pace and strong defensive work ethic. He supports the front 3 that pick themselves.
Direct and counter attacking football. We have a hard working midfield, and Hazard, who we wont pretend is going to press, so we wont tell him to. With Azpi at lb staying reserved giving him the freedom to attack.
On the attacking side, we look to find space in between their defence and midfield as they press forward.
Up against a team that wants to press high, we seek to use Luiz, and Neuer's ability to play accurate long passes. Ramos can hoof it fairly well too.
We have a midfield full of pace, we will be direct in attack. Get players forward quickly, create for and support Ronaldo.
------------------- Neuer
Odriozola - Ramos - Vallejo - Azpilicueta
-------------- Kante -- D.Luiz -------------
------------------- Willian
- L.Sane --------------------------- Hazard -
----------------- C.Ronaldo
Subs. Schmeichel, Marcelo, Stones, Thiago, Correa, Guedes, D.Costa
Strong Defensive Lines
We defend relatively deep with two banks of four behind the ball, leave no space, make it difficult for them to create. When we defend the midfield narrows, giving us bodies to the side of the park we are defending. Willian drops to the left side of the narrow four. Hazard simply sits on their dm to take away that option. In this narrow structure we leave no space.
In a narrow, rigid formation, we will look to press the space, not allowing them options. Draw them in to positions where they can’t hurt us, and then try and win the ball back. Then get forward quickly.
Of the cms, Kante seeks to defend diagonally ahead of Luiz, pressing the ball, Luiz always goal side of Kante. With Willian and Sane either side of Kante, pressing as a unit. Luiz slightly deeper, in a position protecting the cbs, to sweep in and clean up if they get past the first press. This will make it difficult for Newcastle to find space, force them to try and play in tight areas.
We don't leave much space between the lines. Two compact lines of four. Always looking to have 9 players behind the ball. Happy to defend deep, we look to get players behind the ball.
Ramos captain. Neuer and Ramos keep the defence and structure tight.
Attack.
We will be direct with our attacking play, get at them quickly in behind their midfield before they get back. Bypass their attempts to press by simply going long.
We are happy for our defenders and Neuer to go long at times.
Ronaldo up top loves a European goal.
Subs. If drawing or winning after 70 mins bring on Marcelo for Willian. Bring on fresh pace. Plays lcm.
If drawing or winning after 75 mins bring on Costa for Ronaldo. Injects energy to lift the side and offer fresh power to open Toon up.
If winning after 80 mins bring on Guedes for Hazard. Fresh pace in attack.
If losing after 60 mins bring on Costa and Thiago for Kante and Hazard. 4-4-2. Sane left, Willian right.
If losing after 70 mins bring on Marcelo for Azpi.
posted on 12/5/18
-------------------------- Ederson
-------- Alderweir'd ---- Javi.M ------- Bonucci
Walker ------ De Bruyne ----- Fernandinho --- Alex Sandro
------------------------ O.Dembele
-------------- Lewandowski --- Timo Werner
Subs: Meret, Zappacosta, Tah, Partey, Verratti, Oxlade, Mertens
3-5-2 , aiming to dominate possession, playing with two forwards and O.Dembele in behind to ensure we have plenty of attacking threat going forward, play with purpose, Arsenal will be looking to chase the game so look to pick them off as and when the opportunity presents itself
When on the ball, Javi.M moves out to more of a anchoring role, sitting deep and spreading the play allowing us to go back when needed if pressed.
Look to control the pace of the game and use our wg-backs to stretch the opposition, allowing KDB and Fernandinho more time to operate in the middle of the park, De Bruyne often looking to play that first time pass into the forwards
Press initially from the front allowing them no easy route to play out from at the back so they have to go long and contest possession. Lewa and Werner constantly working off each other to pressure their CBs on and off the ball.
3-4-1-2 - 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 trio 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 Lewa/Werner and co as target men to bypass their mf press.
Alderweireld & Bonucci should shift slightly wider when on the offense allowing our wing-backs to push up in a bank of 4 in mf.
Fernandinho and KDB, 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, Javi.M 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.
O.Dembele 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, running at their backline and using his pace to commit defenders.
Defensively will look to work in a 3, looking to work in tandem with our forwards to close down quickly and cutting out passing lanes. At times going deeper to support our midfielders if they manage to beat the initial press.
Flanks will be key as we look to expose them in wide areas and create space in midfield.
Two quick & skilful WG-backs in Walker and Alex Sandro, need to hug the touchline and provide the width allowing us to stretch the opposition. Always on the move so we can get them in behind and use them as outlets going forward when picking a pass.
Very possession orientated, comfortable playing quick 1-2's and accelerating into space, overlapping often and getting early deliveries into the box for our striker/s to attack.
When Arsenal are in possession we will initially look to press from front as a side and then drop off deeper with men behind the ball if they bypass with a strong block of 5 in midfield.
Don’t allow them to play out from the back and hurry their passes. Our attackers form a duo/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, our WG-backs on their fullbacks and midfield higher up, man-marking.
The reason we want to press higher is to exert early pressure and allow then no time on the ball, no easy possession and tire them throughout pressing our players, working tirelessly to chase the ball and game whilst we dictate the tempo.
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 and stop them from picking their passes into an attacker, Fernandinho man-man their AM, looking to harass him and using his physical prowess to really put him off his game, KDB and O.Dembele cutting off passing lanes.
Essentially a 3-5-2, 5 in mf working to minimise the space in midfield zones and preventing them from finding their attackers. Our wing-backs then drop off to mark the oppositions wingers and help our CB's to prevent any space being left in behind.
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. Walker & Sandro can come up to support the play and provide the width. The front 3 & KDB burst forward.
Subs:
IF WINNING: 70th minute – (3-5-2)
- Partey > O.Dembele
- Mertens > Werner
IF DRAW: 70th minute – (3-4-3 - wide)
- Verratti > Fernandinho
- Mertens > Werner
- Zappacosta > Walker (78th min)
IF LOSING: 75th minute – (4-4-2 - direct)
- Mertens > Bonucci
- Verratti > Fernandinho
- Ox > Werner
C - Lewandowski
FK's - KDB / shoot - Lewandowski
Corners - KDB
Pens – Lewandowski
posted on 12/5/18
NEWCASTLE
-----------------------Alisson
-----Marquinhos-----Sule-----Koulibaly
Trent-----Keita------Pjanic-------Robertson
-------Salah-------Firmino---------Mane
Subs
Rose, Reus, Casemiro, Jorginho, Coutinho, Suarez, Kane
Sule is the defensive leader and will be the one to set the defensive line on the pitch, the centre backs will always stay back to stop counter attacks, The CB’s will communicate with each other so they are clear in where the attacking threats are. When dealing with the opposition, we will avoid sliding tackles unless necessary instead looking to use our experience to just guide players off the ball. When on the ball, if the opposition are giving them space to come out with the ball, then they should take it forward, if not, keep it simple and play it to a man in space with the occasional long ball to the front 3 or the wing backs thrown in to keep the opposition from setting up against one style of play.
For the wing backs today the objective is to provide the width for the team and keep the oppositon stretched as much as possible, both still have a defensive mindset so will be getting back into a back 5 if we lose the ball. They will only occasionally put floated crosses in, preferring to either play shorter passes to the 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.
The focus of the midfield 2 will be to use their high energy, all action styles to get themselves around the middle of the pitch, working to control the midfield battle whilst still having the attacking nous to create chances for us. When we are in the attacking third, they will always be looking to make themselves available for a pass to keep recycling the ball, keeping the pressure up with us looking to use the movement of the other CM's and the front 3 to drag 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. We will also occasionally take the occasional long shot, with the aim being to make sure defenders aren't content to sit back and forcing them to make a decision. When defending, they are looking to press the middle third of the pitch, pressing the opposition CMs/Wingers in conjunction with other players as they are on the ball to rush their decisions and win the ball back.
Both wingers today will be looking will be to drift around when deeper players are in possession, looking to combine with the other attacking players to get little areas of space before using their pace and trickery respectively to drift 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 one 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 stopping the passing lines to the full backs primarily, then focus on ensuring our full backs dont get outnumbered.
When Firmino is 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, then using his tireless energy reserves to work back and press their centre mids.
Set Pieces
Corners - Pjanic takes the corners, most of the time looking to have the ball at an attackable height around 8-10 yards out between the posts, the WB's stay back to prevent counters, 2 of the CB's and Firmino work in a group to make little blocks and cross-runs to lose a marker so 1 or 2 can get a run at the ball.
Free Kicks - Pjanic takes Direct FK's
For Indirect FK's, same instructions as Corners
Penalties - Salah is the designated taker.
Subs
If Winning
70 mins - Rose for Robertson - The wing backs stay back, but look to get out quickly and counter if the opposition over-commit for a route back into the game.
80 + 82 Mins - Casemiro for Keita and Coutinho for Mane - Actively time waste and Mourinho the opposition.
If Drawing
70 Mins - Jorginho for Keita - Add a bit more urgency into attacks, show the opposition we are going for the win.
If Losing
67 Mins - Coutinho and Suarez for Keita and Robertson - The wings backs act as wingers and just pile forward in numbers.
posted on 12/5/18
————————Ter Stegen
Conti———Skriniar———Romagnoli——Zinchenko
——————————Rodri
B.Silva———Harit—————Pogba———Philipp
——————————Dybala
Subs: Gunn, Gaya, Loftus-Cheek, Cristante, Sisto, Brandt, Morata
Captain: Alessio Romagnoli
Free Kicks: Paulo Dybala/Paul Pogba
Corners: Amine Harit/Bernardo Silva
Penalties: Paulo Dybala
Control the game today, moving the ball quickly to manipulate the opponent. Firstly we drop players deep in build up to draw Germany forward, Rodri a 6 between the first two lines of opposition press. Zinchenko will act as a false FB, tucking inside, with both CBs stretching out to the corners of the penalty box, Zinchenko provides a diagonal passing option in build up, and gives them an extra player to deal with centrally to facilitate build up. Conti stays wide to stretch the opponent and Harit and Pogba can stay further up the pitch in advanced areas, Pogba moving into channel and wide space, freeing himself up when Germany go to press Rodri and Zinchenko, and Harit plays in the half space, with a diagonal link to Conti, Silva, Rodri and Zinchenko, between the opponent lines.
They key is to retain strong positional play, using a strong triangular structure throughout to find gaps in the oppositions formation and advance the ball into them via diagonal links between the lines, as this forces more of a response from the opponents defensive set up. When the CMs are in the half space, FBs stretch wide and wingers run behind the defence, when the CM goes wide, FB remain deep and narrow, and winger go into the half space, creating triangles in every attack. The FBs are the key to our structure, with Conti offering width that will allow Silva to come and use the half space and double up on the opposition with Harit and Dybala, with Conti himself offering a great outball to shift the opponent. Zinchenko will stay more central and look to use his passing range to break the lines and create more space for Pogba, but both can change roles as the teams shape rotates. Rodri is always ball side, in position to act as the 2nd passer and a screen to cover any defenders out of position.
Pogba and Harit give us great flexibility in midfield. They can move wide to create overloads down the flank, which we want to use regularly today as they can either free themselves up, or draw Germany CMs out of the middle and out of their comfort zone, leaving them vulnerable to the skill of our CMs but also to Dybala dropping deep into the freed up space. Another key aim will be to win the half space battle, draw the opposition towards them when they receive in the half space, make the opposition narrow to this area, cause indecision about who goes to deal with the threat and this allows us to get our FBs overlapping down the side of the narrowed defence, or Zinchenko with powerful underlapping runs, and with Dybala dropping deep and pulling the CBs forward, the two wingers can make out to in runs to get in behind, our CM from there can split the defence open, get the FB to the byeline and they can cross for the winger to finish, simples. Both can drop deep to instigate attacks and both can get in the box to finish them.
The front three occupy the opposition back line, the wingers looking to keep the FBs pegged back and keep them in a 1 v 1 battle, keep them pushed back so they can’t help their midfield. Silva looks to be direct and link up quickly, run at defenders, where as Philipp will look to play between FB and CB and will often be the furthest forward, using his pace to get in behind and into the box to finish chances. Dybala is a false 9, at times dropping into a 10 position to help link attacks together and draw Germany’s CBs forward to open space for the wingers behind, other times he can drift wide and let Pogba/Philipp as a target in the middle, other times he makes runs behind or looks to take the CBs on with his speed and dribbling, he adds real versatility to our attacks.
We counterpress whenever we lose it, using a 2-3-2-3 with narrowed FBs offering extra protection centrally to allow Harit and Pogba to be aggressive and on the front foot, pressing one side of the pitch together to overload them, with the front three pressing from behind, wingers arching their press to box the ball carrier in and Dybala stopping the backwards passing lane. Trap the play ball side and force the mistakes or longer less accurate passes that our 5 narrow players behind the press can easily mop up. Our far side FB will usually be a little closer to the wing to cover the opponents free side attacker.
When the opponent build we also play a high press, initial phase sees the FBs tucked in alongside Rodri again to provide protection behind the Ams. The wingers will press the CBs with curved runs from the wing, designed to pressure the ball carrying CB and make wide passes difficult to execute, whilst Dybala drops in with Pogba and Harit to form a 3 man block to stop any vertical passes into midfield. Force their CBs to split really wide and create more distance for passes to cover, making their build up slower. We have all 10 outfielders narrow which means we are impossible to break down centrally and they are forced to try use the wide areas and go round us, again taking longer and allowing us the time to adapt our shape as needed. When they do go wide towards their FBs, our FBs will initiate a harder press on the ball carrier, by shutting off the vertical ball to their winger, with our winger moving back to press the FB and our ball side AM and CF going to press him and close the diagonal route to the centre. Far side winger and AM drop back to keep us compact and covered against switches of play. When they peat the press, 4-5-1.
Subs:
If Going through: Cristante and Loftus-Cheek for Harit and Pogba 70’, fresh legs in CM and two players with good appetite to win the ball quickly. Gaya for Philipp 75’.
If going out: Gaya for Zinchenko 60’, provide extra width on the left. Morata for Pogba 70’, Dybala into AM and Morata in the box for crosses. Brandt for Harit 75’.
posted on 13/5/18
-------------------------------Lloris
----------------Manolas---Kompany---D Llorente
Maitland-Niles----------------------------------------Telles
--------------------------Goretzka-----Fabregas
---------------Malcolm--------------------------Costa
---------------------------------Cavani
Pickford, Veltman, Rodriguez, Carvalho, Callejon, Wood, Sessegnon
A bit more attacking for our side today, as we know that we need to go all out to try and get ourselves a win against a tough Portsmouth side. Cavani and Mailand-Niles are in for the injured Aspas and Danilo, and we return to a three at the back formation that has served us well up to this point. The CMs are playing a more advanced role than usual, and I have opted to start Fabregas ahead of the more defensive William Carvalho, to offer us something a bit better going forward.
Lloris and Kompany, as always, provide the experience at the back, hence why Lloris is playing as the middle of the three centre backs. We will be looking to play the ball out from the back, wide to the wing backs or forward to the centre mids. Manolas and Llorente have the license to step out rom the back and press, due to the absence of holding midfielders, and then Kompany will come across and cover their position. They will then revert to a standard three at the back as soon as it is possible to do so.
Maitland-Niles and Telles have been selected today due to their energy, pace and ability to get up and down the line. Due to the lack of holding midfielders, their defensive duties are more important than usual, and they will look to press opposition wingers and push them further out wide. When we have possession of the football, I expect both to bomb forward and overlap their winger, providing runs down the outside. When one gets the ball in a crossing position, the other will make a darting run towards the back post, so as to get as many players into the box as we can. Balls should be swung in, with the primary target being Cavani, but we will have numerous players in the box to pick out, and also pick up second balls, should they drop.
Goretzka will be playing a sort of box to box playmaker role today. He will be comfortable pressing deep to pick up the ball, but also confident enough to carry the ball forward when he does retrieve it. He is the engine in the midfield, compensating for a lack of running and energy from Fabregas. Goretzka is also comfortable distributing the ball, and will look to play balls over the top of the defence to either our wingers or our wing backs, who will be making these runs. When this is done, he will sit on the edge of the penalty area, looking to pick up any balls that drop here, so as to lay Fabregas off, o0r have a shot himself.
Speaking of Fabregas, he will play a playmaker role, sitting deep to pick up the ball and dictate the ball when necessary, but also pushing forward to contribute to attacks, and also to control the ball and the play further forward, should we need a little bit more finesse and passing precision in the final third. He won’t look to spend long on the ball, as he may get closed down, but will instead look to release the ball over the top to any one of our runners, or lay it off for Goretzka to carry forward.
Our wingers provide the flair in this team selection. They play slightly more narrow a role than conventional wingers do. I suppose you could call them inside forwards, as their primary role is to run at and beyond the opposition centre backs, not targeting the full backs. This occupies the attention of the centre backs more, who tend to be slower and less capable of dealing with that sense of pace. It should also create a bit more space for Cavani to exploit against these centre backs. The full backs won’t have an easy game, though, as they will still have to deal with our wing backs. Malcolm and Costa will look to make runs beyond Cavani, so that whenj he has the ball he can lay it off to them, or balls can be played over the top by Fabregas or Goretzka.
Cavani returns today and brings back his physical game, and we will look to utilise his presence for today. He will occupy the attention of defenders whilst our wide players make quick, darting runs beyond them. He will also look to get into the box as much as possible, and is a constant threat both aerilally and with the ball on the ground. When off the ball, he will press the opposition defenders, looking to force a mistake, and preventing them from starting attacks out from the back. He will be helped in doing this by Costa and Malcolm.
Substitutions
If drawing/losing/winning by 1
D Llorente off Chris Wood on 65 mins
Change to a more standard 4-4-2 with Wood and Cavani working together as a powerhouse strength unit up front, with the wide men playing off him
Malcolm off Callejon on 75 mins
Fresh legs on the right hand side of the attack
Fabregas off Sessegnon on 85 mins
Switch to Costa, Sessegnon and Callejon playing in behind Wood and Cavani, with Goretzka as a holding midfielder. An all out attempt to get bodies into the box.
If winning by 2
Fabregas off Carvalho on 65 mins
Switch to a holding midfielder that sits in front of the back three.
Telles off, Rodriguez on 75 mins
A more sound defensive option than tells, and fresh legs for when going forward.
Malcolm off Callejon on 85 mins
Fresh legs on the right/
posted on 14/5/18
EL Second Leg Results
Germany 0(1) v (1)1 Liverpool
Liverpool win 2 -1 on Agg
Dybala(Pogba,49)
MOTM - Skriniar
Arsenal 0(0) v (2)1 Portsmouth
Portsmouth win 3-0 on Agg
Lewandowski(KDB,17)
MOTM - Fernandinho
EL Final will be
Liverpool v Portsmouth - The Parc Olympique Lyonnais - 26th May 2018
posted on 23/5/18
--------------------- DeGea ---------------------
------------- Varane ----- Caldara ------------
Carvajal --------- Busquets -------- B.Mendy
-------------- Tolisso ---- Eriksen -------------
Mbappe ------------------------------- Neymar
--------------------- Aguero --------------------
Butland, Sanchez, Tousart, Lemar, Bailey, Jesus, Traore
Massive game, a must win. 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, and if not get it out quickly to our wide men, we have the players in the midfield to dictate this game today, quick one touch, triangles to get beyond the lines of defence, Essentially still 433 but can easily shift to 343 with Busquets dropping back into a 3rd CB if need be.
De Gea is an imposing figure between the sticks with excellent reflexes to make him a commanding shot-stopper and comfortable with the ball at his feet, 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.
Varane and Caldara CB, Caldara picks up the CF, more than likely Costa so Caldara must be strong and aggressive against him and be the bully and not to be bullied, Varane sits spare picking up a 2nd CF/AM, 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 out of defence, no need to panic, look to move it simply to Busquets who is just in front of them or our fullbacks as we look to start our attacks from deep. Both are very comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass to get us moving forward. Carvajal and Mendy 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, Mendy 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. I want both CBs to go up for corners, with the fullbacks and Busquets sitiing back.
Our midfield 3 are essential to our style of play, Busquets central sits a little deeper just in front of the CB's as he looks to pick up the ball from them or GK, a quick turn and head up he will look to get us moving with a ball either out wide to Carvajal/Mendy 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 Tolisso and Eriksen just in front allows him the time as they shield him, they don't allow anyone to get on top of Busquets which gives him that extra second to get the ball moving. We can move very quickly from defence to attack, so if Leicester are up field and lose it then we can counter very quickly, like said Tolisso and Eriksen are vital in both defensive and attacking mode, they with Busquets shield our back 4 but when we are in control they will push just up ahead of Busquets 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 Newcastle fullbacks/midfielders. I want them to be a dominating midfield 3 in both defence and attack and work as a unit. Without Kante we will have more time on the ball to pick our passes. Eriksen will be the one furthest up field to support Aguero, looking to get him in on goal or indeed have a go himself.
In Mbappe and Neymar we will look to push full/wing backs back up the pitch by pressing them, we will be playing a high line as we have Busquets sitting in, they have an abundance of pace for this, All I want them to do is get into the face of them, stop them breaking up the pitch and getting up to support their own forwards. When attacking they will have the support from Carvajal and Mendy look to have a real go down the flanks, Mbappe will play more of a 'winger' than Neymar so he will drive down the line with pace,(he is extremely quick) beating his man along the way, can use Tolisso and Carvajal as the three look to eventually get the ball into Aguero or Neymar driving in from the left. Neymar himself does all the fancy stuff, he will dribble passed players and cut inside, so we allow him to be free today, with Mendy in support and Eriksen making himself available as a pivot, like the right the left will be very dangerous, we need to use our pace to our advantage get beyond the fullbacks and drive into support Aguero have so much pace and are versatile up front then they can interchange at any time Must help the defence tho by tracking the fullbacks or wingbacks
We want a high tempo game from our midfield 5 and fullbacks if you want to call it that, passing and moving, getting it out wide to where we see our strengths, push them back wards, I want to press them back into there own half, they may well have possession but if its in there own half they wont cause us many problems.
Aguero will get plenty chances, he must put away there side who will be solid at the back,however they have a very inexperienced goalkeeper today so we must pressurize him. 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, they may be big and strong but with a low centre of gravity he can push passed them hopefully, 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, who will be making there runs also so be watchful of them 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 - Busquets
Penalties - Neymar
Free Kicks - Neymar
Corners - Wingers
Losing -
65 Mins - Jesus for Tolisso, he will play up top with Aguero 442
75 Mins - Lemar and Bailey for Aguero and Mendy
Carvajal Varane Caldara
Bailey Busquets Eriksen Lemar
Mbappe Jesus Neymar
Winning -
75m Tousart for Eriksen, he and Tolisso either side of Busquets
80 Mins - Jesus for Aguero
87 Mins - Bailey for Neymar, track back
Drawing -
70 Mins - Jesus for Aguero
80 Mins - Bailey for Mbappe
105 Mins - Lemar for Eriksen and he goes to a No.10 role 4231
Pens (whoever is on)
Neymar
Eriksen
Aguero
Jesus
Mbappe
Bailey
Lemar
Tolisso
Busquets
posted on 26/5/18
———————Ter Stegen
Toljan——Skriniar———Romagnoli——Gaya
————————Torreira
———Cristante——————Milinkovic
—B.Silva————Mariano————Dybala
Subs: Gunn, Zagadou, Rodri, Harit, Brandt, Lozano, Morata
Captain: Alessio Romagnoli
Free Kicks: Paulo Dybala
Penalties: Mariano Diaz
Corners: Bernardo Silva
We will set up with a high block, the front three narrow to each other and positioned between first and 2nd lines of build up, looking to block the route central, with the two CMs pushed up on to the opponents deepest midfielders. Behind them we have our rest defence, who look to overload the opposition centrally, so if they play 2 up front, ball side FB tucks in with the CBs and the other sits next to Torreira, and if they play 1 CF and 2 SS’s/AMs/wingers, both FBs tuck in alongside Torreira. We use this solid central structure to block the middle ground and force the opponents to build wide. Forwards press on at a time as they push the opposition CBs towards their WBs/FBs. Once the FB gets the ball we set a pressing trap, our FB stepping up to press the WB from his central position and covering the vertical pass towards an AM/winger, with the ball side forward using his momentum in the press to go out to the ball carrier and push him towards the touchline, creating a 2 v 1, leaving only a diagonal pass into the ball side DM or a backwards pass to the CB dropping close to offer support, behind or to the side. If the ball goes to the CB, all 3 of our forwards immediately press him and look to win the ball back in the danger area, whilst if it goes to the CM, both CMs, ball side FB and Mariano will all go to press him from all sides and force a turnover or a long ball.
If the WBs/FBs successfully avoid the press then their attack still has to go around us, which isn’t as dangerous too us as it takes longer and allows us the time to adapt our shape as needed. They are a good team so they will likely beat the press at times, which means we have to be quick to regain shape, we have selected the two CMs today for this very reason, they are excellent at working backwards and cover a lot of ground and with the inverted FBs offer protection in the second phase, they can slow the game down, force play out wide and allow the CMs to drop back as we take up a compact 4-4-2, Silva dropping into the midfield line, with Dybala coming central. The shape from here is flexible, if they attack centrally we can quickly become a diamond to suffocate the ball carrier, if they go wide, Milinkovc and Silva support the FBs, all the while keeping 2 CFs up to stop them committing their CBs to the attacking phase, allowing us to defend deeper with 8 vs 7 in our favour.
When we build attacks we drop players deep to draw Portsmouth forward, Torreira will drop between the CBs so that we can build through the width of the pitch, CBs splitting the edges of the box, Gaya holding width out by the touchline and Toljan tucking inside providing a diagonal passing option in build up, with Cristante also dropping back.
They key in attack is to retain strong positional play, using a strong triangular structure throughout to find gaps in the oppositions formation and advance the ball into them via diagonal links between the lines, as this forces more of a response from the opponents defensive set up. When the FBs go wide, the wingers can push high infield and the CMs drop deeper, when the FBs are narrow, wingers stay wide and CMs push up etc. The FBs are the key to our structure, with Gaya offering width that will allow Dybala to come and use the half space and double up on the opposition with Milinkovic, with Gaya himself offering a great outball to shift the opponent and also ready to make diagonal runs in behind for longer balls forward from the opposite side. Toljan will be more adaptable, at times covering centrally as Cristante pushes into a 10 role, other times moving wide to allow Silva to come inside. Torreira is always ball side, in position to act as the 2nd passer and a screen to cover any defenders out of position.
Cristante and Milinkovic give us great flexibility in midfield. They can drop deep or move wide to help keep attacks fluid, both strong passer and they are both excellent off the ball. Most importantly they are both a huge goal threat from midfield and allow for dynamic link up with the forwards. Portsmouth tend to go for three at the back so their ability to arrive late in the box will be key, particularly when our FBs stretch wide, we want Silva and Dybala coming into the half space where they are most dangerous, drawing players towards them and creating split second decisions between wide CBs and CMs on who to go with. Dybala and Silva can take advantage of this to earn themselves the extra time and space to drive at the defence or split them open with a pass/go for goal, but the movement of Milinkovic/Cristante to attack the box with the off the ball runs can allow us to get in behind the opponent and in on goal. The Cms are great at at arriving late too, so when we build up through one flank/half space we expect the opposite side CM to be ready to make a late run into the box. Dybala and Silva will be charged with creating in this game, leaving their wide roles to unmark themselves and see plenty of the ball.
Mariano is there to use his physical nature to occupy the CBs always ready to run down the side of the middle CB if a wide CB is pulled out, but also attacking crosses and using his predatory instincts in the box to find space. He can also drop deeper to turn and run.
Subs:
If Winning: Rodri for Cristante 70’, Rodri into DM with Torreira’s workmate positioned a little further up. Zagadou for Silva 75’, 5-3-2. Harit for Dybala 90’.
If Drawing: Morata for Mariano 70’, looks to be the focal point from crosses that draw their CBs towards him and open space up for the midfield runners to get into the box unmarked. Harit and Lozano for Silva and Cristante 80’, fresh legs in attacking positions to try and win this game.
If Losing: Morata for Silva 60’, 4-3-1-2, start to go longer and look to win the loose balls, two CFs challenging to defence for the balls forward with Dybala and Milinkovic sniffing around. Brandt and Lozano for Gaya and Cristante 70’, 3-2-1-4 in attack, Brandt and Lozano coming back to make up numbers in defence.
Pens:
1. Hirving Lozano
2. Lucas Torreira
3. Alvaro Morata
4. Sergeij Milinkovic-Savic
5. Paulo Dybala
6. Mariano Diaz
7. Julian Brandt
8. Amine Harit
9. Jose Gaya
10. Alessio Romagnoli
posted on 26/5/18
4-3-3 Total Football
A quick and direct game centered around numerical supremacy and the idea of overwhelming the opposition based on the speed of our transitions and pace. We feel we can get in between the lines against them and out number them when we get forward.
High tempo football played at pace. Seamless interchanging of positions in attack, and relentless pressing in our own half when defending. Attacking at pace.
Everyone attacks, everyone defends. Well everyone attacks bar the cbs and Kante. Great pace throughout our side. Fabinho the dm, Thiago the playmaker, Willian the attacking cm. A midfield trio all strong defensively and going forward, all capable of beating a man and creating. Using the pace of our wide players and powerful running of Costa to create
We look to play our usual game and take the game to Chelsea. Find space in between the opposition lines. Knock the ball about the opposition, tiring them out, and allowing us to push players forward into attack. Isolate their attacking players.
Marcelo the fb that we look to get attacking, Azpi more reserved. Marcelo linking up with Hazard will be a key part of our attack. Marcelo also offers Hazard the freedom to go inside, link up with Costa and find space in and around the box.
As soon as we get the ball to our midfield, we look to move the ball quickly, quick passing and moving.
Fabinho the dm reading the play looking to win the ball back, Thiago offers an inteligent defensive player next to him with Willian's energy also important for pressing. Get Willian on the ball and looking to play neat one twos in between the lines to open up the opposition using the pace of our attacking trio. Can's power going forward adding a further element to our attack.
--------------------- Neuer
Azpilicueta - Ramos - Otamendi - Marcelo
------------- Fabinho - Thiago.A
-------------------- Willian
- L.Sane -------------------------- E.Hazard -
-------------------- D.Costa
Subs. Schmeichel, Odriozola, Ndidi, Koke, James.R, Guedes, Richarlison
Defence
We have a quick defence and energy and pace in midfield to stop quick breaks.
We defend in a 4-4-1-1 formation. Willian drops to LM. Sane RM. Allow Hazard the freedom of staying further forward. Hazard he sits on the deepest cm of the midfielders, likely Busquets, don't let him dictate play by simply standing on his toes.
Control the opposition by pressing the space with a narrow, compact rigid defensive unit, only allowing them to play in areas we want them to. When we lose the ball the closest player presses the ball, the second closest presses the obvious passing channel. Looking to stop any attacks before they begin.
Look to leave no space for them in between the lines, make it difficult for them to create. Their great dribblers and so if they beat a man, they'll run into another. The wide midfielders will track any forward runs made by their fbs/wbs, and Fabinho presses the space in front of our cbs, sweeping up danger in front of the defence when it gets through, Thiago pressing the ball.
In this tight formation narrowing to the side of play, ensuring there are no gaps in the formation. Fabinho will be key, reading the play in between the defence and midfield, getting across to cut out any danger. The winger opposite play comes inside and picks up the other cm.
As we drop deeper we are really compact. No space in between the lines. Isolate their attackers and force them to take risks.
Attack
We will counter using our pace to break where possible, where it's not we build possession from the back. The defenders will be a bit more patient on the ball taking care with their passing. When the midfielders get the ball they look to move it quickly, playing quick one twos or spreading the play to our wingers/forwards.
Positional structure, in addition to our technical players will be key to our quick passing gameplan going forward. Our approach in build up is to play a flexible asymmetric shape, 2 cbs with Azpi next to them, the next line will be Fabinho and Marcelo, coming deep to the first line to provide strong connection in order to transit the ball between the lines. Thiago will also drop deep to this line at times to help in the build up.
Thiago seeks to support Willian where possible with one of the wingers staying in this line. Marcelo also continues to progress offering an option wide.
These players will look to find spaces in between the Chelsea lines. As we progress to this next line Fabinho stays in the dm position. Looking to push more players further forward as we progress, the fbs looks to overlap the wingers. Fabinho, Willian and Thiago seeking to link up with the fbs and wingers.
We let our attackers play natural game in the final third. Create chances and score. Simple.
Subs. If winning after 66 mins bring on Koke for Willian. Fresh legs and pace in important areas.
If winning after 75 mins bring on Guedes for Sane. Fresh pace.
If winning after 85 mins bring on Ndidi for Thiago. Fresh power to see out the game.
If drawing after 70 mins bring on James.R for Willian.
If drawing after 75 mins bring on Odriozola for Azpilicueta.
If drawing after 80 mins bring on Koke for Thiago.
If losing after 60 mins bring on Odriozola for Azpi and James for Willian. Attacking rb, his great pace to offer us a new outlet. James offering goals and a final ball.
If losing after 75 mins bring on Koke for Fabinho.
posted on 26/5/18
4-3-3 Total Football
A quick and direct game centered around numerical supremacy and the idea of overwhelming the opposition based on the speed of our transitions and pace. We feel we can get in between the lines against them and out number them when we get forward.
High tempo football played at pace. Seamless interchanging of positions in attack, and relentless pressing in our own half when defending. Attacking at pace.
Everyone attacks, everyone defends. Well everyone attacks bar the cbs and Kante. Great pace throughout our side. Fabinho the dm, Thiago the playmaker, Willian the attacking cm. A midfield trio all strong defensively and going forward, all capable of beating a man and creating. Using the pace of our wide players and powerful running of Costa to create
We look to play our usual game and take the game to Chelsea. Find space in between the opposition lines. Knock the ball about the opposition, tiring them out, and allowing us to push players forward into attack. Isolate their attacking players.
Marcelo the fb that we look to get attacking, Azpi more reserved. Marcelo linking up with Hazard will be a key part of our attack. Marcelo also offers Hazard the freedom to go inside, link up with Costa and find space in and around the box.
As soon as we get the ball to our midfield, we look to move the ball quickly, quick passing and moving.
Fabinho the dm reading the play looking to win the ball back, Thiago offers an inteligent defensive player next to him with Willian's energy also important for pressing. Get Willian on the ball and looking to play neat one twos in between the lines to open up the opposition using the pace of our attacking trio.
--------------------- Neuer
Azpilicueta - Ramos - Otamendi - Marcelo
------------- Fabinho - Thiago.A
-------------------- Willian
- L.Sane -------------------------- E.Hazard -
-------------------- D.Costa
Subs. Schmeichel, Odriozola, Ndidi, Koke, James.R, Guedes, Richarlison
Defence
We have a quick defence and energy and pace in midfield to stop quick breaks.
We defend in a 4-4-1-1 formation. Willian drops to LM. Sane RM. Allow Hazard the freedom of staying further forward. Hazard he sits on the deepest cm of the midfielders, likely Busquets, don't let him dictate play by simply standing on his toes.
Control the opposition by pressing the space with a narrow, compact rigid defensive unit, only allowing them to play in areas we want them to. When we lose the ball the closest player presses the ball, the second closest presses the obvious passing channel. Looking to stop any attacks before they begin.
Look to leave no space for them in between the lines, make it difficult for them to create. Their great dribblers and so if they beat a man, they'll run into another. The wide midfielders will track any forward runs made by their fbs/wbs, and Fabinho presses the space in front of our cbs, sweeping up danger in front of the defence when it gets through, Thiago pressing the ball.
In this tight formation narrowing to the side of play, ensuring there are no gaps in the formation. Fabinho will be key, reading the play in between the defence and midfield, getting across to cut out any danger. The winger opposite play comes inside and picks up the other cm.
As we drop deeper we are really compact. No space in between the lines. Isolate their attackers and force them to take risks.
Attack
We will counter using our pace to break where possible, where it's not we build possession from the back. The defenders will be a bit more patient on the ball taking care with their passing. When the midfielders get the ball they look to move it quickly, playing quick one twos or spreading the play to our wingers/forwards.
Positional structure, in addition to our technical players will be key to our quick passing gameplan going forward. Our approach in build up is to play a flexible asymmetric shape, 2 cbs with Azpi next to them, the next line will be Fabinho and Marcelo, coming deep to the first line to provide strong connection in order to transit the ball between the lines. Thiago will also drop deep to this line at times to help in the build up.
Thiago seeks to support Willian where possible with one of the wingers staying in this line. Marcelo also continues to progress offering an option wide.
These players will look to find spaces in between the Chelsea lines. As we progress to this next line Fabinho stays in the dm position. Looking to push more players further forward as we progress, the fbs looks to overlap the wingers. Fabinho, Willian and Thiago seeking to link up with the fbs and wingers.
We let our attackers play natural game in the final third. Create chances and score. Simple.
Subs. If winning after 66 mins bring on Koke for Willian. Fresh legs and pace in important areas.
If winning after 75 mins bring on Guedes for Sane. Fresh pace.
If winning after 85 mins bring on Ndidi for Thiago. Fresh power to see out the game.
If drawing after 70 mins bring on James.R for Willian.
If drawing after 75 mins bring on Odriozola for Azpilicueta.
If drawing after 80 mins bring on Koke for Thiago.
If losing after 60 mins bring on Odriozola for Azpi and James for Willian. Attacking rb, his great pace to offer us a new outlet. James offering goals and a final ball.
If losing after 75 mins bring on Koke for Fabinho.
posted on 27/5/18
-------------------------- Ederson
-------- Alderweir'd ---- Javi.M ------- Bonucci
Walker -------- Khedira ----- Verratti ------ Alex Sandro
------------------------ O.Dembele
-------------- Lewandowski --- Timo Werner
Subs: Meret, Tah, Ghoulam, Fernandinho, D.Silva, Alexis, Mertens
3-5-2 , aiming to dominate possession, playing with two forwards and O.Dembele in behind to ensure we have plenty of attacking threat going forward, staying solid at the back
When on the ball, Javi.M moves out to more of a anchoring role, sitting deep and spreading the play allowing us to go back when needed if pressed.
Look to control the pace of the game and use our wg-backs to stretch the opposition, allowing Khedira and Verratti more time to operate in the middle of the park, Verratti often looking to play that first time pass into the forwards
Press initially from the front allowing them no easy route to play out from at the back so they have to go long and contest possession. Lewa and Werner constantly working off each other to pressure their CBs on and off the ball.
3-4-1-2 - 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 trio 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 Lewa/Werner and co as target men to bypass their mf press.
Alderweireld & Bonucci should shift slightly wider when on the offense allowing our wing-backs to push up in a bank of 4 in 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, Javi.M 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.
O.Dembele 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, running at their backline and using his pace to commit defenders.
Defensively will look to work in a 3, looking to work in tandem with our forwards to close down quickly and cutting out passing lanes. At times going deeper to support our midfielders if they manage to beat the initial press.
Flanks will be key as we look to expose them in wide areas and create space in midfield.
Two quick & skilful WG-backs in Walker and Alex Sandro, need to hug the touchline and provide the width allowing us to stretch the opposition. Always on the move so we can get them in behind and use them as outlets going forward when picking a pass.
Very possession orientated, comfortable playing quick 1-2's and accelerating into space, overlapping often and getting early deliveries into the box for our striker/s to attack.
When Liverpool are in possession we will initially look to press from front as a side and then drop off deeper with men behind the ball if they bypass with a strong block of 5 in midfield.
Don’t allow them to play out from the back and hurry their passes. Our attackers form a duo/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, our WG-backs on their fullbacks and midfield higher up, man-marking.
The reason we want to press higher is to exert early pressure and allow then no time on the ball, no easy possession and tire them throughout pressing our players, working tirelessly to chase the ball and game whilst we dictate the tempo.
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 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 O.Dembele cutting off passing lanes.
Essentially a 3-5-2, 5 in mf working to minimise the space in midfield zones and preventing them from finding their attackers. Our wing-backs then drop off to mark the oppositions wingers and help our CB's to prevent any space being left in behind.
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. Walker & Sandro can come up to support the play and provide the width. The front 3 & Verratti burst forward.
Subs:
IF WINNING: 60th minute – (3-5-2)
- Alexis > O.Dembele
- Fernandinho > Khedira
- Mertens > Werner (80th min)
Compact 3-5-2, Fernandinho fresh legs in mf, Sanchez look to pick up pockets of space and drive, Mertens get in behind.
IF DRAW: 70th minute – (3-4-3 - wide)
- D.Silva > Verratti
- Mertens > Werner
- Ghoulam > Sandro (75th min)
Like for like changes, play with plenty of width and attack this tiring Liverpool side.
IF LOSING: 75th minute – (4-4-2 - direct)
- Mertens > Bonucci
- D.Silva > Verratti
- A.Sanchez > Werner
4-4-2, direct. long balls into the box and constantly looking for the two strikers.
Flood forward and look for an equalizer/winner.
C - Lewandowski
FK's - Verratti / shoot - Lewandowski
Corners - O.Dembele
Pens – Lewandowski
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