Sours vs Wolfs
Tab has had a great season and his cockerels have certainly had more than their fair share of feed. But the wolves are hungry and deserve a little nibble.
We’ve an extensive injury list but we’ll still go relatively strong, TAB needs to win to guarantee he progresses to the next round. We have nothing to play for other than pride so today we go with an attacking line-up to try and hit Spurs on the counter as they come looking for some goals
The Sick-list
Brandon Williams
Bryan Reynolds
Eberechi Eze
Cody Gakpo
Marc Cucurella
Sander Berge
………………………………………………..Bayindir……………………………..
………………………………Tapsoba…Botman…Kumbulla………
……………………………..Bentancur…..Tonali….Willock…………
Neto………………………….Boadu…………….Mir……………………..Leao
Subs: Trubin (GK) Schuurs, James, Onana, Davies, Kluivert, Raspadori
A 3-3-4 may seem risky (unless Nadz is on results) but this gives us a solid back three to keep Kun Aguero quiet, a midfield 3 to swamp Spurs’ top quality midfield but rather functional. And our front-four carries enough pace and goal threat to keep him honest at the back.
With possession of the football, we go for sharp quick passes, very direct, get the ball out into wider areas and try to isolate the Spurs Full-backs 1v1. Mendy and Cancelo are top quality but in the wide spaces we have to trust our players to get at them and turn them inside out, our 2 central strikers will pin Spurs CB’s to the middle of the area so they cant go and offer support, and Willock who seems to be a natural goal scoring midfielder timing his runs nicely will occupy their DM.
Defensively we implement the heavy press from the front, we know that Spurs like to play a bit of keep-ball, so we don’t do Zonal marking here, we go straight up man to man in our pressing. The front-four leading from the top will close down their defender each. This means the keeper will either have to pass to a defender that’s immediately under pressure or go longer. Willock who is playing the B2B role will shadow Kante. This does mean that Fabinho will be given a bit more space, but that’s part of the plan. Willock will not go to Fabinho, he’ll stick with Kante – our front four, will not harry him, they’re sticking with the defenders. We want to really test Fabinho’s decision making. Tonali will anchor and man-mark Spurs’ AM/SS/#10 – our back 3 each take a man which leaves Bentancur as the free body, he’ll use his reading of the game to shuffle left to right and help close off the space (dependent on the the direction of the pass, either from the keeps or from Fabinho)
Individual Roles/Instructions
Bayindir our 6ft4 shot-stopper will use his physical frame to dominate the box and command his defenders, linked with several premier league clubs, he could be a great addition. Will keep it simple, the one big thing is that he come’s and catches the crosses rather than punching them.
The back-three, are all 6 footers, we know Aguero is decent in the air for his height, but we should be able to monster him today. Botman fresh from winning the French league will be his man-marker, big and strong he’ll shepherd him and keep him playing with his back to goal (where possible) hit him hard on his first touch and try to bully him out of the game. Tapsoba and Kumbulla at RCB and LCB will hold their position on the edge of the box but their primary job is to mark Spurs wingers as they come in-field and not giving Spurs an easy job, don’t dive in unless you have a good chance to atleast play the man should you miss the ball
The midfield-three have a bit of everything Tonali is the playmaker, he’ll sit and cover the back-three, operate in the exact same space that Spurs’ Am finds himself in and use his Gattuso-like tenacity to harry him out of the game, blessed with a great range of passing he should be a “heads-up” player and look to get our attacks going, always finds just enough time and space to make the right pass. Bentancur will be making his final appearance for the club and will want to go out giving a good account of himself. He like Willock goes B2B – but he’s more of the muscle than the goal scoring (6 yellow cards and 1 red this season) we want him getting stuck in and helping us to get a handle on the midfield battle. Willock is only 21 but seems to be a genuine talent, and goals in 7 straight games shows his value to Newcastle/Arsenal, a bundle of energy will go B2B linking the play with the midfield and attack and hovering dangerously on the edge of the “D” for any loose clearances from the Spurs defence.
The Fab-Four:
Pedro Neto is already a superstar and he’ll go on to be one of the best in the world, pace and trickery plus goals and assists, but what I really love about him is his aggression and will to win. He’ll bet on himself to out-run the LB and then cut inside and use that wand-like left peg of his to pick out Spurs far stick.
Leao is a flexible player (does yoga I think) and will look to be more of an inside forward than a winger, getting on the inside of the FB and using his stronger foot (right) to have a go from range or play a give and go with our strikers. 6 goals and 6 assists for Milan this season show that he can definitely play the role of provider and not just as a goalscoring predator.
Boadu is only just 20 but with 15 goals in 31 games in the Dutch league this season shows that he I a credible poacher, we want him playing off the shoulder of the last man, be on your toes and be ready to latch on to any flick ons or through balls, the nature of our system means he’ll get some decent one on ones with the cumbersome CB’s
Rafa Mir may have been relegate with Huesca, but the 23 year old, 6ft3 target man did well enough to score 13 goals in 38 La Liga games. He’s the muscle/springboard in attacks that the rest of the side will play off/around.
Subs 65 mins:
Kluivert > Leao – like for like
Raspadori > Boadu – Like for like
ARSENAL VS Chelsea
----------------------------------- Maignan ---------------------------
Hakimi-----------Kounde---------------Lacroix-------------Alba
---------------------Fernandinho --------Barella----------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------- Maddison -----------------------------------
Pepe-------------------------------Auba---------------------Oyarzabal
Subs - Raya, Odoi, Soumare, Tielemans Smith-Rowe, Saka, Watkins
CAPTAIN - KOUNDE
CK'S - BARELLA
FK'S - BARELLA
PENALTIES - AUBA
When we don't have possession of the ball in our half I want the whole team except Aubameyang to get in our half and defend. Play a deep defensive line so that oppo can't use their pacy forwards to beat the offside trap. I want the team to press the oppo whenever they have the ball so they don't have a chance to settle and dictate the tempo. We have good ball players in the centre and they will help keep us ticking.
Defence
Maignan in net, command your box and don't do anything flashy. Kounde and Lacroix bring top level experience to the backline. Kounde will focus on marking the oppo striker and will look to stick close to him and to watch out for his attacking runs. Stay aggressive and not let him turn you. Lacroix will mark the other striker if the oppo is playing 2 up front or to watch out any attacking runs of their AM if they play him instead.
Full backs
Hakimi + Alba
Hakimi and Alba will look to help both in attack and defence. Make forays forward when we have the ball in the oppos side of the pitch but track back when we don't. Get some crosses into the box as Auba is a threat in the air. Fernandinho will be covering for you if you are out of position
Defence Mids
Fernandinho + Barella
Fernandinho will be tasked with protecting the defence. A true definition of never say die attitude he will be running all game and doing what he does best and win the ball off of the oppo. Cover for our fullbacks when they overlap and are out of position. Stick close to the oppo AM/their most attacking midfielder and pressure him as soon as he gets the ball. He will not be able to handle your relentless pressing. When you have possession of the ball quickly pass it to either the wingers or to Maddison..
Barella will be the link from defence to attack. Main job is to get the ball from deep and to use your pace and technical ability to open up the oppo midfield. Barella will play a b2b role. Make runs forward and play pass and move passes with teammates and help the attack whenever you can. Make late runs into the box to try and score. When we don't have the ball I want him to stay deep next to Fernandinho but be more aggressive in putting tackles in to win the ball back.
Attack Mid
James Maddison
Maddison will be playing as the AM today. I want him to use his great dribbling ability and passing to create chances for Auba up front. Look out for the runs of our wingers so you can thread dangerous through balls to them. Make runs into the box whenever you can. Shoot from range if you see an opportunity.
Wingers
Pepe + Oyarzabal
Pepe will look to cut in from the right and use his pace and power to create a shooting chance for him to unleash his thunderous left foot. Use Hakimi as an overlap whenever you can and always try and time your runs off of the shoulders of the oppo LB. If you find some space on the byline try and pull the ball back to Maddison so he can bury one in.
Oyarzabal will look to get to the byline and use his impeccable crossing ability to create chances for our attackers. Use Alba as an overlap if you need to and try and take on the oppo RB if yiu think you can.
Striker
Aubameyang
I want Auba to use his pace and play off of the oppo shoulders and try and beat the offside trap. Be aware of lofted through balls and time your runs as best as you can. When in the box use your quickness and agility to get into good positions away from oppo defenders. Play quick one two's with each other to penetrate the oppo defence. Be aware of crosses into the box and use your superhuman athletic ability to outjump the oppo defenders.
IF WINNING BY 75 MINS
Play deep and hit the oppo on the counter.
Take off Maddison and put on Soumare in DM next to Fernandinho to give the defence even more protection. Watkins on for Auba to give some more energy Watkins is brilliant at tracking back. Saka on for Pepe aswell.
----------------------------------- Maignan ---------------------------
Hakimi-------------Kounde--------------Lacroix-----------Alba
-------------------------Soumare-------Fernandinho---------------------
Saka-----------------------------Barella------------------------Oyarzabal
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------Watkins -------------------------------------
IF LOSING BY 75 MINS
Take off Fernandinho and put on Tielemans in CM. Play close to each other and put a tonne of pressure in the oppo defence. Defend high up and try and score a goal. Put on Saka for Pepe aswell.
------------------------------------ Maignan ---------------------------
Hakimi-------------Kounde------------Lacroix------------Alba
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------Barella ---------- Tielemans ----------------
---------------------------------- Maddison ------------------------------
Saka-----------------------------Auba------------------------Oyarzabal
IF DRAWING BY 80MINS
Smith-Rowe on for Maddison
Saka on for Pepe
Watkins on for Auba
SOTON VS Leeds
----------------------------------------Gulasci-----------------------------------
----------------Fofana--------Upamecano--------Badiashile-----------
Raphinha---------Tchouameni-------Valverde---------------Pulisic
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------Odegaard----------------------------------
--------------------Greenwood-----------------Rashford--------------------
Subs - Sessegnon, Dest, Curtis Jones, Kulusevski, Wirtz, Adama, Jovic
CAPTAIN - RASHFORD
CK'S - ØDEGAARD
FK'S - ØDEGAARD
PENALTIES - RASHFORD
I want us to hold a deep defensive line to start of with so the oppo don't get an early goal. Keep things simple in the beginning and only pressure the oppo when they get in our half. When we have the ball I want the team to play pass and move football. Don't stay static, try and get in behind the oppo defence as there is a lot of pace in our attacking players. As the game goes on, when we don't have the ball I want the team to defend from the front line and pressure the oppo and try and win possession back. Do this in fits and bursts as it is a tiring tactic.
Defence
GK to be confident in box. Don't take risks. Punch the ball away if the shot is too powerful. Command your area. The back 3 is well balanced and full of pace and power. Fofana and Badiashile will be playing as the outside CB's and will look to close down the oppo wingers. Upamecano in the middle will marshall the defence and look to snuff out any attacks from the oppo striker/s. All 3 of these CB's are very good at playing from the back and I want them to use that ability if they have some space to dribble into from defence.
WINGBACKS
Raphinha and Pulisic are playing as wingbacks today. They are not defenders irl but both of them put a shift in defensively for their real life clubs and I want them to do that here. Your defending doesn't have to be flashy just stick close to the oppo wingers and stop them from getting past you, the DM's will be helping you a lot aswell. Both of you are rapid so if it's a foot race the oppo wants they'll be up against it! Fofana and Badiashile will be ready as the outside CB's to help you clear up any loose balls etc. Be vary of oppo fullbacks making overlapping runs as I want you to stick with them to stop them getting to the byline. One of our DM's will come over to mark the oppo winger who has the ball incase they don't use the overlapping fullbacks. As an attacking outlet I want Raphinha and Pulisic to play how wingbacks would normally play. Stay wide and make runs forward when given the opportunity. Try and whip some dangerous balls into the oppo area and use your pace to get back into defensive positions if the oppo try and hit us on a counter. Both of you can cut in from time to time if you want to into your stronger fits to give the oppo summat different to think about.
Defence Mids
Tchouameni + Valverde
These 2 will be the main defensive force to cover our defence. When the oppo LW is attacking down the wings I want Tchouameni to close him down and put a tackle in or stop him getting to the byline. Likewise with Valverde who will be tasked with the same job against the oppo RW. This will help sort our Raphinha and Pulisic's defensive vulnerability. If either Tchouameni or Valverde are helping out on the wings I want the other DM to stay in the middle of the pitch and close down the oppo AM if they play one. When in possession pass the ball out to the wings or to Ødegaard who will drop deep from time to time. Valverde will be allowed to stretch his legs and run with the ball from deep if there is space to do so in the centre of the pitch. But he must not forget his main job which is to protect the defence.
Attack Mid
Martin Ødegaard
The Big Ø will be the playmaker and chance creator for our attackers. His technical ability on the ball is world class and he is the type of player that can run all match without getting tired. Off the ball I want him to press the oppo midfielders. When we have possession of the ball try and find space in the attacking third of the pitch for you to receive the ball and use your playmaking ability to create chances for the team. Look out for runs from our wingbacks and strikers and thread some pinpoint passes to them.
Strikers
Marcus Rashford MBE + Greenwood
These 2 blood brothers will be the main goalscorers of the team. Rashford is a striker that has the deadly combination of pace and finishing. He will look to use his pace to get the better of the oppo defence. Be vary of crosses into the box and try and get in front of your marker. Time your runs off the shoulders of the oppo CB's and use your pace to get away from them. Play quick pass and move combinations with your teammates to find spaces in the oppo defence.
Greenwood will use his physical ability and hold up play to bring others in to the game. He's a proper two footed striker equally as strong on his right as he is on his left so I don't want him to hesitate to shoot when he has an opportunity to shoot.
Subs if LOSING BY 65MINS
Put on Wirtz for Tchouameni and Kulusevski for Pulisic to bring some more attacking impetus on. Play a high line and put a lot of pressure on the oppo to win the ball back. Adama Traore on for Raphinha aswell.
-------------------------------------Gulasci-----------------------
---------------Fofana---------Upamecano--------Badiashile----------
----------------------------------------Valverde--------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adama----------------Odegaard---------Wirtz-----------------Kulusev
-------------------------Greenwood------------Rashford-------------------
Subs if WINNING BY 60MINS
Take off Ødegaard and put on Curtis Jones in CM. Play defensive with everyone in our own half defending for their lives, waiting to hit the oppo on the counter attack. . Take the attacking wingbacks off and put on Dest and Sessegnon as defensive wingbacks who'll offer a lot more defensive stability.
--------------------------------------Gulasci-----------------------
----------------Fofana--------Upamecano--------Badiashile--------
Dest------------------Valverde----------Tchoua---------------------Sess
--------------------------------------Jones---------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------Greenwood---------Rashford----------------------
Subs if DRAWING BY 65MINS
Kulusevski on for Pulisic
Jovic on for Greenwood
Wirtz on for Ødegaard
Fresh legs to bring on.
Lesta vs PORTSMOUTH
We come into this game needing a draw to progress to the next round, RoF has a great squad and whomever he chooses to play, it’ll be a tough game, so rather than worry about who we may or may not be facing we go out there with a fast and fluid 4-2-3-1, get the job done and progress through to the knockout stages.
Sick-list
Alessio Romagnoli
Ruben Neves
Lorenzo Insigne
Gianluca Mancini
……………………………………………Ederson………………………..
Bellerin………………………Phillips……………Milenkovic……..Sandro
………………………………..Busquets………..Kessie…………………………
Berardi…………………………………Bernardo…………………….Jota
…………………………………………..Ronaldo……………………………….
Subs: Pickford, Calabria, McTominay, Goncalves, Vlahovic, Gourna, Koita
We know that Rof loves a possession based game we also know he tends to play with a high line which enables him to successfully beat teams with his blitzkrieg heavy press. Our front three are pretty quick and Bernardo is rapid in the head, so this tactic plays to our stronger hand, if we get turnover ball high up the pitch our pace will burn his defence and not many have a better trigger man than Ronaldo.
Ederson is the equivalent of playing a midfielder in goals and it’s that, that makes him so important to us, so good at ball to feet, and when the lesta-press kicks in, he has the range to by-pass the midfield tussle completely and set us on our way.
The back-line was hit by injuries but this is the combo I’d have picked anyway Bellerin isn’t the greatest defensively but he is rapid and that’s of use vs the serious pace in Leicester’s attack, he can push on to help the attack, get some balls banged into the box for us to attack. Sandro is one of the best left-backs in the business and Cafu goes to bed in Sandro pyjammas, he’ll mirror Bellerin so that we’re a balanced unit and have additional width in the wider areas. Phillips comes in to the side and has looked very good for Liverpool, he’ll be the spare man sweeping up Milenkovic’s mess. Milenkovic is our 6ft4 Serbian wrecking ball, will go man for man with Leicesters central striker, using his physique to dominate him and shut him down.
Busquets and Kessie give us a solid foundation to build from, Busquets will sit in front of the defence and dictate the play, a calming influence and will position himself in the space that Lesta’s Am will try to operate from, he’s good enough to hold that role and it’s because of this we can afford our Full-backs the freedom to get high up the other end of the pitch, breaking the lines and rendering Lesta’s press pointless. Kessie is a machine, a pure machine, 13 goals and 6 assists in Serie A this year, will go B2B today linking the play and harassing the Leicester engine room.
Bernardo is the #10 a really clever player that always manages to find those pockets of space, if he can get into his groove we’ll be in business, drop off a pace or two, he’ll have runners from deep for him plus the front-three, options a plenty.
Jota and Berardi are inside forwards not wingers, they’re gonna be coming inside attacking the back-posts and trying to pull either a midfielder or a Cb with them, either way it’s about creating space, Our FB’s will be advanced high up the pitch to occupy the FB’s so this will get us some good over-loads in the box. Both have a genuine tenacity about them and love to run with the ball, facing one player like that is a defenders nightmare, facing 2 players like that, that just draw defenders to them is just next level, so what does adding a third equate to? He may be 36 now but 29 goals in 33 games is just insane. And I’m not sure how lesta can watch the three of them as well as shutting down Bernardo before he can pick the pass.
Subs 65 mins
Gourna > Biscuits – never seen him play but 30 games this season for a 17 year old, implies he has the talent to come into our side
McTominay > Kessie, the best Scottish CM since Souness
Goncalves > Bernardo – 23 goals and 4 assists in 32 leagues game for Sporting says it all
Newcastle 4-3-3 / 2-3-5
_____________Navas
Trent_____Dias______VVD_____Shaw
____________Casemiro
_______Llorente_____Modric
Salah_________Son________Coman
Subs: Koke, , Fabian, , Olmo, Eriksen, Raul
Today I’d like to take complete control of midfield, holding possession and stretch their back line while outnumbering every area of the middle third and final third of the pitch. Our full backs will play as inverted fullbacks assuming the role as box to box and pivoting midfielders, thereby pushing our midfielders further forwards creating a 5 man attack.
______________Navas
_________Dias_____VVD_______
____Trent____Casemiro_____Shaw
Salah__Llorente___Modric____Coman
_______________Son______________
By doing so I will always have an extra man in midfield, including wide passing options, creating overloads. It will also help us stretch the field wider as I would expect opposition players to drift in-field to try and mitigate the presence of the extra bodies in midfield leaving wide areas for our wide players to exploit. As such the wide players will be given instruction so hug the touchline when waiting to receive the ball, then they can cut in and play their natural game but providing pass options initially is a must.
I fully expect us to create difficulty for the opposition in assessing exactly how and where to cover space and how to effectively pressure the ball. Create pass options to drag players out of position when they struggle to cope with the extra man in midfield exploiting gaps between the lines.
Our attacks will be taking a very vertical approach which allows the attacking midfielders to receive the ball in space allowing us to hurt them. Our version of a vertical approach is passing the ball up and down the field, with players inviting pressure as they receive and release the ball thereby creating a gap for another player to move into to receive a recycled pass. Eventually a path to goal will appear and it’ll be up to the players to exploit that playing their natural games. The whole point of this system is about opening greater space in between the lines for the attacking midfielders to receive. The attacking midfielders will also be expected to break the lines and make runs beyond the striker to find space higher up the pitch creating goal-scoring opportunities. The fullbacks therefore have many options to pass to, the 9, the 10s, and out wide depending on the natural movements of the players.
Defensive stability is very important to the way we want to play. One of the rules ultimately in football is you cannot score if you don’t have the ball, so we aim to keep the ball as much as possible with the ongoing ball recycling process of trying to drag players out of position finding space to exploit. When the opposition do gain possession they immediately face a block of five in the middle and our third of the pitch, quickly changing back to a standard 4-5-1 in two flat lines (plus the striker up top). Doing so will allow us to effectively defend our wide areas stopping any crosses coming in while congesting the middle enough for minimal gaps to appear between the lines. We press less to minimise the risk of gaps appearing but instead rely on cutting passing lanes and options. Once possession is regained, we immediately progress up the pitch and revert back to 2-3-5. The central defensive triangle of both CBs and the DM are good in the air capable of winning plenty of duels in the air as well as on the ground, in addition of course to their exceptional passing ability. It is important to have players that occupy those three positions that have on-the-ball intelligence, astute awareness of how to cover space in transition, and an aerial presence.
Subs.
65 mins - Olmo on Modric off. Fresh legs.
70 mins losing/drawing - Eriksen on Llorente off. Better finisher in the box from midfield.
75 mins losing/drawing - Raul on Son off. Better presence up top.
75 mins winning - Koke on Llorente off. Fresh legs while not losing creative quality.
----------------------Neuer
------Denayer---Hermoso---Hernandez
Castagne---------Brozovic---------------Guerreiro
--Chiesa------Milinkovic-Savic------Depay
------------------------Kane
Pope
Simakan
Pellegrini
Walker
Phillips
Barnes
Vardy
A 3-3-3-1 today, that ostensibly serves as a 3-4-3, but SMS’ name just doesn’t fit the teamsheet well enough to do that. I’ve picked a three at the back system in an attempt to better deal with Southampton’s two-pronged attack, giving us an extra man over in the defensive area, whilst using an attacking trident to expose their weakness in defensive width. As a result, I want to see us play wide, with Depay and Chiesa targetting these areas, looking to get in behind their wingers-come-wingback, and exploit this weakness. Because of this, I also want to see our own WBs getting forward, in an attempt to overload this position. With Brozovic and SMS in midfield I think we have enough energy to compete in this area, regardless of maybe being outnumbered here. In Depay and Chiesa I think we have wide players capable of exploiting space in behind with pace and direct running, as well as a capability to play either as a winger or inside forward.
Defensively, shape is important when coming up against Southampton’s attackers. Denayer and Herandez will take man-marking roles, picking up their various attackers, whilst Hermoso will operate as a sweeper defender, covering space in behind, and supporting either CB when it looks like they are struggling. Brozovic will sit in front of the defence, covering this space, and looking to limit the involvement of any attacking midfielder they operate with. In terms of defensive duty, Castagne and Guerreiro must focus on their attacking FBs, but will wait for them to attack, allowing for bodies to be back to cover space, should their attackers push into wide areas. In terms of moving the ball, I want to see quick passing, with a maximum of three touches per play. With Brozovic sitting, and the WBs, there should always be forward balls on, and then Neuer behind will serve as another option to keep the ball moving. Because of our focus on attacking the wide areas, I want to see the ball pushed into these positions early on, which means getting the ball into our WBs, both of whom are very capable of making bombarding runs forward. SMS will also have defensive duties, but I don’t want to see him track too deep, and instead sit on any box-to-box midfielder, just in front of Brozovic, to provide another option in moving the ball up the field. The energy of these two will be key in making sure that we aren’t outnumbered in the middle, despite being numerically outnumbered in the middle.
Our attacking trident today is built around creating chances for Kane. Depay and Chiesa will sit wider, looking to get into space in behind their WBs, supported by the WBs of our own, whilst Kane will operate through the middle. Its possible that their wide CBs will look to come wide, but in that instance, us doubling up in the area make it easier for Depay and Chiesa to come inside, and exploit the wider space left by this action, whilst Guerreiro and Castagne occupy the wide role. SMS will transition from being an 8 to a 10, looking to dictate the play, as well as get in the box and provide another option for our attack. Kane will operate between the goalposts, where he is most potent, but his ability as a playmaker will also facilitate the creation of chances for Depay and Chiesa, who will look to push on beyond him. With almost an attacking four at this point, with SMS supporting, we should be able to outnumber their defensive unit, meaning we can overload in the wide areas. Crosses into the box will primarily be aimed towards Kane, but low balls into the wingers, or pull-backs to SMS will create chances for our attackers, and with the addition of the respective WBs we can guarantee overloads at the back post.
As usual, we will be looking to utilise a high press to try and keep ourselves on the front foot. Kane will operate through the middle, whilst Depay and Chiesa will look to cut out the wide ball, as this is an area we can see them trying to break from. SMS will press the holding midfielder, before using his energy to track the B2B. The high press should limit their ability to play out from the back, and either force them into longer balls, or mistakes in key areas. This will also allow time for Guerreiro and Castagne to get back into our defensive shape.
Substitutions
If winning
Phillips on for Chiesa 75 mins
An extra defensive body, with a shift to a 3-5-2, with Depay operating through the middle.
Walker on for Castagne 80 mins
Fresh legs, and a slightly more conservative option.
If losing/drawing
Pellegrini on for Guerreiro 70 mins
Switch to a 4-2-3-1, with Pellegrini operating as a 10, and Hernandez pushing out to play LB.
Barnes and Vardy on for Castagne and Chiesa
Switch to a 3-3-2-2, with Barnes and SMS covering the WB areas.
--------------------------- Oblak ---------------------------
W-Bissaka ----- Romero ----- Bastoni ----- Robertson
-------------- Bissouma --------- F.de Jong -------------
--- Mbappe ------------ Neymar ----------- Grealish ---
-------------------------- Håland --------------------------
Meslier, Locatelli, N.Mendes, Malinovskiy, Havertz, Musiala, Malen
We will try and control this game as best we can , especially the midfield where we want to dominate, Portsmouth have two big players missing from their midfield today so we have to take advantage, quick on the break and really pressurise the opposition with an in your face performance from the front, up against it but our trio has everything we need to stop them controlling the game, we want to hit them quickly so we need to press them quickly to get the ball, when we defend, the back 4 must stay solid with the midfield ahead of them harassing the man with the ball before they get to our back 4 and our midfield will be in and around the half way line, Haaland slightly higher up, this will congest the midfield and allow us to dictate play, defend from the front, stop them coming forward from the back, however, if they do push forward onto us and we get the ball they will be on the back foot and will really struggle with our front 3/4 with Fullbacks who are always ready to pounce and hit them with pace.
Romero picks up the CF he wont let much passed him he is a very robust and hard defender, Bastoni spare picks up the AM if he gets away from our midfield, both powerful boys so keep the forward(s) away from the danger area, get onto them quickly, take the ball away from them and play it out of defence, look to get to our midfield quickly, Both are comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass to those in front to hit them with pace, both must attack high balls to get the ball away from the opposition big men. Fullbacks keep the wingers quiet, stop their attacks. 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. When they attack, only one at a time!!, Robertson is a dangerous weapon to have and he will do more attacking than Mukiele as he supports Grealish down the left, often driving passed him to whip in dangerous balls, Bissaka the same but not as often as he makes up the back 3 so this gives Mbappe more freedom on the right as he has the cover behind him. If either get caught up field I want the midfielders to help them out by filling the gaps so we don't get exposed, this allows the fullbacks to make their way to midfield to cover. CBs to go up for corners, with the fullbacks and Bissouma sitting back.
Recoveries mean possession, possession means control, Bissouma is excellent at this, a part of his game that he excels at. He is high energy in yer face, he is our deepest midfielder sitting just in front of the CB's he will shadow there AM and not allow him to control the game, he must be aware of all that is around him, be in the right place at the right time and look to cover for defensive players moving forward, he has to impose himself early on the AM to make him wary of holding onto the ball too long, will at times drop between the 2 Cbs to get the ball, once on the ball look around, head up and pick the pass that will get us moving forward quickly always making himself for a return ball from a deeper angle as he spreads it from side to side then eventually forward he is always looking for the ball to start again if need be, can be out to the fullbacks or indeed a longer ball to the front three to take the opposition out of it as they are still high up the pitch. de Jong will help stop the run of play quicker to make our defenders jobs a lot easier, protect our defence as best as possible, in possession get it to the front 3/4 but also look for fullbacks as they move into space, keep it simple, he has a very good range of pass. Either pass and move(triangles) into space or look for a piercing through ball to our front three to drive onto.Can move forward to assist and look for balls coming out so he can either, shoot or whip straight back in.
Neymar is essential to our style of play, he is the link between defence and attack, as we break quickly he will look to set up our front three and at times be in an advanced No.10/CF role and look for the de Jong/Bissouma/CB pass. He will drop back at times to pick it up and will look to his dribbling capabilities to get him around players, and into the danger area to unleash a powerful drive, sometimes taking a foul as he is a tricky player to mark. When in possession always head up looking for the movement of our front three to play them in, he will follow his pass and make up the numbers up front.After the pass he can push wide or central to make that extra man When he doesn't drop deep i.e when the defenders go long, he will look to form a front four as they move around and look to tear the defence apart and create space for the front 3. He will have more time and space with Busquets and Kessie out, they will have quality in midfield but not as good as it normally is. All of our midfield three must press the opposition, Neymar on the DM and get to grips with this game very early on.
Our wingers are extremely quick, skillfull and will cause all sorts of problems, when we don't have the ball they drop back a bit to make up the numbers as they attack, push into the faces of the opposition to force them into mistakes and hopefully in the end they lose the ball, when they do lose the ball we charge at them and we do it quickly, go through the cms or out to one of our attacking fullbacks especially Robertson who will support Grealish very well. However, the movement up front between Mbappe and Grealish will cause them problems drifting in an out, the ball at times sticks to them like glue and extremely hard to dispossess, thus allowing Neymar to pick his moment to move into space either as a 10 or out wide. If he does push wide this will allow Wingers to go in central as we will have an attacking fullback up and supporting. Quick passing in triangles, quick one twos that will get us in and beyond their defenders and eventually to Haaland who can beat any defender with power and pace and the other wingers who will look to get into space to get a shot off, if there defence is on top then we can always go direct at times and fire early crosses especially from deep from the fullbacks into Haaland who will sit on the last foot so he can spring them and have a shoot or sight mentality, can move central, we must always make sure he is well supported, especially Neymar who at times will be right on his shoulder or alongside, if he cant get the shot away he will be looking to bring others into the game by dropping slightly back to get numbers for the attack he is a very tireless worker, who also helps defend from the from by harassing there back line/DM.
Captain - de Jong
Penalties - Haaland
Free Kicks - Neymar/Grealish
Corners - Grealish
Losing -
65 Mins - Malen for Robertson, he joins Haaland up top, 3 at the back
75 Mins - Malinovskiy for Grealish, Neymar to the left, Malinovskiy to No.10 to use his creativity to open them up
Drawing -
65 Mins - Malen for Neymar and right up top 442
75 Mins - Musiala for Grealish, Malinovskiy for de Jong
Winning -
75 Mins - Locatelli for Neymar, Bissouma drops in between the lines, Locatelli beside de Jong
83 Mins - N.Mendes for Grealish to help Robertson down our left, Havertz for Haaland, play as a false 9 and keep ball
West London blues vs PORTSMOUTH
Away leg first, let’s keep it tight and keep ourselves in with a chance of nicking this game in the return leg. We’re expecting Fan to stick to his 4-2-3-1 with Tap in Terry uptop, lazy work shy PSG Attackers, and Greasy Grealish sauntering around the place like a poundland Peaky blinder.
Even with 2 of our key components at CM missing we have enough in there to dominate Chelsea’s boring and functional holders. And we have enough creativity at the business end of the pitch to get at his cumbersome defence.
To do all this we doth the cap to Don Carlo Ancelotti’s all conquering Milan side and borrow the use of his 4-4-2 diamond. It will give us a rock solid spine not dissimilar to the phalanx’s deployed by the great Macedonian Alexander
I know this line-up is reactionary and a move away from our 3 at the back but with only 1 central striker to mark there’s no real need for 3 centre-backs.
Injuries:
Davide Calabria
Sergio Busquets
Franck Kessie
Ederson
…………………………………………………………Pickford…………………………………………..
K-J-Hoever……………………..Milenkovic……………..Romagnoli……………Doig
…………………………………………………………Neves…………………………………….
…………………………………McTominay………………….De Ketelaere……………
……………………………………………………Bernardo………………………………
………………………………………Ronaldo………………..Vlahovic……………
Subs: Turati(GK) Mancini, Phillips, Gourna, Goncalves,Belotti, Jota
The order of play today is to keep hold of the ball, no super fast aggressive long ball game-plan that is our usual MO. We want to keep the ball, move Chelsea players over the pitch and then exploit the spaces we’ve created, we’re gonna go out and do a professional job today, get an away goal and give us something to play with/for next week back at Fratton Park.
Defensively we press from the front, Ronaldo and Vlahovic take a CB each and Bernardo presses the ball carrier. Our midfield duo are both big units and will push up to take control of Chelsea’s midfield, so by going 1v1 there we dominate them physically and shut them out of the game… Neves sits on their AM and stops him from playing the game at his tempo, and we have a back four that then goes man-2-man, I know this leaves their FB’s unguarded but lets be honest everyone knows (yes even Stevie Wonder) that AWB is solid defensively but of little value going forwards – hence Southgate picking 4 yes four RB’s and still omitting AWB. So really it just leaves Robertson free but with all of his team-mates marked he’ll need to be picking the right pass every-time, can he do that? Not forgetting Bernardo will be applying pressure to his decision making.
Pickford comes in for the injured Ederson today, hes not a bad keeper just prone to brain farts, we need him to just stay calm and keep it simple, no heroics just the basics will be enough.
Our defence is like a Chocolate brazilnut, it’s a bit soft on the outside but rock solid at it’s core, However and Diog are still only teenagers but have really high ceilings, they’re up against quality opposition today, but they will use that youthful exuberance to embrace the challenge, show their man the line, watch his eyes not his feet, don’t be fooled by the show-pony tricks, step in and take the ball away, offensively they’re tasked with getting up the field no further really than 30 yards out from the Chelsea goals, and whip some angled balls into the box for Ronaldo and Vlahovic to attack.
Milenkovic loves the physical battles, and at 6ft4 he’ll love going toe to toe with the tap in king. Force him to play with his back to goal, and use the dark arts he’s mastered in Serie A to close him down. Alongside him Romagnoli is the Libero, sweeping up the loose balls, and bringing it out from the back.
Neves is the deep-lying playmaker, sets the tempo for the side and gets us moving, his stats at Dm this season are insane – 97 Blocks, 75 tackles, 57 interceptions ( https://fbref.com/en/players/44bfb6c5/Ruben-Neves ) anyone that thinks he can’t play DM hasn’t seen him play. The tackling of Gattuso and the passing of Alonso… infront of him McTom and De Ket go B2B…big strapping lads, won’t be daunted by getting stuck in to their opposition, we can hold and nullify the threat of Chelsea through the middle of the park. Making the game a scrappy stop start affair with clever little fouls on the half-way line just breaking any momentum they try to build. It’s not gonna be pretty but it’s pretty effective.
Bernardo is the #10 today he does his business, he’s not as quick and direct as some (that’s to come) but he has pure skill and magic in his feet, will drift around the pitch looking for space. To weave his magic.
Ronaldo and Vlahovic with 29 and 21 league goals respectively and with Fan playing a Serie A defence it saves me typing too much, my boys have scored past their respective markers this season. Vlahovic the target man will get close and physical to the Chelsea Cb’s bullying them and making space for Ronaldo to exploit and punish. These two have all the ingredients to be a formidable pairing.
Subs 65 mins
Insigne > Bernardo – the time for drive and energy is upon us, he comes in as a twin-10, pace and aggression he forms the left side of our wedge.
Jota > Vlahovic – see above but it’s the right side.
see’s play the last 25 like this
…………………………………………………………Pickford…………………………………………..
K-J-Hoever……………………..Milenkovic……………..Romagnoli……………Doig
…………………………………………………………Neves…………………………………….
…………………………………McTominay………………….De Ketelaere……………
………………………………………………Jota………………Insigne………………
………………………………………………………Ronaldo……………….……………
Jota and Insigne running from deep, occupying the DM’s and causing a lot over-loads in our favour, fast paced, long/direct balls, as we blitzkrieg this shell-shocked Chelsea defence, the slow-ass cumbersome DM’s of the Londoners don’t have the legs or energy to deal with this two in full-flight coming at them.
Leeds United v SHEFFIELD UNITED
----------------------Kelleher
Maehle, Andersen, T. Silva, Grimaldo
--------------Kovacic, Höjbjerg
-Mahrez----------James----------Mertens
-----------------------Suárez
Subs: Lamptey, Alderweireld, Koopmeiners, de Roon, Brooks, Isco, Ibrahimovic
Captain: Thiago Silva
Free Kicks: Mahrez/James (Isco)/Mertens
Penalties: Suárez (Ibrahimovic)
Our defensive unit consists of Joachim Andersen and Thiago Silva paired up at centre-back, Joakim Maehle at right-back and Álex Grimaldo at left-back, with Mateo Kovacic and Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg as our midfield ‘double pivot’ screening them.
This ‘double pivot’ is the key to our team and in Kovacic and Höjbjerg we have a perfect pairing to initiate attacks by distributing the ball in an intelligent fashion, to be key players in circulation and to prevent dangerous opposition attacks, being disciplined in positioning and limiting space in between the lines.
The strength of our double pivot is that Höjbjerg can press the ball without leaving lots of space, as Kovacic can maintain a good position to react if the initial press is bypassed. Our double pivot will offer huge defensive stability and will ensure that a structured shape is maintained.
Having two defensive midfielders centrally prevents others being dragged out of position to press.
Helping the defenders maintain solid positioning is a key part of Höjbjerg's role, he will press almost anywhere in his own half to allow defenders to stay in the defensive line.
With Höjbjerg running his socks off for the team, our high tempo will be dictated by his partner in holding midfield, Mateo Kovacic.
Kovacic is not just your “win the ball and pass it on to the closest player” – there is a real creative mind in his locker, but it’s his ability to be the shield of the back four and then be creative once he gets the ball that makes Kovacic such a talent.
The attacking unit consists of Riyad Mahrez, James Rodríguez and Dries Mertens as our band of three attacking midfielders with Luis Suárez as our lone central striker.
Our 4-2-3-1 is set up to have that wonderful ‘springy' quality - it absorbs pressure without breaking and then snaps back with surprising force.
In defence our 4-2-3-1 covers space very effectively, with the band of three attacking midfielders and centre forward able to press the opposition high up the pitch while the two defensive midfielders ensure that there is no space left in front of the defence. Then the back four can either play a high line, compressing the space even further, or drop deeper as preferred.
Once we have won the ball back, often by Kovacic or Höjbjerg, then our 4-2-3-1 can spring into attack.
Maehle and Grimaldo can surge up the wings in the knowledge that Kovacic and Höjbjerg can drop into the space left behind if needed. As they come up the wings, both Riyad Mahrez and Dries Mertens, who are excellent in tight spaces and fantastic dribblers will cut inside or make runs into the box.
James, our attacking central midfielder’s low centre of gravity will enable him to navigate away from defenders. James is blessed with an instant first touch and can dribble with the ball at such a close proximity to his feet that it makes him almost impossible to tackle this creative passer with his quick flicks and one-touch passing, will combine exceptionally well with Mahrez, Mertens & Suárez to create openings and goal scoring opportunities for each other.
Upfront, Suárez will be utilised to “bind” our oppositions defenders in place by occupying them with his positioning, to the point of blocking their defenders in order to create space for Mahrez, James & Mertens to exploit between the lines as this trio look to profit from Suárez’s off-the-ball actions.
Suárez will act as a focal point around which our team will build our attacks, using his strength to hold off their defenders. Suárez is proven adept at one-touch passing and quick flicks in combination play and of course Suárez’s stock in trade when the occasion calls for it – intelligent dummies to fool their defenders.
All 4 of our most advanced players are equally gifted in terms of assisting and scoring goals, and as thus we will not be purely reliant on Suárez on this front, although I expect of course for him to find the back of the net on a number of occasions.
Subs on 75 mins
Lamptey on for Maehle, Isco on for James and Ibrahimovic on for Suárez
Triple substitution - dribbling trickery from Isco, electric pace from Lamptey, and in Ibrahimovic a real powerhouse and focal point for the attacking midfielders in the last 15 minutes to look to unlock the opposition’s defence for a late goal regardless of the score line.
----------------- Ter Stegen -----------------
--- B.Pavard --- M.De Ligt --- P.Torres ---
------------ Fabinho --- N.Kante -----------
J.Sancho ------ De Bruyne -------- L.Sane
-------- Kun Aguero --- Timo Werner -----
Subs:
Sanchez, Cancelo, Ferland, Ramos, Asensio, Hazard, Iheanacho
Tactics:
Now we’re into the business end of the competition the tinkering is over, with home advantage we go on the offensive as we look to build a lead going into the second leg.
Whilst the 3-2-3-2 formation can look crazily attacking when broken down it has a nice balance, the Fabinho & Kante pairing are integral as they provide a powerhouse DM duo to protect the defence giving us 5 solid defensive players and 5 attacking goalscoring players.
An obvious exposure of the set up is our flanks however playing with a natural RCB & LCB means we’re well protected, with Fabinho’s ability to seamlessly drop in as a utility CB another weapon in our defensive arsenal. Additionally, we have two hardworking wingers in Sancho & Sane who will drop in as we form a back 5 when the opposition are in possession.
The opposition have bags of pace out wide in Sterling, Mane & co however we’re happy to let them have the ball out on the flanks, our 3 CB’s will stay compact and central, don’t go out and engage the wingers instead force them to come infield, with a compact central area there will be simply no room to manoeuvre and with three towering CB’s we are comfortably dealing with any crosses in the air.
In possession we’re stacked with firepower as we go for goals, De Bruyne pulling the strings with Sancho & Sane offering pace down the wings and Aguero & Werner a dangerous duo up top.
Defence:
We go with a perfectly balanced back three, strong defensively but also with great ball players which will allow us to retain possession and play out from the back. If they play one up top then De Ligt will mark, Pavard and Torres will act as cover and stay relatively centrally at all times. We don’t want them to drift out wide, let then wingers come to us, keeping the central area’s compact will make it extremely difficult for the opposition to play through us.
Our brick wall of Fabinho and Kante will shield our defence, limiting the supply to their attack whilst also having bags of pace and energy to scamper across and deal with any threats out wide.
In this set up we also have the flexibility for Fabinho to drop in alongside De Ligt, allowing Pavard & Torres to cover the flanks in a conventional back 4. Tactical flexibility is our greatest weapon.
Midfield:
Kante and Fabinho will act as our enforcers in the middle. They will sit in front of our defence stifling the oppositions creativity and more importantly, cutting off the supply line to their forwards. We want to physical impose ourselves in this area of the pitch and these two are absolute warriors.
All action players we rely on their fantastic tenacity and high level work rate to break up the opposition play, winning back possession and setting us up on the counter as we look to get the ball into our creative players as quickly as possible.
If their wingers break at pace then we want one of Fabinho/Kante to drift across to engage them whilst the other stays central and picks up their AM. Importantly this will allow our back three to stay intact and deal with their forwards.
If they look to build from the back slowly then this is when we will drop into a deeper defensive shape with Fabinho dropping in at CB and KDB dropping in alongside Kante forming a DM/CM partnership. As soon as we win back possession we spring in to attack with KDB terrorising them from AM as Fabinho slots back in alongside Kante at DM.
Forwards:
In this set up our attack is where the fun really begins. With a back three and DM defensive pivot this allows us to essentially play with a front five when in possession and enables us to really cause some damage.
De Bruyne will be instrumental as plays his strongest position in the AM role. A player with superb vision he will look to get on the ball as much as possible, running at the opposition drawing them in and committing a defender before playing that decisive pass. He’s also a great goal scorer perfectly capable of striking a thunderbolt from distance at any moment, if the opposition drop off he has license to go for goal at any moment.
Out wide we look to hit them with pure pace and skill. If they opt for three at the back then Sancho and Sane can cause them real damage. We want them to hug the touch line, make the pitch as wide as possible and exploit any space on offer. We want them to be direct, get on the ball and go straight at the opposition, looking to either supply one of our front two, cut the ball back to KDB or go direct for goal themselves.
Up top we go with the duo of Aguero & Werner. Timo will play on the shoulder of the last man, looking to use his lightening pace to get in behind and through on goal, the German often at his best when playing in a front two. Aguero has a bit more freedom, the Argentine has great link up play so able to drift between the lines however when on the attack we want him to get in the box and finish any chances that fall his way.
Subs:
If winning:
70 mins: Werner & Sane off, Cancelo & Ferland on. We tighten up defensively, moving to an orthodox 5-4-1 to see out the win.
If drawing/losing:
70 mins: Werner off, Iheanacho on. We bring on the first player in premier league history to score a goal on every single day of the week in one season! Kelechi offering a new threat as we push for the winner
Newcastle 4-3-3 / 2-3-5
_____________Navas
Trent_____Dias______VVD_____Shaw
____________Casemiro
_______Llorente_____Modric
Salah_________Silva___________Son
Subs: Koke, Koulibaly, Fabian, Coman, Olmo, Lingard, Raul
Today I’d like to take complete control of midfield, holding possession and stretch their back line while outnumbering every area of the middle third and final third of the pitch. Our full backs will play as inverted fullbacks assuming the role as box to box and pivoting midfielders, thereby pushing our midfielders further forwards creating a 5 man attack.
______________Navas
_________Dias_____VVD_______
____Trent____Casemiro_____Shaw
Salah__Llorente___Modric____Coman
_______________Son______________
By doing so I will always have an extra man in midfield, including wide passing options, creating overloads. It will also help us stretch the field wider as I would expect opposition players to drift in-field to try and mitigate the presence of the extra bodies in midfield leaving wide areas for our wide players to exploit. As such the wide players will be given instruction so hug the touchline when waiting to receive the ball, then they can cut in and play their natural game but providing pass options initially is a must.
I fully expect us to create difficulty for the opposition in assessing exactly how and where to cover space and how to effectively pressure the ball. Create pass options to drag players out of position when they struggle to cope with the extra man in midfield exploiting gaps between the lines.
Our attacks will be taking a very vertical approach which allows the attacking midfielders to receive the ball in space allowing us to hurt them. Our version of a vertical approach is passing the ball up and down the field, with players inviting pressure as they receive and release the ball thereby creating a gap for another player to move into to receive a recycled pass. Eventually a path to goal will appear and it’ll be up to the players to exploit that playing their natural games. The whole point of this system is about opening greater space in between the lines for the attacking midfielders to receive. The attacking midfielders will also be expected to break the lines and make runs beyond the striker to find space higher up the pitch creating goal-scoring opportunities. The fullbacks therefore have many options to pass to, the 9, the 10s, and out wide depending on the natural movements of the players.
Defensive stability is very important to the way we want to play. One of the rules ultimately in football is you cannot score if you don’t have the ball, so we aim to keep the ball as much as possible with the ongoing ball recycling process of trying to drag players out of position finding space to exploit. When the opposition do gain possession they immediately face a block of five in the middle and our third of the pitch, quickly changing back to a standard 4-5-1 in two flat lines (plus the striker up top). Doing so will allow us to effectively defend our wide areas stopping any crosses coming in while congesting the middle enough for minimal gaps to appear between the lines. We press less to minimise the risk of gaps appearing but instead rely on cutting passing lanes and options. Once possession is regained, we immediately progress up the pitch and revert back to 2-3-5. The central defensive triangle of both CBs and the DM are good in the air capable of winning plenty of duels in the air as well as on the ground, in addition of course to their exceptional passing ability. It is important to have players that occupy those three positions that have on-the-ball intelligence, astute awareness of how to cover space in transition, and an aerial presence.
Subs.
65 mins - Koke on Modric off. Fresh legs.
70 mins losing/drawing - Olmo on Llorente off. Better finisher in the box from midfield.
75 mins losing/drawing - Raul on Silva off. Better presence up top.
75 mins winning - Lingard on Llorente off. Fresh legs while not losing creative quality.
Possession 4-3-3
We play a 4-3-3 to dominate possession, best form of defence is attack and them not having the ball. Possession always starts at the back and so we go with possibly the two best ball playing cbs out and with great pace to allow us to play the high line needed to play real possession football. As you’d expect with a possession gameplan we will be patient in the first two thirds of the park, this means we will move the ball quickly and at pace but will not force the play, let them chase us tiring them physically and mentally. Fernandes is the exception as we give him freedom to play more direct balls from deeper areas.
In the final third we give all players freedom to use their quality to create and produce magic to open up the opposition.
Up top we go with a front 3 full of pace, the wingers stay high and wide in possession, stretching Spurs defence and setting the side up perfectly for the possession play. In front of the defence Rodri and Thiago are the perfect two for the possession, play with Fernandes playing an Iniesta role as attacking Cm with freedom to drift. Everyone in their best position, in a formation and system that suits everyone playing their natural positions.
In defence Rodri drops behind the other two cms who press the play as the trio narrow, similarly in attack Rodri stays deepest but the trio do not play so narrow. We have a defence full of pace and great energy in front so play a reasonably high line, helping us press in high areas, and aiding distribution out from the back line.
Laporte the man marker as he is the stronger physically and can dominate in the air next to Marquinhos who is free to use his reading of the game and pace to sweep up. In midfield, the trio narrow in front with the cm opposite play dropping behind, allowing the other two to press with cover. Closing down the space, narrowing to the side of play. Win the ball back from Wolves quickly before they can get anywhere.
Quick passing and moving to find space in between the opposition lines. Using the pace of our wide forwards and fbs (one bombs forward at a time) to create space as we push forward.
We have a cm duo who can both drop deep to offer an option and collect the ball from defence. Likewise a fluid front three, who can switch positions or drop deep to collect the ball from midfield. This fluidity will help the players to get away from their markers, catch the opposition out and create space.
As we move forward we get quick one twos in the opposition half. With this fluid front three, Thiago supports creating and linking the play, Fernandes gets in and around the box looking for the final ball or shooting.
Positional structure, in addition to our technical players will be key to our quick passing possession gameplan going forward. Our approach in build up is to play a flexible asymmetric shape, giving bodies on different lines to increase the options we have in possession, and to create gaps in the opposition, and space for our players.
————————————— Allison ———————————
Carvajal — Marquinhos —— Laporte — T.Hernandez
————————————— Rodri ————————————
———————— Thiago.A —— B.Fernandes —————
—————————————————————————————
Gnabry ——————-— L.Martinez ————— S.Mane
Subs. Henderson, Alaba, Rice, Goretzka, Felix, Sterling, Osimhen
Defending high
When we lose the ball the closest player presses the ball, the second closest presses the obvious passing channel. As they’re doing this everyone gets into a narrow rigid formation behind the ball in position to press high up the park. Stop them breaking and press them high up the park.
In a narrow, rigid formation, we will look to press the space, not allowing them options. Keep them from advancing to positions where they can’t hurt us, by trying to win the ball back very quickly. Then break quickly in these high positions when we do win the ball.
As Spurs advance into higher areas of the park and into our half, our shape will resemble a 4-1-3-2. Winger on the side of play drops deep and Rodri drops behind the other two cms pressing the space behind the two cms pressing the ball, sweeping up danger behind them and in front of the defence.
Lautaro and the remaining wide forward in the space in between the opposition defence and midfield, and either side of their dm. This will make it difficult for their to dm to circulate possession back to their defence.
The wide man on the side of play that drops and the two cms (Thiago and Fernandes) are the trio pressing the ball, and look to force Spurs backwards. With the two forwards left forward this is where we look to press the opposition into mistakes and win the ball in high areas. With pace to join the attack quickly and overload Spurs.
When Spurs get past the initial press higher up the park, we drop deeper into a narrower tighter formation narrowing to the side of play, ensuring there are no gaps in the formation. Our fb’s have fantastic pace up against their wide forwards, bide their time, not diving in.
Subs.
If winning after 70 mins bring on Osimhen for Lautaro. More pace up top.
If winning after 75 mins bring on Goretzka for Fernandes. Strong defensively and hard working, fresh energy in Cm.
If winning after 80 mins bring on Sterling for Mane, fresh pace.
If drawing after 70 mins bring on Alaba and Osimhen for Theo and Carvajal. 3-5-2. More direct and goal scorer.
If drawing after 75 mins bring on Felix for Thiago.
If losing after 65 mins bring on Goretzka for Rodri. Thiago to dm. High energy in Cm as box to box role.
If losing after 70 mins bring on Sterling for Mane. More trickery to get us back in it.
If losing after 80 mins bring on Felix for Theo. Gung ho.
------------------------Neuer
Castagne---Soyuncu---Hernandez---Guerreiro
----------------------Brozovic
--------------SMS----------Pellegrini
Chiesa-------------------------------------Depay
---------------------Kane
Pope
White
Menino
Phillips
Alberto
Foden
Vardy
A return to our favoured 4-3-3 for today to oppose Sheffield United. I want us to play an aggressive attacking style, targetting the wide areas, hoping to exploit Sheffield United’s weakness in these areas. In Chiesa and Depay, I think we have players with the skillsets capable of targetting these areas, and in Kane we have a striker who is going to bag the goals created by this strategy. The midfield I have selected is full of energy, which allows for us to place the focus elsewhere. We are unlikely to be overrun here, and pressing these areas quickly will accommodate the adventurous natures of the FBs that we have selected. Defensively, I want to see the ball moved upfield quickly, whether that be from driving runs from the FBs, or quick movement of the ball on the deck.
The defenders should limit themselves to two-three touch football, allowing for us to play slick and quick stuff. This will prevent us from dilly-dallying on the ball and causing mistakes, and force the Sheffield United attack into a tiring, energetic press. Behind them, we have one of the world’s finest sweeper keepers, and in front Brozovic provides an energetic and mobile option who is good on the ball, meaning that we should always have options. The FBs will almost operate as conventional WBs, and create our first chance of breaking from defensive possession into attack, with targetted runs down the flanks. If this fails, SMS and Pellegrini operate an energetic, yet immensely talented, double pivot, with one dropping back as a support option, and then working triangles up the pitch. Brozovic will look to sit during the game, to make sure we are not left shorthanded at the back by the nature of our marauding FBs. I don’t want to see our wingers drop back for the ball, as we want to see the opposition FBs pegged back. By operating without a more conventional number 10, I also believe that we will have to force their midfield to reshape itself.
In attack, I want to see us have six bodies getting in and around the penalty area, whilst one of the CMs, alternating depending on the nature of the attack, will sit slightly deeper and look to sweep up any loose balls out, allowing for us to keep ourselves on the front foot. The key will be to attack the flanks, with our winger and wing-back doubling up on whichever FB is being targetted, though I would like us to target their right side most, as I believe it to be the weaker of the two. The FB should look to provide the wider option, with the winger sitting slightly inside. They can be supported by the breaking runs of the CMs, meaning there should always be space for one of three targetted attackers. The winger and FB on the other side will look to ghost into the penalty area, supporting Kane, and trying to give us a numerical advantage inside the penalty area. This will allow for us to keep on tops of loose balls, and keep the pressure on, looking to carve a chance out of their defence. Kane will want to stick between the posts, so that we can try and get the most out of his potent clinicality.
When possession is lost, a staged press should be engaged. Kane, Depay, and Chiesa will look to target their defence in the initial stage, buying time for the other attacking players to retake positions. Pellegrini will be the higher presser of him and SMS, looking to target their holding midfielders, whilst SMS will sit on the 10, limiting this as a channel for their attack. This should also free up Brozovic to work as a fire fighter, covering the wider spaces where needed, and providing support to the wide defenders.
Substitutions
If winning
Ben White on for Lorenzo Pellegrini 70 mins
Switch to a 3-4-3, with White occupying RCB.
Kalvin Phillips on for Marcelo Brozovic 77 mins
A slightly more physical and conservative option in the holding midfielder role.
Phil Foden on for Federico Chies 82 mins
Fresh legs.
If losing/drawing
Jamie Vardy on for Lorenzo Pellegrini 70 mins
Switch to a 4-4-2, with Vardy up top alongside Kane.
Phil Foden on for Marcelo Brozovic 77 mins
A more offensively minded 4-4-2
--------------------------- Oblak ----------------------------
W-Bissaka ----- E.Konsa ----- Romero ----- Robertson
-------------- F.de Jong -------- Bissouma ---------------
-- Mbappe ------------- Havertz ------------- Grealish --
-------------------------- Haaland --------------------------
Meslier, Locatelli, Camavinga, N.Mendes, Ferran, Malen, Bellingam
We will try and control this game as best we can , especially the midfield where we want to dominate, quick on the break and really pressurise the opposition with an in your face performance from the front, up against it but our trio has everything we need to stop them controlling the game, we want to hit them quickly so we need to press them quickly to get the ball, when we defend, the back 4 must stay solid with the midfield ahead of them harassing the man with the ball before they get to our back 4 and our midfield will be in and around the half way line, Haaland slightly higher up, this will congest the midfield and allow us to dictate play, defend from the front, stop them coming forward from the back, however, if they do push forward onto us and we get the ball they will be on the back foot and will really struggle with our front 3/4 with Fullbacks who are always ready to pounce and hit them with pace.
Romero picks up the CF he wont let much passed him he is a very robust and hard defender, Konsa spare picks up the AM if he gets away from our midfield, both powerful boys so keep the forward(s) away from the danger area, get onto them quickly, take the ball away from them and play it out of defence, look to get to our midfield quickly, Both are comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass to those in front to hit them with pace, both must attack high balls to get the ball away from the opposition big men. Fullbacks keep the wingers quiet, stop their attacks. 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. When they attack, only one at a time!!, Robertson is a dangerous weapon to have and he will do more attacking than Bissaka who will mostly make up a back 3 when Robertson goes as he supports Grealish down the left, often driving passed him to whip in dangerous balls, Bissaka does sometimes but not as often as he makes up the back 3 so this gives Mbappe more freedom on the right as he has the cover behind him. If either get caught up field I want the midfielders to help them out by filling the gaps so we don't get exposed, this allows the fullbacks to make their way to midfield to cover. CBs to go up for corners, with the fullbacks and Bissouma sitting back.
Recoveries mean possession, possession means control, Bissouma is excellent at this, a part of his game that he excels at. He is high energy in yer face, he is our deepest midfielder sitting just in front of the CB's he will shadow there AM and not allow him to control the game, he must be aware of all that is around him, be in the right place at the right time and look to cover for defensive players moving forward, he has to impose himself early on the AM to make him wary of holding onto the ball too long, will at times drop between the 2 Cbs to get the ball, once on the ball look around, head up and pick the pass that will get us moving forward quickly always making himself for a return ball from a deeper angle as he spreads it from side to side then eventually forward he is always looking for the ball to start again if need be, can be out to the fullbacks or indeed a longer ball to the front three to take the opposition out of it as they are still high up the pitch. de Jong will help stop the run of play quicker to make our defenders jobs a lot easier, protect our defence as best as possible, in possession get it to the front 3/4 but also look for fullbacks as they move into space, keep it simple, he has a very good range of pass. Either pass and move(triangles) into space or look for a piercing through ball to our front three to drive onto.Can move forward to assist and look for balls coming out so he can either, shoot or whip straight back in.
Havertz is essential to our style of play, he is the link between defence and attack, as we break quickly he will look to set up our front three and at times be in an advanced No.10/CF role and look for the de Jong/Bissouma/CB pass. He will drop back at times to pick it up and will look to his dribbling capabilities to get him around players, and into the danger area to unleash a powerful drive, sometimes taking a foul as he is a tricky player to mark. When in possession always head up looking for the movement of our front three to play them in, he will follow his pass and make up the numbers up front.After the pass he can push wide or central to make that extra man When he doesn't drop deep i.e when the defenders go long, he will look to form a front four as they move around and look to tear the defence apart and create space for the front 3, they will have quality in midfield but not as good as it normally is. All of our midfield three must press the opposition, Havertz on the DM and get to grips with this game very early on.
Our wingers are extremely quick, skillfull and will cause all sorts of problems, when we don't have the ball they drop back a bit to make up the numbers as they attack, push into the faces of the opposition to force them into mistakes and hopefully in the end they lose the ball, when they do lose the ball we charge at them and we do it quickly, go through the cms or out to one of our attacking fullbacks especially Robertson who will support Grealish very well. However, the movement up front between Mbappe and Grealish will cause them problems drifting in an out, the ball at times sticks to them like glue and extremely hard to dispossess, thus allowing Havertz to pick his moment to move into space either as a 10 or out wide. If he does push wide this will allow Wingers to go in central as we will have an attacking fullback up and supporting. Quick passing in triangles, quick one twos that will get us in and beyond their defenders and eventually to Haaland who can beat any defender with power and pace and the other wingers who will look to get into space to get a shot off, if there defence is on top then we can always go direct at times and fire early crosses especially from deep from the fullbacks into Haaland who will sit on the last foot so he can spring them and have a shoot or sight mentality, can move central, we must always make sure he is well supported, especially Havertz who at times will be right on his shoulder or alongside, if he cant get the shot away he will be looking to bring others into the game by dropping slightly back to get numbers for the attack he is a very tireless worker, who also helps defend from the from by harassing there back line/DM.
Captain - de Jong
Penalties - Haaland
Free Kicks - Grealish
Corners - Grealish
Losing by 1
80 Mins - Locatelli for Havertz to see it out, Bissouma drops back a bit with Locatelli alongside de Jong
85 Mins - N.Mendes for Grealish
Losing by 2
60 Mins - Malen for Robertson he goes up top 3232
70 Mins - Ferran for Havertz
Mbappe - Haaland - Malen up top 343
ET
Bellingham for de Jong, Mendes for Grealish
Winning/drawing
75 Mins - Locatelli for Havertz again Bissouma dropping back a bit
85 Mins - Mendes for Grealish
****ONE EXTRA SUB ALLOWED IF TIE GOES TO EXTRA TIME****
70 Mins - Ferran for Havertz
Mbappe - Haaland - Malen up top 343
Ferran goes to RW ** never added that
Attacking high press 3-5-2
We go with an attacking side built on a strong defence, must win game so we look to take the game to Spurs with pace and trickery out wide and creativity through the middle. If that doesn’t work we’ll get more power and height on to throw the kitchen sink at them in the last half hour. We go with a side with a high work rate, full of energy to press from the front. The defence starts with the front two.
After pipping us in the league and winning the first leg, we feel it is the perfect time for revenge with a few of their key players missing. We look to score more than them, attacking the areas outside their cbs(if 3 at back) or inside their fbs(if 4) to get in behind using our pace in attack and creativity from the middle.
Our formation allows us to play quick flowing football, with a ball playing back three, Rodri setting the tempo in Cm, pacey wingers and front two to stretch Spurs defence. The front two set the tempo for the game with their all action styles. Both have the ability to drop deep or wide, drag players out of position and overload their defence. Mount and Bruno plays with high intensity in the middle with Rodri sitting. We have three cms able to pick a pass, and with the ability to dictate the tempo of the game and control possession.
We play with a high line to allow us to dominate possession, Werner if he plays will offer a threat getting in behind but we’ll back our players to create more from dominating play, and be better at taking their chances.
The width is provided by the wingers, and by an over lapping cb. We allow one cb to get forward at a time, either offering an extra man in midfield to control possession when needed or overlapping the winger. This will see us always have two cbs and a deep midfielder in front when we attack offering cover. We stop this tactic if we take the lead on aggregate.
We will direct our attacks down the wings. Both wingers will have absolute freedom to attack, bombing down the wings, crossing for the front two and coming inside to give us extra players in the box. The overlapping cb, wbs and with front two will give us an overload in attacking situations.
We defend in a narrow formation, limiting the space for Spurs to play in. Defending in the 3-5-2 shape we look to defend high up the park, as Spurs push up the park the team narrows to the side Spurs are attacking. Rodri sitting zonally in front of defence as Mount and Bruno press the ball and central passing lane. The wingers on side of play look to defend - against any attacking fbs on side of play or to pick up a dm if no fbs, we always leave both forwards up, plus winger opposite play. So if the opposition go with 3 at back or have a fb attacking a 3 vs 3 counter could be on for us.
The defence and midfield press as a unit, ensuring there is no space between the lines for Spurs attacking mids.
When we win the ball we attack at pace. Use the pace of our wide players bombing forward linking with the forwards to create.
———————————— Schmeichel ————————————
————— Militao —— Marquinhos —— D.Alaba ————
————————— Rodri ———— M.Mount —————
R.Sterling ————— B.Fernandes ————— S.Mane
————————— S.Gnabry —— Lautaro.M ————————
Subs. Henderson, Carvajal, Theo.H, Goretzka, Bale, Felix, Osimhen
Defence
When we lose the ball high up the park we always look to win it back straight away, don’t give Spurs a chance to counter. The closest 2/3 players press. Allowing others to get back into position behind the ball.
In a narrow, rigid formation, we will look to press the space, not allowing them options. Keep them from advancing to positions where they can’t hurt us, by trying to win the ball back very quickly. Then break quickly in these high positions when we do win the ball.
When Spurs get past the initial press higher up the park, we drop deeper into a narrower tighter formation narrowing to the side of play, ensuring there are no gaps in the formation set out above. Our defence have fantastic pace up against their forwards, bide their time, not diving in.
Marquinhos acts as sweeper, the other two cbs defend zonally going man for man when opposition forwards in their zone. If overloaded Rodri can drop to cb, also going man for man if needed. If opposition players drop deep or out wide to opposite side of play we let them run free, defend the goal and pressing the ball asa well drilled unit. If they’re too far away from goal they can’t hurt us.
Attack
We attack at pace down the wings, Bruno, Mount and Gnabry linking with the wingers to work through the Spurs defence. Overlapping cb offers another threat out wide to overload Spurs.
The back 3 are all comfortable on the ball and look to play out, helping us move the ball quickly having a strong base.
Subs.
After 65 mins bring on Goretzka for Mount. Fresh legs, power and height.
If winning on aggregate after 70 mins bring on Theo for Mane. Pace and power, perfect for counter and stronger defensively as we’d expect Spurs to go for it.
If winning on aggregate after 75 mins bring on Carvajal for Sterling. Keeping the shape but with better defensive players layers to defend deeper areas.
If drawing or losing on aggregate after 70 mins bring on Bale for Sterling. Height, power and big game player.
If drawing or losing on aggregate after 70 mins bring on Osimhen for Mane. Gnabry goes left.
3 subs on over 6 foot to dominate in the air, set pieces will be huge with Militao, Marquinhos, Goretzka, Rodri, Bale, Osimhen to aim for in the box.
If extra time, and 4th substitute, after 15 mins (105) bring on Theo for Rodri. Another over 6ft and fresh pace, playing lcm box to box with Goretzka, Bruno ahead. Pace and energy to go for it against tired legs. If Theo already on, bring on Felix for Rodri. Playing attacking midfield.
If pens:
1. Bruno Fernandes - pk king
2. Marquinhos - big game player and leader
3. Lautaro - our talisman
4. Gnabry - big game player and German
5. Bale - big game player
6. Alaba - big game player and as good as German
7. Goretzka - big German
8. Osimhen / Felix / Theo
SHEFFIELD UNITED v Leeds United
----------------------Kelleher
Lamptey, Andersen, T. Silva, Grimaldo
--------------Kovacic, Höjbjerg
-Mahrez----------James----------Mertens
-----------------------Suárez
Subs: Livramento, Ampadu, Koopmeiners, de Roon, Gallagher, Brooks, Isco
Captain: Thiago Silva
Free Kicks: Mahrez/James (Brooks)/Mertens (Isco)
Penalties: Suárez
Our defensive unit consists of Joachim Andersen and Thiago Silva paired up at centre-back, Tariq Lamptey at right-back and Álex Grimaldo at left-back, with Mateo Kovacic and Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg as our midfield ‘double pivot’ screening them.
This ‘double pivot’ is the key to our team and in Kovacic and Höjbjerg we have a perfect pairing to initiate attacks by distributing the ball in an intelligent fashion, to be key players in circulation and to prevent dangerous opposition attacks, being disciplined in positioning and limiting space in between the lines.
The strength of our double pivot is that Höjbjerg can press the ball without leaving lots of space, as Kovacic can maintain a good position to react if the initial press is bypassed. Our double pivot will offer huge defensive stability and will ensure that a structured shape is maintained.
Having two defensive midfielders centrally prevents others being dragged out of position to press.
Helping the defenders maintain solid positioning is a key part of Höjbjerg's role, he will press almost anywhere in his own half to allow defenders to stay in the defensive line.
With Höjbjerg running his socks off for the team, our high tempo will be dictated by his partner in holding midfield, Mateo Kovacic.
Kovacic is not just your “win the ball and pass it on to the closest player” – there is a real creative mind in his locker, but it’s his ability to be the shield of the back four and then be creative once he gets the ball that makes Kovacic such a talent.
The attacking unit consists of Riyad Mahrez, James Rodríguez and Dries Mertens as our band of three attacking midfielders with Luis Suárez as our lone central striker.
Our 4-2-3-1 is set up to have that wonderful ‘springy' quality - it absorbs pressure without breaking and then snaps back with surprising force.
In defence our 4-2-3-1 covers space very effectively, with the band of three attacking midfielders and centre forward able to press the opposition high up the pitch while the two defensive midfielders ensure that there is no space left in front of the defence. Then the back four can either play a high line, compressing the space even further, or drop deeper as preferred.
Once we have won the ball back, often by Kovacic or Höjbjerg, then our 4-2-3-1 can spring into attack.
Lamptey and Grimaldo can surge up the wings in the knowledge that Kovacic and Höjbjerg can drop into the space left behind if needed. As they come up the wings, both Riyad Mahrez and Dries Mertens, who are excellent in tight spaces and fantastic dribblers will cut inside or make runs into the box.
James, our attacking central midfielder’s low centre of gravity will enable him to navigate away from defenders. James is blessed with an instant first touch and can dribble with the ball at such a close proximity to his feet that it makes him almost impossible to tackle this creative passer with his quick flicks and one-touch passing, will combine exceptionally well with Mahrez, Mertens & Suárez to create openings and goal scoring opportunities for each other.
Upfront, Suárez will be utilised to “bind” our oppositions defenders in place by occupying them with his positioning, to the point of blocking their defenders in order to create space for Mahrez, James & Mertens to exploit between the lines as this trio look to profit from Suárez’s off-the-ball actions.
Suárez will act as a focal point around which our team will build our attacks, using his strength to hold off their defenders. Suárez is proven adept at one-touch passing and quick flicks in combination play and of course Suárez’s stock in trade when the occasion calls for it – intelligent dummies to fool their defenders.
All 4 of our most advanced players are equally gifted in terms of assisting and scoring goals, and as thus we will not be purely reliant on Suárez on this front, although I expect of course for him to find the back of the net on a number of occasions.
Subs on 75 mins
Brooks on for James and Isco on for Mertens
Double substitution - fresh legs and plenty of dribbling trickery from Isco and Brooks in the last 15 minutes to look to unlock the opposition’s defence for a late goal regardless of the score line.
----------------- Ter Stegen -----------------
---- S.Ramos --- P.Torres --- F.Mendy ----
------------ Fabinho --- N.Kante -----------
J.Sancho ------- E.Hazard -------- L.Sane
---------- T.Werner --- Griezmann --------
Subs:
Sanchez, Cancelo, Reguilon, De Paul, Asensio, Martial, Iheanacho
Tactics:
The boys are absolutely flying at the moment and with confidence sky high we continue with our brand of fast paced high quality attacking football.
After edging the first leg lessor teams would go to Leicester looking to shut up shop and try to defend the lead, with confidence high we do the opposite as we look to take the game to the opposition and go for goals.
The onus will be on them to attack which will create plenty of space for us to exploit in behind on the counter. We go with a perfectly balanced 3-2-3-2, a solid back three with two of the best DM’s in the business protecting them will give us a solid defence shape to frustrate the opposition. As soon as we win back possession we look to counter at pace. Sancho and Sane offer us pure pace out wide as we look to hit them on the flanks whilst Werner is one of the quickest CF’s in the business.
If the opposition go too hung ho they will leave themselves exposed and with aways goals to our advantage we’re more than happy for this one to turn into a shootout.
Defence:
We go with a perfectly balanced back three, strong defensively but also with great ball players which will allow us to retain possession and play out from the back. If they play one up top then Torres will mark, Ramos and Mendy will act as cover or pick up the second CF. We don’t want them to drift out wide, let then wingers come to us, keeping the central area’s compact will make it extremely difficult for the opposition to play through us.
The opposition have bags of pace out wide in Sterling, Mane & co however we’re happy to let them have the ball out on the flanks, our 3 CB’s will stay compact and central, don’t go out and engage the wingers instead force them to come infield, with a compact central area there will be simply no room to manoeuvre and with three towering CB’s we are comfortably dealing with any crosses in the air.
Our brick wall of Fabinho and Kante will shield our defence, limiting the supply to their attack whilst also having bags of pace and energy to scamper across and deal with any threats out wide.
In this set up we also have the flexibility for Fabinho to drop in alongside Torres, allowing Ramos & Ferland to cover the flanks in a conventional back 4. Tactical flexibility is our greatest weapon.
Midfield:
Kante and Fabinho will act as our enforcers in the middle. They will sit in front of our defence stifling the oppositions creativity and more importantly, cutting off the supply line to their forwards. We want to physical impose ourselves in this area of the pitch and these two are absolute warriors.
All action players we rely on their fantastic tenacity and high level work rate to break up the opposition play, winning back possession and setting us up on the counter as we look to get the ball into our creative players as quickly as possible.
If their wingers break at pace then we want one of Fabinho/Kante to drift across to engage them whilst the other stays central and picks up their AM. Importantly this will allow our back three to stay intact and deal with their forwards.
If they look to build from the back slowly then this is when we will drop into a deeper defensive shape with Fabinho dropping in at CB. As soon as we win back possession we spring in to attack with Hazard terrorising them from AM as Fabinho slots back in alongside Kante at DM.
Forwards:
In this set up our attack is where the fun really begins. With a back three and DM defensive pivot this allows us to essentially play with a front five when in possession and enables us to really cause some damage.
Hazard will be given freedom to roam and exploit any gaps in the opposition midfield. A player with superb technical ability he will look to get on the ball as much as possible, running at the opposition drawing them in and committing a defender before playing that decisive pass to slip in our wingers or supply our strike partnership up top.
Out wide we look to hit them with pure pace and skill. If they opt for three at the back then Sancho and Sane can cause them real damage. We want them to hug the touch line, make the pitch as wide as possible and exploit any space on offer. We want them to be direct, get on the ball and go straight at the opposition, looking to either supply one of our front two, cut the ball back to Hazard or go direct for goal themselves.
Up top we go with the dangerous duo of Werner & Griezmann. Timo will play on the shoulder of the last man, looking to use his lightening pace to get in behind and through on goal, the German often at his best when playing in a front two. Griezmann has a bit more freedom, the Frenchman has great link up play so able to drift between the lines however when on the attack we want him to get in the box and finish any chances that fall his way.
Subs:
If winning/drawing:
70 mins: Hazard & Sane off, De Paul & Reguilon on. No point shutting up shop and inviting pressure, instead we keep our shape but bring in fresh legs. De Paul adding increased work rate to go with his creativity whilst Reguilon gives us an orthodox wing back both strong in attack and defence.
If losing on aggregate:
70 mins: Fabinho & Hazard off, De Paul & Asensio on. The dangerous De Paul slots in at CM giving us bundles of creativity whilst Asensio adds an injection of pace and incision with Sancho moving centrally to work his magic as we push for the winner.
-----------------------Neuer
-------Soyuncu---Hermoso---Hernandez
Castagne---Brozovic----SMS--------Guerreiro
-------Chiesa--------Kane------Depay
Pope
Walker
Denayer
Pellegrini
Foden
Ocampos
Vardy
I have opted for the 3-4-3 today, as I think it gives us a bit more stability in the game, and allows for us to have a tighter grip. With us holding a lead, it gives us a bit more of a defensive base, whilst not sacrificing those attacking options that got us into this position. We should still have men going forward, with clinical attackers, and support from attacking full-backs and SMS, meaning that we should be able to attack in numbers, create chances, and look to get an away goal of our own, without being left open and vulnerable at the back.
I still want to see the same quick movement of the ball in our defensive third, with defenders playing a 2-3 touch system. Brozovic will sit just in front of the defense, operating as the deeper part of the midfield pivot, with SMS more advanced, meaning Brozo will be the first option for the defense playing out, though SMS can also drop deep and support if this option is getting choked out. In Neuer we also have a reliable option to pass back to, if necessary, to keep us on the ball, and draw them out to press. We then have to break their press by looking to spread the balls out wide. In Castagne and Guerreiro we have quick options, who will look to break up the pitch, and this is what we want to see, allowing us to break their lines, and hit them quickly, working in those spaces. Once again, I want to see us double up on their FBs, with the WBs serving as overlapping options, so breaking from these areas is key. Should we attack through SMS in the middle, the WBs should stay in line with him, so that we can spread the ball into these areas.
As I said earlier, the key to our offense is to target the wide areas, so with Chiesa/Depay being supported by Castagne/Guerreiro, I believe we can double-up in these areas, with Chiesa and Depay operating as slightly inside options, and the WBs working on the overlap, looking to get the ball to the byline and put it into the box. In Kane we have a striker capable of operating both on the ground and in the air, so a variety of different balls can be put in. Kane should always be joined in the box by the opposite winger, whilst the WBs and SMS will make a secondary trident around the edge of the penalty area, allowing for us to maintain pressure from loose balls and clearances. We want to keep the pressure on, attacking at a high intensity, pegging them back, not allowing them to play the game on their terms, and also looking to create chances and get ourselves on the front foot. An early goal for us would change the shape of the game, so coming out of the blocks and playing with intensity is key to the game today.
In terms of our defensive press, I want to see Kane, Chiesa, and Depay pressing high, not allowing their defense the time to play out from the back, forcing them either into long balls forward, or errors and mistakes at the back. SMS will engage in the middle third, working as the engine room of the midfield, and allowing for Brozovic to hold his position until our shape has been re-engaged. Brozovic should operate as a crab in the holding midfield role until our WBs get back, covering the space, and pushing out wide to support if necessary. Hernandez and Soyuncu will also have to cover some of the wider areas, and when this is the case Brozo will sit in front of Hermoso, offering him support, and meaning we don’t get overworked in the middle area of the pitch.
A key for us today is to get that first goal, or an away goal in general. Should we take the lead, then we have to transition to a more conservative approach, with less bodies being pushed forward, so the WBs will sit deeper, and instead SMS will be used to link the attack and defense, with a more attacking approach being engaged should we concede.
Substitutions
If winning
Federico Chiesa off for Lorenzo Pellegrini 70 mins
Switch a 3-5-2, with Depay going up front to support Kane, and Pellegrini going into CM, with him and SMS playing either side of Brozovic.
Timothy Castagne off for Kyle Walker 75 mins
A slightly more conservative option here, with Walker also freshening up the legs in a key area.
Memphis Depay off for Jamie Vardy 80 mins
Fresh legs up top, with Vardy looking to use his raw pace to exploit a tiring defence.
SMS off for Phil Foden 90 mins (ET Sub)
Looking to hold possession, Foden gives us a bit more flair as an option, and freshens up the options in midfield.
If drawing
Raphael Guerreiro off for Lorenzo Pellegrini 70 mins
Switch to a 4-3-3, giving us another option to try and control the midfield, with Hernandez shifting to LB, and Pellegrini and SMS operating in front of Brozovic. This is our more conventional tactic option.
Federico Chiesa off for Lucas Ocampos 77 mins
Fresh legs at RW, and Ocampos gives us an energetic pressing option.
Timothy Castagne off for Kyle Walker 85 mins
Fresh legs in defense, as Sheff United will no doubt be throwing all they can at us.
SMS off for Phil Foden
Looking to hold possession, Foden gives us a bit more flair as an option, and freshens up the options in midfield.
If losing
Mario Hermoso off for Jamie Vardy 70 mins
Switch to a 4-4-2, with Vardy and Kane playing up front together. This gives us an option to be going for the goals to get us back in the game.
Federico Chiesa off for Lorenzo Pellegrini 77 mins
Switch to a 4-3-3, with Depay pushing up to operate alongside Kane and Vardy.
Marcelo Brozovic off for Phil Foden 83 mins
A more attacking option, and a switch to a 4-2-1-3, with SMS and Pellegrini slightly more reserved than Foden.
Newcastle 4-3-3 / 2-3-5
_____________Navas
Trent_____Dias______VVD_____Shaw
____________Casemiro
_______Llorente_____Modric
Salah_________Son___________Coman
Subs: Koke, Koulibaly, Fabian, Gundogan, Olmo, Lingard, Raul
Today I’d like to take complete control of midfield, holding possession and stretch their back line while outnumbering every area of the middle third and final third of the pitch. Our full backs will play as inverted fullbacks assuming the role as box to box and pivoting midfielders, thereby pushing our midfielders further forwards creating a 5 man attack.
______________Navas
_________Dias_____VVD_______
____Trent____Casemiro_____Shaw
Salah__Llorente___Modric____Coman
_______________Son______________
By doing so I will always have an extra man in midfield, including wide passing options, creating overloads. It will also help us stretch the field wider as I would expect opposition players to drift in-field to try and mitigate the presence of the extra bodies in midfield leaving wide areas for our wide players to exploit. As such the wide players will be given instruction so hug the touchline when waiting to receive the ball, then they can cut in and play their natural game but providing pass options initially is a must.
I fully expect us to create difficulty for the opposition in assessing exactly how and where to cover space and how to effectively pressure the ball. Create pass options to drag players out of position when they struggle to cope with the extra man in midfield exploiting gaps between the lines.
Our attacks will be taking a very vertical approach which allows the attacking midfielders to receive the ball in space allowing us to hurt them. Our version of a vertical approach is passing the ball up and down the field, with players inviting pressure as they receive and release the ball thereby creating a gap for another player to move into to receive a recycled pass. Eventually a path to goal will appear and it’ll be up to the players to exploit that playing their natural games. The whole point of this system is about opening greater space in between the lines for the attacking midfielders to receive. The attacking midfielders will also be expected to break the lines and make runs beyond the striker to find space higher up the pitch creating goal-scoring opportunities. The fullbacks therefore have many options to pass to, the 9, the 10s, and out wide depending on the natural movements of the players.
Defensive stability is very important to the way we want to play. One of the rules ultimately in football is you cannot score if you don’t have the ball, so we aim to keep the ball as much as possible with the ongoing ball recycling process of trying to drag players out of position finding space to exploit. When the opposition do gain possession they immediately face a block of five in the middle and our third of the pitch, quickly changing back to a standard 4-5-1 in two flat lines (plus the striker up top). Doing so will allow us to effectively defend our wide areas stopping any crosses coming in while congesting the middle enough for minimal gaps to appear between the lines. We press less to minimise the risk of gaps appearing but instead rely on cutting passing lanes and options. Once possession is regained, we immediately progress up the pitch and revert back to 2-3-5. The central defensive triangle of both CBs and the DM are good in the air capable of winning plenty of duels in the air as well as on the ground, in addition of course to their exceptional passing ability. It is important to have players that occupy those three positions that have on-the-ball intelligence, astute awareness of how to cover space in transition, and an aerial presence.
Subs.
65 mins - Koke on Modric off. Fresh legs.
70 mins losing/drawing - Gundogan on Llorente off. Better finisher in the box from midfield.
75 mins losing/drawing - Raul on Son off. Better presence up top.
75 mins winning - Fabian on Llorente off. Fresh legs while not losing creative quality.
PORTSMOUTH vs Chelsea (2-4-1-3 wing-backs and inside forwards)
Injuries:
Nathaniel Phillips
Cristiano Ronaldo
Franck Kessie
Scott McTomminay
Took a beating last week, against the run of play but a beating none the less. Today with home advantage and Mr Portsmouth himself (John Portsmouth FC Westwood) banging his drum, driving us on we go in the hunt for the 2 goals to take us through.
Our formation on paper looks really gung-ho, but football isn’t played on paper, and we’re not as gung-ho as you think, cold calculated risks, but if ya gonna go down, may as well engage party mode and have some fun doing it no?
We have some beautifully gifted ball players at our disposal but today is all about pace, getting at this Chelsea back-line, stretching them and getting in behind. Fan has a frightening attack but they can only run one way, so we won’t worry about them so much our defence can deal with it. Our main issue is over-running perhaps the most boring, yes boring midfield combo’s ever assembled we stop this midfield and his attack has nothing to work with.
this is why this formation gives us our best shot, our front line takes his defence man for man, they have not out ball, our wing-backs will mark his wingers, our CM’s are bigger,faster,stronger, and our back-two marshall the tap in merchant up front. Sounds simple doesn’t it
………………………………..Ederson………………….
……………………Milenkovic……Romagnoli…………..
Calabria…………Busquets…..Neves……..D.McNeil
……………………………………Insigne………………………………
Berardi………………………Vlahovic…………………Jota
Subs: Pickford, Mancini, However, Bernardo, Goncalves, Belotti, Koita
So as I said earlier proper attacking on paper, but it’s also pragmatic, we have a top top holding midfielders that can help us to shut up shop and effectively give us a back-four and a front-six approach to this game, I know it’s risky but with a 3 slot head start for home advantage there’s no reason why we shouldn’t try it.
Ederson, we all know his quality and skillset, a very good ‘keeper but his biggest attributes are his ability with ball to feet. That’s a massive use for us in this system, with flying-wingbacks and inside forwards really stretching the pitch and this sssllllooooowwww Chelsea spine.
Milenkovic and Romagnoli are a great duo, not often being 6ft2 make you the “little man” but that’s where Roma finds himself. Milenkovic will use that massive 6ft4 frame to close down the tap-in king. Physically get In his face, slam him on his touch and keep him playing with his back to goal, Roma is an old school Libero, he’ll sit off a yard, watch for any loose balls, and keep a watchful eye for any runs from deep.
Calabria was the top-rated RB in Serie A last season, so he’ll be tasked with man marking Greasy, don’t dive in just faint an attempted tackle and watch the clown fall over, then nip in and take the ball away, given free licence to drive forward and make the most of the space ahead of him, our RIF will occupy the left back, and Greasy won’t chase back so that flank will be massively exposed for him to bang some crosses in.
Dwight Mcneil is a fantastic young talent with an absolute wand of a left-peg, defensively obviously not as sound as Calabria so he’ll just have to jockey the RW and try to slow him down, chase him out wide and try and force the cross, Neither of Fans wingers are known for their defensive out-put and with our LIF taking away the right-back, McNeil will have acres of space and bags of time to whip in those pin-point crosses, it’s not just Vlahovic to aim at he’ll have both of our inside forwards and Lorenzo Insigne loitering for the pull-back as well.
Neves and Biscuits are a great pivot, Busquests has been there and won everything, will use that vast experience to help us dominate the midfield, Neves is a far better player than he’s given credit for, has goals in the locker, and an amazing range of passing, long and short but this season he’s shown that he can be the DM the top sides would love, in the top 5 in the prem for tackles and interceptions. This duo will hold the middle and allow our WB’s to rampage forward, Neves the orchestrator will have 6 targets making the runs for him.
Insigne is the magician in the side, really low centre of gravity and a great burst of speed, a defenders nightmare, he’ll link the play, with 3 some-times 5 players ahead of him he can wreak absolute havoc in this game, little give and goes with big man Vlahovic pulling this Chelsea defence apart.
Berardi and Jota are our inside-forwards, it’s a dying position but when used properly it’s impossible to defend against, our wing-backs will run the line, these two taking the FB away, their wingers won’t track back so we’ll get all the over-laps to turn the tide of this fixture. Once the ball is on the opposite flank they attack the back stick, when it’s on there flank the move towards the penalty spot. Vlahovic is the 6 yard box poacher and with his size and frame theres always gonna be the knock-downs or rebounds to pounce on.
Vlahovic is the target-man, he’s the focal point the rest of the side bounces off, 21 goals in Serie A this season, only 3 less than Lukaku who did it in a title winning side. He has shown he can lead the line pretty much unsupported for a pooor fiotentina side, with the supporting cast he has playing off him today and with the love and adulation from our fans he can and will dominate this defence, we’ll get him his 1v1’s and he’ll punish the Chels.
Subs 65 mins:
Bernardo > Biscuits….Neves becomes the prime DM and Bernardo uses his vision and range from deep, we know have 2 of the very best long and short passes in the game working in tandem.
Pedro G > Jota…. 23 goals in 32 league games for sporting if you’re still chasing goals then this guy isn’t a bad bench option.
Koita > Vlahovic > absolutely rapid this guy, 14 goals in 17 games for Salzburg is a phenomenal strike rate
SOTON VS Newcastle
----------------------------------------Gulasci-----------------------------------
----------------Fofana--------Upamecano--------Badiashile-----------
Raphinha---------------Ndidi------------Valverde---------------Pulisic
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------Odegaard----------------------------------
--------------------Greenwood-----------------Rashford--------------------
Subs - Sessegnon, Dest, Curtis Jones, Kulusevski, Wirtz, Adama, Kean
CAPTAIN - RASHFORD
CK'S - ØDEGAARD
FK'S - ØDEGAARD
PENALTIES - RASHFORD
I want us to hold a deep defensive line to start of with so the oppo don't get an early goal. Keep things simple in the beginning and only pressure the oppo when they get in our half. When we have the ball I want the team to play pass and move football. Don't stay static, try and get in behind the oppo defence as there is a lot of pace in our attacking players. As the game goes on, when we don't have the ball I want the team to defend from the front line and pressure the oppo and try and win possession back. Do this in fits and bursts as it is a tiring tactic.
Defence
GK to be confident in box. Don't take risks. Punch the ball away if the shot is too powerful. Command your area. The back 3 is well balanced and full of pace and power. Fofana and Badiashile will be playing as the outside CB's and will look to close down the oppo wingers. Upamecano in the middle will marshall the defence and look to snuff out any attacks from the oppo striker/s. All 3 of these CB's are very good at playing from the back and I want them to use that ability if they have some space to dribble into from defence.
WINGBACKS
Raphinha and Pulisic are playing as wingbacks today. They are not defenders irl but both of them put a shift in defensively for their real life clubs and I want them to do that here. Your defending doesn't have to be flashy just stick close to the oppo wingers and stop them from getting past you, the DM's will be helping you a lot aswell. Both of you are rapid so if it's a foot race the oppo wants they'll be up against it! Fofana and Badiashile will be ready as the outside CB's to help you clear up any loose balls etc. Be vary of oppo fullbacks making overlapping runs as I want you to stick with them to stop them getting to the byline. One of our DM's will come over to mark the oppo winger who has the ball incase they don't use the overlapping fullbacks. As an attacking outlet I want Raphinha and Pulisic to play how wingbacks would normally play. Stay wide and make runs forward when given the opportunity. Try and whip some dangerous balls into the oppo area and use your pace to get back into defensive positions if the oppo try and hit us on a counter. Both of you can cut in from time to time if you want to into your stronger fits to give the oppo summat different to think about.
Defence Mids
Ndidi + Valverde
These 2 will be the main defensive force to cover our defence. When the oppo LW is attacking down the wings I want Ndidi to close him down and put a tackle in or stop him getting to the byline. Likewise with Valverde who will be tasked with the same job against the oppo RW. This will help sort our Raphinha and Pulisic's defensive vulnerability. If either Ndidi or Valverde are helping out on the wings I want the other DM to stay in the middle of the pitch and close down the oppo AM if they play one. When in possession pass the ball out to the wings or to Ødegaard who will drop deep from time to time. Valverde will be allowed to stretch his legs and run with the ball from deep if there is space to do so in the centre of the pitch. But he must not forget his main job which is to protect the defence.
Attack Mid
Martin Ødegaard
The Big Ø will be the playmaker and chance creator for our attackers. His technical ability on the ball is world class and he is the type of player that can run all match without getting tired. Off the ball I want him to press the oppo midfielders. When we have possession of the ball try and find space in the attacking third of the pitch for you to receive the ball and use your playmaking ability to create chances for the team. Look out for runs from our wingbacks and strikers and thread some pinpoint passes to them.
Strikers
Marcus Rashford MBE + Greenwood
These 2 blood brothers will be the main goalscorers of the team. Rashford is a striker that has the deadly combination of pace and finishing. He will look to use his pace to get the better of the oppo defence. Be vary of crosses into the box and try and get in front of your marker. Time your runs off the shoulders of the oppo CB's and use your pace to get away from them. Play quick pass and move combinations with your teammates to find spaces in the oppo defence.
Greenwood will use his physical ability and hold up play to bring others in to the game. He's a proper two footed striker equally as strong on his right as he is on his left so I don't want him to hesitate to shoot when he has an opportunity to shoot.
Subs if LOSING BY 65MINS
Put on Wirtz for Ndidi and Kulusevski for Pulisic to bring some more attacking impetus on. Play a high line and put a lot of pressure on the oppo to win the ball back. Adama Traore on for Raphinha aswell.
-------------------------------------Gulasci-----------------------
---------------Fofana---------Upamecano--------Badiashile----------
----------------------------------------Valverde--------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adama----------------Odegaard---------Wirtz-----------------Kulusev
-------------------------Greenwood------------Rashford-------------------
Subs if WINNING BY 60MINS
Take off Ødegaard and put on Curtis Jones in CM. Play defensive with everyone in our own half defending for their lives, waiting to hit the oppo on the counter attack. . Take the attacking wingbacks off and put on Dest and Sessegnon as defensive wingbacks who'll offer a lot more defensive stability.
--------------------------------------Gulasci-----------------------
----------------Fofana--------Upamecano--------Badiashile--------
Dest------------------Valverde----------Ndidi---------------------Sess
--------------------------------------Jones---------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------Greenwood---------Rashford----------------------
Subs if DRAWING BY 65MINS
Kulusevski on for Pulisic
Kean on for Greenwood
Wirtz on for Ødegaard
Fresh legs to bring on.
Portsmouth vs Leicester – 4-3-3 (inside forwards not wingers)
Second cup final of the season for Pompey after losing to the Chels in the Carabao Cup. Bit of a shock we’ve come this far after our heroics beating the wide-boys in the semi. Rof has got such a strong squad he can comfortably absorb the injuries he’s encountered but we can’t change or affect how he plays only how we play, so with that in mind we’re going to go with a fast paced 4-3-3, short slick passing, keep Leicester moving and exploit the spaces when the chances arrive.
We know RoF tends to go with his 4-3-3 so if that’s the case it’s fine we stand them up man for man, in his last game he went 3-5-2, if that’s how he plays it today it suits us fine as we’ll stretch the pitch and try and get in behind that way.
…………………………………………Ederson………………………..
Calabria……………..Milenkovic……..Romagnoli……….Angelino
……………………………………….Busquets……………………………
………………………Bernardo……………………..Kessie……………..
Ronaldo……………………………………………………………..Neymar
………………………………………Vlahovic…………………………
Subs: Pickford, Mancini, Phillips, McTominay, Goncalves, Belotti, McNeil
To win a big game, you need big game players and we’re packed with serial winners, Our Starting XI has cumulated a combined 556 international full caps, 7 international cups, 95 cups at their respective clubs and a whopping 32 league titles.
Before we get down to the nitty gritty, I know it seems Bernardo and Kessie are on the wrong side but they’re not, Calabria is much better defensively than Angelino, so Kessie goes that side to help strengthen the left flank, the other advantage of having them on the opposite side is that should Rof’s wingers cut-inside to run across them, they’re actually running onto our men’s stronger feet.
We play a deep-line and hold the edge of the 18 yard line, no need to push high up the pitch and leave spaces in behind for Leicester to exploit, any ball squeezing through from just that short distance, Ederson will be on his toes and off his line.
Ederson – is the perfect sweeper keeper, super duper fast off his line to collect any loose balls, Don’t do anything daft, just keep it simple, a very clever player he has the freedom to play the short sharp passes or the little dinks into space over the top.
Calabria and Angelino are given the freedom to attack, they’re effectively playing as wing-backs when we have possession, but I don’t want them just charging, we have wingers in those spaces, this is a disciplined attack they move forward with the ball/ball carrier, always providing that outlet as Rof looks to hit us with his press, When we have the ball Busquets takes 5 steps back and becomes a 3rd CB, we now have a makeshift diamond-shape for passing triangles between the midfield 3 and the FB’s as the ball moves forward they go forward and create a new diamond shape with the wingers and CM’s (Busquets is no longer the base)
Defensively they can’t expect too much help from our wingers but we have a hard working midfield to help the double-up so whilst they can’t allow “their man” too much time on the ball they’re free to “jockey” until support arrives.
The midfield-three is all about combinations, the experience and winning mentality of Busquets, the lung bursting all action exploits of Franck the tank and then Bernardo with the magic wand of a left boot, Busquets will dictate the play in the first stage moving us on and being that vocal influence all sides need, but he won’t be advancing past half-way he’ll sit in and allow our FB’s the freedom. Kessie is a pure specimen and goes B2B today, great defensively and always a good shout for a goal he’s a tough man to close down and can turn the tide in the midfield battle single-handedly. Bernardo is given a free-role, he’s too good to be tied in a single position so has that flexibility to get forwards and support the front three, but he has to be willing to run back, we’re not expecting Maldini-esque defending but HE WILL put a shift in for the team and harry his man if nothing else.
That midfield three pretty much makes us a 4-2-3-1 but it’s more a 4-1-2-3 – Busquets is the safety first option, Kessie the power and Bernardo the glory.
The trident up top have absolutely everything to make them a frightening prospect, most teams double up on Ronaldo to stop him, (try and stop him) but how can you do that and mark Neymar to?
Ronaldo and Neymar are inside-forwards, they start wide and we want them drifting inside taking the full-back with them and creating the over-laps for our FB’s to get into, I know it may be over-loaded with 2 men plus Bernardo centrally but these three have the awareness to be flexible and spot the spaces to run into and to be honest the 3 way interchanges of play should be exciting to watch. Vlahovic is our no-nonsense old school #9 6ft2 and a bag of goals for Fiorentina he’ll look to bully Rof’s centre-backs, 21 goals from 42 shots on target show this lad has all the credentials to be a top top hitman. And with Neymar 9 goals from 21 and Ronaldo 29 from 68, anything loose in the foxes box(es) is getting hit and punished.
Defensively Vlahovic will try to cover both CB’s, if they spread too far go to the defender without the ball (or least likely to have it) CR7 and Neymar mark the LB/RB respectively. Bernardo and Kessie tuck in, Biscuits marks the AM/SS/#10 and our back-four go man for man, we’re well drilled and hard to breakdown, the only players unmarked are their keeper and one of the two CB’s what happens next is down to Lesta’s decision making, but we will compete for every secondary ball, hit them hard on their touch each and every single time, we have to be in their faces from the off, and get to them fast, really really fast 😊
Subs 70 Mins:
McTominay > Busquets – goes to anchor man just fresh legs and a massive frame for set-pieces (both sides)
Pedro G > Bernardo – like for like but with an additional goal threat
Belotti > Vlahovic - less target man, more ice cold finisher
SHEFFIELD UNITED v Newcastle United
------------------------Patrício
Maehle, Andersen, T. Silva, Grimaldo
-------------Cristante, Höjbjerg
-Mahrez-----------James---------Mertens
-------------------------Suárez
Subs: Meret, Lamptey, Ampadu, Gallagher, Isco, Brandt, Ibrahimovic
Captain: Thiago Silva
Free Kicks: Mahrez/James/Mertens (Isco)
Penalties: Suárez (Ibrahimovic)
Our defensive unit consists of Joachim Andersen and Thiago Silva paired up at centre-back, Joakim Maehle at right-back and Álex Grimaldo at left-back, with Bryan Cristante and Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg as our midfield ‘double pivot’ screening them.
This ‘double pivot’ is the key to our team and in Cristante and Höjbjerg we have a perfect pairing to initiate attacks by distributing the ball in an intelligent fashion, to be key players in circulation and to prevent dangerous opposition attacks, being disciplined in positioning and limiting space in between the lines.
The strength of our double pivot is that Höjbjerg can press the ball without leaving lots of space, as Cristante can maintain a good position to react if the initial press is bypassed. Our double pivot will offer huge defensive stability and will ensure that a structured shape is maintained.
Having two defensive midfielders centrally prevents others being dragged out of position to press.
Helping the defenders maintain solid positioning is a key part of Höjbjerg's role, he will press almost anywhere in his own half to allow defenders to stay in the defensive line.
With Höjbjerg running his socks off for the team, our high tempo will be dictated by his partner in holding midfield, Bryan Cristante.
Cristante is not just your “win the ball and pass it on to the closest player” – there is a real creative mind in his locker, but it’s his ability to be the shield of the back four and then be creative once he gets the ball that makes Cristante such a talent.
The attacking unit consists of Riyad Mahrez, James Rodríguez and Dries Mertens as our band of three attacking midfielders with Luis Suárez as our lone central striker.
Our 4-2-3-1 is set up to have that wonderful ‘springy' quality - it absorbs pressure without breaking and then snaps back with surprising force.
In defence our 4-2-3-1 covers space very effectively, with the band of three attacking midfielders and centre forward able to press the opposition high up the pitch while the two defensive midfielders ensure that there is no space left in front of the defence. Then the back four can either play a high line, compressing the space even further, or drop deeper as preferred.
Once we have won the ball back, often by Cristante or Höjbjerg, then our 4-2-3-1 can spring into attack.
Maehle and Grimaldo can surge up the wings in the knowledge that Cristante and Höjbjerg can drop into the space left behind if needed. As they come up the wings, both Riyad Mahrez and Dries Mertens, who are excellent in tight spaces and fantastic dribblers will cut inside or make runs into the box.
James, our attacking central midfielder’s low centre of gravity will enable him to navigate away from defenders. James is blessed with an instant first touch and can dribble with the ball at such a close proximity to his feet that it makes him almost impossible to tackle this creative passer with his quick flicks and one-touch passing, will combine exceptionally well with Mahrez, Mertens & Suárez to create openings and goal scoring opportunities for each other.
Upfront, Suárez will be utilised to “bind” our oppositions defenders in place by occupying them with his positioning, to the point of blocking their defenders in order to create space for Mahrez, James & Mertens to exploit between the lines as this trio look to profit from Suárez’s off-the-ball actions.
Suárez will act as a focal point around which our team will build our attacks, using his strength to hold off their defenders. Suárez is proven adept at one-touch passing and quick flicks in combination play and of course Suárez’s stock in trade when the occasion calls for it – intelligent dummies to fool their defenders.
All 4 of our most advanced players are equally gifted in terms of assisting and scoring goals, and as thus we will not be purely reliant on Suárez on this front, although I expect of course for him to find the back of the net on a number of occasions.
Subs on 75 mins
Lamptey on for Maehle, Isco on for Mertens and Ibrahimovic on for Suárez
Triple substitution - Searing pace from Lamptey, sublime dribbling from Isco and a real focal point for the attacking midfielders in Ibrahimovic in the last 15 minutes to look to unlock the opposition’s defence for a late goal regardless of the score line.
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Tactics
Page 36 of 70
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posted on 24/5/21
Sours vs Wolfs
Tab has had a great season and his cockerels have certainly had more than their fair share of feed. But the wolves are hungry and deserve a little nibble.
We’ve an extensive injury list but we’ll still go relatively strong, TAB needs to win to guarantee he progresses to the next round. We have nothing to play for other than pride so today we go with an attacking line-up to try and hit Spurs on the counter as they come looking for some goals
The Sick-list
Brandon Williams
Bryan Reynolds
Eberechi Eze
Cody Gakpo
Marc Cucurella
Sander Berge
………………………………………………..Bayindir……………………………..
………………………………Tapsoba…Botman…Kumbulla………
……………………………..Bentancur…..Tonali….Willock…………
Neto………………………….Boadu…………….Mir……………………..Leao
Subs: Trubin (GK) Schuurs, James, Onana, Davies, Kluivert, Raspadori
A 3-3-4 may seem risky (unless Nadz is on results) but this gives us a solid back three to keep Kun Aguero quiet, a midfield 3 to swamp Spurs’ top quality midfield but rather functional. And our front-four carries enough pace and goal threat to keep him honest at the back.
With possession of the football, we go for sharp quick passes, very direct, get the ball out into wider areas and try to isolate the Spurs Full-backs 1v1. Mendy and Cancelo are top quality but in the wide spaces we have to trust our players to get at them and turn them inside out, our 2 central strikers will pin Spurs CB’s to the middle of the area so they cant go and offer support, and Willock who seems to be a natural goal scoring midfielder timing his runs nicely will occupy their DM.
Defensively we implement the heavy press from the front, we know that Spurs like to play a bit of keep-ball, so we don’t do Zonal marking here, we go straight up man to man in our pressing. The front-four leading from the top will close down their defender each. This means the keeper will either have to pass to a defender that’s immediately under pressure or go longer. Willock who is playing the B2B role will shadow Kante. This does mean that Fabinho will be given a bit more space, but that’s part of the plan. Willock will not go to Fabinho, he’ll stick with Kante – our front four, will not harry him, they’re sticking with the defenders. We want to really test Fabinho’s decision making. Tonali will anchor and man-mark Spurs’ AM/SS/#10 – our back 3 each take a man which leaves Bentancur as the free body, he’ll use his reading of the game to shuffle left to right and help close off the space (dependent on the the direction of the pass, either from the keeps or from Fabinho)
Individual Roles/Instructions
Bayindir our 6ft4 shot-stopper will use his physical frame to dominate the box and command his defenders, linked with several premier league clubs, he could be a great addition. Will keep it simple, the one big thing is that he come’s and catches the crosses rather than punching them.
The back-three, are all 6 footers, we know Aguero is decent in the air for his height, but we should be able to monster him today. Botman fresh from winning the French league will be his man-marker, big and strong he’ll shepherd him and keep him playing with his back to goal (where possible) hit him hard on his first touch and try to bully him out of the game. Tapsoba and Kumbulla at RCB and LCB will hold their position on the edge of the box but their primary job is to mark Spurs wingers as they come in-field and not giving Spurs an easy job, don’t dive in unless you have a good chance to atleast play the man should you miss the ball
The midfield-three have a bit of everything Tonali is the playmaker, he’ll sit and cover the back-three, operate in the exact same space that Spurs’ Am finds himself in and use his Gattuso-like tenacity to harry him out of the game, blessed with a great range of passing he should be a “heads-up” player and look to get our attacks going, always finds just enough time and space to make the right pass. Bentancur will be making his final appearance for the club and will want to go out giving a good account of himself. He like Willock goes B2B – but he’s more of the muscle than the goal scoring (6 yellow cards and 1 red this season) we want him getting stuck in and helping us to get a handle on the midfield battle. Willock is only 21 but seems to be a genuine talent, and goals in 7 straight games shows his value to Newcastle/Arsenal, a bundle of energy will go B2B linking the play with the midfield and attack and hovering dangerously on the edge of the “D” for any loose clearances from the Spurs defence.
The Fab-Four:
Pedro Neto is already a superstar and he’ll go on to be one of the best in the world, pace and trickery plus goals and assists, but what I really love about him is his aggression and will to win. He’ll bet on himself to out-run the LB and then cut inside and use that wand-like left peg of his to pick out Spurs far stick.
Leao is a flexible player (does yoga I think) and will look to be more of an inside forward than a winger, getting on the inside of the FB and using his stronger foot (right) to have a go from range or play a give and go with our strikers. 6 goals and 6 assists for Milan this season show that he can definitely play the role of provider and not just as a goalscoring predator.
Boadu is only just 20 but with 15 goals in 31 games in the Dutch league this season shows that he I a credible poacher, we want him playing off the shoulder of the last man, be on your toes and be ready to latch on to any flick ons or through balls, the nature of our system means he’ll get some decent one on ones with the cumbersome CB’s
Rafa Mir may have been relegate with Huesca, but the 23 year old, 6ft3 target man did well enough to score 13 goals in 38 La Liga games. He’s the muscle/springboard in attacks that the rest of the side will play off/around.
Subs 65 mins:
Kluivert > Leao – like for like
Raspadori > Boadu – Like for like
posted on 24/5/21
ARSENAL VS Chelsea
----------------------------------- Maignan ---------------------------
Hakimi-----------Kounde---------------Lacroix-------------Alba
---------------------Fernandinho --------Barella----------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------- Maddison -----------------------------------
Pepe-------------------------------Auba---------------------Oyarzabal
Subs - Raya, Odoi, Soumare, Tielemans Smith-Rowe, Saka, Watkins
CAPTAIN - KOUNDE
CK'S - BARELLA
FK'S - BARELLA
PENALTIES - AUBA
When we don't have possession of the ball in our half I want the whole team except Aubameyang to get in our half and defend. Play a deep defensive line so that oppo can't use their pacy forwards to beat the offside trap. I want the team to press the oppo whenever they have the ball so they don't have a chance to settle and dictate the tempo. We have good ball players in the centre and they will help keep us ticking.
Defence
Maignan in net, command your box and don't do anything flashy. Kounde and Lacroix bring top level experience to the backline. Kounde will focus on marking the oppo striker and will look to stick close to him and to watch out for his attacking runs. Stay aggressive and not let him turn you. Lacroix will mark the other striker if the oppo is playing 2 up front or to watch out any attacking runs of their AM if they play him instead.
Full backs
Hakimi + Alba
Hakimi and Alba will look to help both in attack and defence. Make forays forward when we have the ball in the oppos side of the pitch but track back when we don't. Get some crosses into the box as Auba is a threat in the air. Fernandinho will be covering for you if you are out of position
Defence Mids
Fernandinho + Barella
Fernandinho will be tasked with protecting the defence. A true definition of never say die attitude he will be running all game and doing what he does best and win the ball off of the oppo. Cover for our fullbacks when they overlap and are out of position. Stick close to the oppo AM/their most attacking midfielder and pressure him as soon as he gets the ball. He will not be able to handle your relentless pressing. When you have possession of the ball quickly pass it to either the wingers or to Maddison..
Barella will be the link from defence to attack. Main job is to get the ball from deep and to use your pace and technical ability to open up the oppo midfield. Barella will play a b2b role. Make runs forward and play pass and move passes with teammates and help the attack whenever you can. Make late runs into the box to try and score. When we don't have the ball I want him to stay deep next to Fernandinho but be more aggressive in putting tackles in to win the ball back.
Attack Mid
James Maddison
Maddison will be playing as the AM today. I want him to use his great dribbling ability and passing to create chances for Auba up front. Look out for the runs of our wingers so you can thread dangerous through balls to them. Make runs into the box whenever you can. Shoot from range if you see an opportunity.
Wingers
Pepe + Oyarzabal
Pepe will look to cut in from the right and use his pace and power to create a shooting chance for him to unleash his thunderous left foot. Use Hakimi as an overlap whenever you can and always try and time your runs off of the shoulders of the oppo LB. If you find some space on the byline try and pull the ball back to Maddison so he can bury one in.
Oyarzabal will look to get to the byline and use his impeccable crossing ability to create chances for our attackers. Use Alba as an overlap if you need to and try and take on the oppo RB if yiu think you can.
Striker
Aubameyang
I want Auba to use his pace and play off of the oppo shoulders and try and beat the offside trap. Be aware of lofted through balls and time your runs as best as you can. When in the box use your quickness and agility to get into good positions away from oppo defenders. Play quick one two's with each other to penetrate the oppo defence. Be aware of crosses into the box and use your superhuman athletic ability to outjump the oppo defenders.
IF WINNING BY 75 MINS
Play deep and hit the oppo on the counter.
Take off Maddison and put on Soumare in DM next to Fernandinho to give the defence even more protection. Watkins on for Auba to give some more energy Watkins is brilliant at tracking back. Saka on for Pepe aswell.
----------------------------------- Maignan ---------------------------
Hakimi-------------Kounde--------------Lacroix-----------Alba
-------------------------Soumare-------Fernandinho---------------------
Saka-----------------------------Barella------------------------Oyarzabal
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------Watkins -------------------------------------
IF LOSING BY 75 MINS
Take off Fernandinho and put on Tielemans in CM. Play close to each other and put a tonne of pressure in the oppo defence. Defend high up and try and score a goal. Put on Saka for Pepe aswell.
------------------------------------ Maignan ---------------------------
Hakimi-------------Kounde------------Lacroix------------Alba
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------Barella ---------- Tielemans ----------------
---------------------------------- Maddison ------------------------------
Saka-----------------------------Auba------------------------Oyarzabal
IF DRAWING BY 80MINS
Smith-Rowe on for Maddison
Saka on for Pepe
Watkins on for Auba
posted on 24/5/21
SOTON VS Leeds
----------------------------------------Gulasci-----------------------------------
----------------Fofana--------Upamecano--------Badiashile-----------
Raphinha---------Tchouameni-------Valverde---------------Pulisic
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------Odegaard----------------------------------
--------------------Greenwood-----------------Rashford--------------------
Subs - Sessegnon, Dest, Curtis Jones, Kulusevski, Wirtz, Adama, Jovic
CAPTAIN - RASHFORD
CK'S - ØDEGAARD
FK'S - ØDEGAARD
PENALTIES - RASHFORD
I want us to hold a deep defensive line to start of with so the oppo don't get an early goal. Keep things simple in the beginning and only pressure the oppo when they get in our half. When we have the ball I want the team to play pass and move football. Don't stay static, try and get in behind the oppo defence as there is a lot of pace in our attacking players. As the game goes on, when we don't have the ball I want the team to defend from the front line and pressure the oppo and try and win possession back. Do this in fits and bursts as it is a tiring tactic.
Defence
GK to be confident in box. Don't take risks. Punch the ball away if the shot is too powerful. Command your area. The back 3 is well balanced and full of pace and power. Fofana and Badiashile will be playing as the outside CB's and will look to close down the oppo wingers. Upamecano in the middle will marshall the defence and look to snuff out any attacks from the oppo striker/s. All 3 of these CB's are very good at playing from the back and I want them to use that ability if they have some space to dribble into from defence.
WINGBACKS
Raphinha and Pulisic are playing as wingbacks today. They are not defenders irl but both of them put a shift in defensively for their real life clubs and I want them to do that here. Your defending doesn't have to be flashy just stick close to the oppo wingers and stop them from getting past you, the DM's will be helping you a lot aswell. Both of you are rapid so if it's a foot race the oppo wants they'll be up against it! Fofana and Badiashile will be ready as the outside CB's to help you clear up any loose balls etc. Be vary of oppo fullbacks making overlapping runs as I want you to stick with them to stop them getting to the byline. One of our DM's will come over to mark the oppo winger who has the ball incase they don't use the overlapping fullbacks. As an attacking outlet I want Raphinha and Pulisic to play how wingbacks would normally play. Stay wide and make runs forward when given the opportunity. Try and whip some dangerous balls into the oppo area and use your pace to get back into defensive positions if the oppo try and hit us on a counter. Both of you can cut in from time to time if you want to into your stronger fits to give the oppo summat different to think about.
Defence Mids
Tchouameni + Valverde
These 2 will be the main defensive force to cover our defence. When the oppo LW is attacking down the wings I want Tchouameni to close him down and put a tackle in or stop him getting to the byline. Likewise with Valverde who will be tasked with the same job against the oppo RW. This will help sort our Raphinha and Pulisic's defensive vulnerability. If either Tchouameni or Valverde are helping out on the wings I want the other DM to stay in the middle of the pitch and close down the oppo AM if they play one. When in possession pass the ball out to the wings or to Ødegaard who will drop deep from time to time. Valverde will be allowed to stretch his legs and run with the ball from deep if there is space to do so in the centre of the pitch. But he must not forget his main job which is to protect the defence.
Attack Mid
Martin Ødegaard
The Big Ø will be the playmaker and chance creator for our attackers. His technical ability on the ball is world class and he is the type of player that can run all match without getting tired. Off the ball I want him to press the oppo midfielders. When we have possession of the ball try and find space in the attacking third of the pitch for you to receive the ball and use your playmaking ability to create chances for the team. Look out for runs from our wingbacks and strikers and thread some pinpoint passes to them.
Strikers
Marcus Rashford MBE + Greenwood
These 2 blood brothers will be the main goalscorers of the team. Rashford is a striker that has the deadly combination of pace and finishing. He will look to use his pace to get the better of the oppo defence. Be vary of crosses into the box and try and get in front of your marker. Time your runs off the shoulders of the oppo CB's and use your pace to get away from them. Play quick pass and move combinations with your teammates to find spaces in the oppo defence.
Greenwood will use his physical ability and hold up play to bring others in to the game. He's a proper two footed striker equally as strong on his right as he is on his left so I don't want him to hesitate to shoot when he has an opportunity to shoot.
Subs if LOSING BY 65MINS
Put on Wirtz for Tchouameni and Kulusevski for Pulisic to bring some more attacking impetus on. Play a high line and put a lot of pressure on the oppo to win the ball back. Adama Traore on for Raphinha aswell.
-------------------------------------Gulasci-----------------------
---------------Fofana---------Upamecano--------Badiashile----------
----------------------------------------Valverde--------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adama----------------Odegaard---------Wirtz-----------------Kulusev
-------------------------Greenwood------------Rashford-------------------
Subs if WINNING BY 60MINS
Take off Ødegaard and put on Curtis Jones in CM. Play defensive with everyone in our own half defending for their lives, waiting to hit the oppo on the counter attack. . Take the attacking wingbacks off and put on Dest and Sessegnon as defensive wingbacks who'll offer a lot more defensive stability.
--------------------------------------Gulasci-----------------------
----------------Fofana--------Upamecano--------Badiashile--------
Dest------------------Valverde----------Tchoua---------------------Sess
--------------------------------------Jones---------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------Greenwood---------Rashford----------------------
Subs if DRAWING BY 65MINS
Kulusevski on for Pulisic
Jovic on for Greenwood
Wirtz on for Ødegaard
Fresh legs to bring on.
posted on 24/5/21
Lesta vs PORTSMOUTH
We come into this game needing a draw to progress to the next round, RoF has a great squad and whomever he chooses to play, it’ll be a tough game, so rather than worry about who we may or may not be facing we go out there with a fast and fluid 4-2-3-1, get the job done and progress through to the knockout stages.
Sick-list
Alessio Romagnoli
Ruben Neves
Lorenzo Insigne
Gianluca Mancini
……………………………………………Ederson………………………..
Bellerin………………………Phillips……………Milenkovic……..Sandro
………………………………..Busquets………..Kessie…………………………
Berardi…………………………………Bernardo…………………….Jota
…………………………………………..Ronaldo……………………………….
Subs: Pickford, Calabria, McTominay, Goncalves, Vlahovic, Gourna, Koita
We know that Rof loves a possession based game we also know he tends to play with a high line which enables him to successfully beat teams with his blitzkrieg heavy press. Our front three are pretty quick and Bernardo is rapid in the head, so this tactic plays to our stronger hand, if we get turnover ball high up the pitch our pace will burn his defence and not many have a better trigger man than Ronaldo.
Ederson is the equivalent of playing a midfielder in goals and it’s that, that makes him so important to us, so good at ball to feet, and when the lesta-press kicks in, he has the range to by-pass the midfield tussle completely and set us on our way.
The back-line was hit by injuries but this is the combo I’d have picked anyway Bellerin isn’t the greatest defensively but he is rapid and that’s of use vs the serious pace in Leicester’s attack, he can push on to help the attack, get some balls banged into the box for us to attack. Sandro is one of the best left-backs in the business and Cafu goes to bed in Sandro pyjammas, he’ll mirror Bellerin so that we’re a balanced unit and have additional width in the wider areas. Phillips comes in to the side and has looked very good for Liverpool, he’ll be the spare man sweeping up Milenkovic’s mess. Milenkovic is our 6ft4 Serbian wrecking ball, will go man for man with Leicesters central striker, using his physique to dominate him and shut him down.
Busquets and Kessie give us a solid foundation to build from, Busquets will sit in front of the defence and dictate the play, a calming influence and will position himself in the space that Lesta’s Am will try to operate from, he’s good enough to hold that role and it’s because of this we can afford our Full-backs the freedom to get high up the other end of the pitch, breaking the lines and rendering Lesta’s press pointless. Kessie is a machine, a pure machine, 13 goals and 6 assists in Serie A this year, will go B2B today linking the play and harassing the Leicester engine room.
Bernardo is the #10 a really clever player that always manages to find those pockets of space, if he can get into his groove we’ll be in business, drop off a pace or two, he’ll have runners from deep for him plus the front-three, options a plenty.
Jota and Berardi are inside forwards not wingers, they’re gonna be coming inside attacking the back-posts and trying to pull either a midfielder or a Cb with them, either way it’s about creating space, Our FB’s will be advanced high up the pitch to occupy the FB’s so this will get us some good over-loads in the box. Both have a genuine tenacity about them and love to run with the ball, facing one player like that is a defenders nightmare, facing 2 players like that, that just draw defenders to them is just next level, so what does adding a third equate to? He may be 36 now but 29 goals in 33 games is just insane. And I’m not sure how lesta can watch the three of them as well as shutting down Bernardo before he can pick the pass.
Subs 65 mins
Gourna > Biscuits – never seen him play but 30 games this season for a 17 year old, implies he has the talent to come into our side
McTominay > Kessie, the best Scottish CM since Souness
Goncalves > Bernardo – 23 goals and 4 assists in 32 leagues game for Sporting says it all
posted on 24/5/21
Newcastle 4-3-3 / 2-3-5
_____________Navas
Trent_____Dias______VVD_____Shaw
____________Casemiro
_______Llorente_____Modric
Salah_________Son________Coman
Subs: Koke, , Fabian, , Olmo, Eriksen, Raul
Today I’d like to take complete control of midfield, holding possession and stretch their back line while outnumbering every area of the middle third and final third of the pitch. Our full backs will play as inverted fullbacks assuming the role as box to box and pivoting midfielders, thereby pushing our midfielders further forwards creating a 5 man attack.
______________Navas
_________Dias_____VVD_______
____Trent____Casemiro_____Shaw
Salah__Llorente___Modric____Coman
_______________Son______________
By doing so I will always have an extra man in midfield, including wide passing options, creating overloads. It will also help us stretch the field wider as I would expect opposition players to drift in-field to try and mitigate the presence of the extra bodies in midfield leaving wide areas for our wide players to exploit. As such the wide players will be given instruction so hug the touchline when waiting to receive the ball, then they can cut in and play their natural game but providing pass options initially is a must.
I fully expect us to create difficulty for the opposition in assessing exactly how and where to cover space and how to effectively pressure the ball. Create pass options to drag players out of position when they struggle to cope with the extra man in midfield exploiting gaps between the lines.
Our attacks will be taking a very vertical approach which allows the attacking midfielders to receive the ball in space allowing us to hurt them. Our version of a vertical approach is passing the ball up and down the field, with players inviting pressure as they receive and release the ball thereby creating a gap for another player to move into to receive a recycled pass. Eventually a path to goal will appear and it’ll be up to the players to exploit that playing their natural games. The whole point of this system is about opening greater space in between the lines for the attacking midfielders to receive. The attacking midfielders will also be expected to break the lines and make runs beyond the striker to find space higher up the pitch creating goal-scoring opportunities. The fullbacks therefore have many options to pass to, the 9, the 10s, and out wide depending on the natural movements of the players.
Defensive stability is very important to the way we want to play. One of the rules ultimately in football is you cannot score if you don’t have the ball, so we aim to keep the ball as much as possible with the ongoing ball recycling process of trying to drag players out of position finding space to exploit. When the opposition do gain possession they immediately face a block of five in the middle and our third of the pitch, quickly changing back to a standard 4-5-1 in two flat lines (plus the striker up top). Doing so will allow us to effectively defend our wide areas stopping any crosses coming in while congesting the middle enough for minimal gaps to appear between the lines. We press less to minimise the risk of gaps appearing but instead rely on cutting passing lanes and options. Once possession is regained, we immediately progress up the pitch and revert back to 2-3-5. The central defensive triangle of both CBs and the DM are good in the air capable of winning plenty of duels in the air as well as on the ground, in addition of course to their exceptional passing ability. It is important to have players that occupy those three positions that have on-the-ball intelligence, astute awareness of how to cover space in transition, and an aerial presence.
Subs.
65 mins - Olmo on Modric off. Fresh legs.
70 mins losing/drawing - Eriksen on Llorente off. Better finisher in the box from midfield.
75 mins losing/drawing - Raul on Son off. Better presence up top.
75 mins winning - Koke on Llorente off. Fresh legs while not losing creative quality.
posted on 24/5/21
----------------------Neuer
------Denayer---Hermoso---Hernandez
Castagne---------Brozovic---------------Guerreiro
--Chiesa------Milinkovic-Savic------Depay
------------------------Kane
Pope
Simakan
Pellegrini
Walker
Phillips
Barnes
Vardy
A 3-3-3-1 today, that ostensibly serves as a 3-4-3, but SMS’ name just doesn’t fit the teamsheet well enough to do that. I’ve picked a three at the back system in an attempt to better deal with Southampton’s two-pronged attack, giving us an extra man over in the defensive area, whilst using an attacking trident to expose their weakness in defensive width. As a result, I want to see us play wide, with Depay and Chiesa targetting these areas, looking to get in behind their wingers-come-wingback, and exploit this weakness. Because of this, I also want to see our own WBs getting forward, in an attempt to overload this position. With Brozovic and SMS in midfield I think we have enough energy to compete in this area, regardless of maybe being outnumbered here. In Depay and Chiesa I think we have wide players capable of exploiting space in behind with pace and direct running, as well as a capability to play either as a winger or inside forward.
Defensively, shape is important when coming up against Southampton’s attackers. Denayer and Herandez will take man-marking roles, picking up their various attackers, whilst Hermoso will operate as a sweeper defender, covering space in behind, and supporting either CB when it looks like they are struggling. Brozovic will sit in front of the defence, covering this space, and looking to limit the involvement of any attacking midfielder they operate with. In terms of defensive duty, Castagne and Guerreiro must focus on their attacking FBs, but will wait for them to attack, allowing for bodies to be back to cover space, should their attackers push into wide areas. In terms of moving the ball, I want to see quick passing, with a maximum of three touches per play. With Brozovic sitting, and the WBs, there should always be forward balls on, and then Neuer behind will serve as another option to keep the ball moving. Because of our focus on attacking the wide areas, I want to see the ball pushed into these positions early on, which means getting the ball into our WBs, both of whom are very capable of making bombarding runs forward. SMS will also have defensive duties, but I don’t want to see him track too deep, and instead sit on any box-to-box midfielder, just in front of Brozovic, to provide another option in moving the ball up the field. The energy of these two will be key in making sure that we aren’t outnumbered in the middle, despite being numerically outnumbered in the middle.
Our attacking trident today is built around creating chances for Kane. Depay and Chiesa will sit wider, looking to get into space in behind their WBs, supported by the WBs of our own, whilst Kane will operate through the middle. Its possible that their wide CBs will look to come wide, but in that instance, us doubling up in the area make it easier for Depay and Chiesa to come inside, and exploit the wider space left by this action, whilst Guerreiro and Castagne occupy the wide role. SMS will transition from being an 8 to a 10, looking to dictate the play, as well as get in the box and provide another option for our attack. Kane will operate between the goalposts, where he is most potent, but his ability as a playmaker will also facilitate the creation of chances for Depay and Chiesa, who will look to push on beyond him. With almost an attacking four at this point, with SMS supporting, we should be able to outnumber their defensive unit, meaning we can overload in the wide areas. Crosses into the box will primarily be aimed towards Kane, but low balls into the wingers, or pull-backs to SMS will create chances for our attackers, and with the addition of the respective WBs we can guarantee overloads at the back post.
As usual, we will be looking to utilise a high press to try and keep ourselves on the front foot. Kane will operate through the middle, whilst Depay and Chiesa will look to cut out the wide ball, as this is an area we can see them trying to break from. SMS will press the holding midfielder, before using his energy to track the B2B. The high press should limit their ability to play out from the back, and either force them into longer balls, or mistakes in key areas. This will also allow time for Guerreiro and Castagne to get back into our defensive shape.
Substitutions
If winning
Phillips on for Chiesa 75 mins
An extra defensive body, with a shift to a 3-5-2, with Depay operating through the middle.
Walker on for Castagne 80 mins
Fresh legs, and a slightly more conservative option.
If losing/drawing
Pellegrini on for Guerreiro 70 mins
Switch to a 4-2-3-1, with Pellegrini operating as a 10, and Hernandez pushing out to play LB.
Barnes and Vardy on for Castagne and Chiesa
Switch to a 3-3-2-2, with Barnes and SMS covering the WB areas.
posted on 28/5/21
--------------------------- Oblak ---------------------------
W-Bissaka ----- Romero ----- Bastoni ----- Robertson
-------------- Bissouma --------- F.de Jong -------------
--- Mbappe ------------ Neymar ----------- Grealish ---
-------------------------- Håland --------------------------
Meslier, Locatelli, N.Mendes, Malinovskiy, Havertz, Musiala, Malen
We will try and control this game as best we can , especially the midfield where we want to dominate, Portsmouth have two big players missing from their midfield today so we have to take advantage, quick on the break and really pressurise the opposition with an in your face performance from the front, up against it but our trio has everything we need to stop them controlling the game, we want to hit them quickly so we need to press them quickly to get the ball, when we defend, the back 4 must stay solid with the midfield ahead of them harassing the man with the ball before they get to our back 4 and our midfield will be in and around the half way line, Haaland slightly higher up, this will congest the midfield and allow us to dictate play, defend from the front, stop them coming forward from the back, however, if they do push forward onto us and we get the ball they will be on the back foot and will really struggle with our front 3/4 with Fullbacks who are always ready to pounce and hit them with pace.
Romero picks up the CF he wont let much passed him he is a very robust and hard defender, Bastoni spare picks up the AM if he gets away from our midfield, both powerful boys so keep the forward(s) away from the danger area, get onto them quickly, take the ball away from them and play it out of defence, look to get to our midfield quickly, Both are comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass to those in front to hit them with pace, both must attack high balls to get the ball away from the opposition big men. Fullbacks keep the wingers quiet, stop their attacks. 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. When they attack, only one at a time!!, Robertson is a dangerous weapon to have and he will do more attacking than Mukiele as he supports Grealish down the left, often driving passed him to whip in dangerous balls, Bissaka the same but not as often as he makes up the back 3 so this gives Mbappe more freedom on the right as he has the cover behind him. If either get caught up field I want the midfielders to help them out by filling the gaps so we don't get exposed, this allows the fullbacks to make their way to midfield to cover. CBs to go up for corners, with the fullbacks and Bissouma sitting back.
Recoveries mean possession, possession means control, Bissouma is excellent at this, a part of his game that he excels at. He is high energy in yer face, he is our deepest midfielder sitting just in front of the CB's he will shadow there AM and not allow him to control the game, he must be aware of all that is around him, be in the right place at the right time and look to cover for defensive players moving forward, he has to impose himself early on the AM to make him wary of holding onto the ball too long, will at times drop between the 2 Cbs to get the ball, once on the ball look around, head up and pick the pass that will get us moving forward quickly always making himself for a return ball from a deeper angle as he spreads it from side to side then eventually forward he is always looking for the ball to start again if need be, can be out to the fullbacks or indeed a longer ball to the front three to take the opposition out of it as they are still high up the pitch. de Jong will help stop the run of play quicker to make our defenders jobs a lot easier, protect our defence as best as possible, in possession get it to the front 3/4 but also look for fullbacks as they move into space, keep it simple, he has a very good range of pass. Either pass and move(triangles) into space or look for a piercing through ball to our front three to drive onto.Can move forward to assist and look for balls coming out so he can either, shoot or whip straight back in.
Neymar is essential to our style of play, he is the link between defence and attack, as we break quickly he will look to set up our front three and at times be in an advanced No.10/CF role and look for the de Jong/Bissouma/CB pass. He will drop back at times to pick it up and will look to his dribbling capabilities to get him around players, and into the danger area to unleash a powerful drive, sometimes taking a foul as he is a tricky player to mark. When in possession always head up looking for the movement of our front three to play them in, he will follow his pass and make up the numbers up front.After the pass he can push wide or central to make that extra man When he doesn't drop deep i.e when the defenders go long, he will look to form a front four as they move around and look to tear the defence apart and create space for the front 3. He will have more time and space with Busquets and Kessie out, they will have quality in midfield but not as good as it normally is. All of our midfield three must press the opposition, Neymar on the DM and get to grips with this game very early on.
Our wingers are extremely quick, skillfull and will cause all sorts of problems, when we don't have the ball they drop back a bit to make up the numbers as they attack, push into the faces of the opposition to force them into mistakes and hopefully in the end they lose the ball, when they do lose the ball we charge at them and we do it quickly, go through the cms or out to one of our attacking fullbacks especially Robertson who will support Grealish very well. However, the movement up front between Mbappe and Grealish will cause them problems drifting in an out, the ball at times sticks to them like glue and extremely hard to dispossess, thus allowing Neymar to pick his moment to move into space either as a 10 or out wide. If he does push wide this will allow Wingers to go in central as we will have an attacking fullback up and supporting. Quick passing in triangles, quick one twos that will get us in and beyond their defenders and eventually to Haaland who can beat any defender with power and pace and the other wingers who will look to get into space to get a shot off, if there defence is on top then we can always go direct at times and fire early crosses especially from deep from the fullbacks into Haaland who will sit on the last foot so he can spring them and have a shoot or sight mentality, can move central, we must always make sure he is well supported, especially Neymar who at times will be right on his shoulder or alongside, if he cant get the shot away he will be looking to bring others into the game by dropping slightly back to get numbers for the attack he is a very tireless worker, who also helps defend from the from by harassing there back line/DM.
Captain - de Jong
Penalties - Haaland
Free Kicks - Neymar/Grealish
Corners - Grealish
Losing -
65 Mins - Malen for Robertson, he joins Haaland up top, 3 at the back
75 Mins - Malinovskiy for Grealish, Neymar to the left, Malinovskiy to No.10 to use his creativity to open them up
Drawing -
65 Mins - Malen for Neymar and right up top 442
75 Mins - Musiala for Grealish, Malinovskiy for de Jong
Winning -
75 Mins - Locatelli for Neymar, Bissouma drops in between the lines, Locatelli beside de Jong
83 Mins - N.Mendes for Grealish to help Robertson down our left, Havertz for Haaland, play as a false 9 and keep ball
posted on 28/5/21
West London blues vs PORTSMOUTH
Away leg first, let’s keep it tight and keep ourselves in with a chance of nicking this game in the return leg. We’re expecting Fan to stick to his 4-2-3-1 with Tap in Terry uptop, lazy work shy PSG Attackers, and Greasy Grealish sauntering around the place like a poundland Peaky blinder.
Even with 2 of our key components at CM missing we have enough in there to dominate Chelsea’s boring and functional holders. And we have enough creativity at the business end of the pitch to get at his cumbersome defence.
To do all this we doth the cap to Don Carlo Ancelotti’s all conquering Milan side and borrow the use of his 4-4-2 diamond. It will give us a rock solid spine not dissimilar to the phalanx’s deployed by the great Macedonian Alexander
I know this line-up is reactionary and a move away from our 3 at the back but with only 1 central striker to mark there’s no real need for 3 centre-backs.
Injuries:
Davide Calabria
Sergio Busquets
Franck Kessie
Ederson
…………………………………………………………Pickford…………………………………………..
K-J-Hoever……………………..Milenkovic……………..Romagnoli……………Doig
…………………………………………………………Neves…………………………………….
…………………………………McTominay………………….De Ketelaere……………
……………………………………………………Bernardo………………………………
………………………………………Ronaldo………………..Vlahovic……………
Subs: Turati(GK) Mancini, Phillips, Gourna, Goncalves,Belotti, Jota
The order of play today is to keep hold of the ball, no super fast aggressive long ball game-plan that is our usual MO. We want to keep the ball, move Chelsea players over the pitch and then exploit the spaces we’ve created, we’re gonna go out and do a professional job today, get an away goal and give us something to play with/for next week back at Fratton Park.
Defensively we press from the front, Ronaldo and Vlahovic take a CB each and Bernardo presses the ball carrier. Our midfield duo are both big units and will push up to take control of Chelsea’s midfield, so by going 1v1 there we dominate them physically and shut them out of the game… Neves sits on their AM and stops him from playing the game at his tempo, and we have a back four that then goes man-2-man, I know this leaves their FB’s unguarded but lets be honest everyone knows (yes even Stevie Wonder) that AWB is solid defensively but of little value going forwards – hence Southgate picking 4 yes four RB’s and still omitting AWB. So really it just leaves Robertson free but with all of his team-mates marked he’ll need to be picking the right pass every-time, can he do that? Not forgetting Bernardo will be applying pressure to his decision making.
Pickford comes in for the injured Ederson today, hes not a bad keeper just prone to brain farts, we need him to just stay calm and keep it simple, no heroics just the basics will be enough.
Our defence is like a Chocolate brazilnut, it’s a bit soft on the outside but rock solid at it’s core, However and Diog are still only teenagers but have really high ceilings, they’re up against quality opposition today, but they will use that youthful exuberance to embrace the challenge, show their man the line, watch his eyes not his feet, don’t be fooled by the show-pony tricks, step in and take the ball away, offensively they’re tasked with getting up the field no further really than 30 yards out from the Chelsea goals, and whip some angled balls into the box for Ronaldo and Vlahovic to attack.
Milenkovic loves the physical battles, and at 6ft4 he’ll love going toe to toe with the tap in king. Force him to play with his back to goal, and use the dark arts he’s mastered in Serie A to close him down. Alongside him Romagnoli is the Libero, sweeping up the loose balls, and bringing it out from the back.
Neves is the deep-lying playmaker, sets the tempo for the side and gets us moving, his stats at Dm this season are insane – 97 Blocks, 75 tackles, 57 interceptions ( https://fbref.com/en/players/44bfb6c5/Ruben-Neves ) anyone that thinks he can’t play DM hasn’t seen him play. The tackling of Gattuso and the passing of Alonso… infront of him McTom and De Ket go B2B…big strapping lads, won’t be daunted by getting stuck in to their opposition, we can hold and nullify the threat of Chelsea through the middle of the park. Making the game a scrappy stop start affair with clever little fouls on the half-way line just breaking any momentum they try to build. It’s not gonna be pretty but it’s pretty effective.
Bernardo is the #10 today he does his business, he’s not as quick and direct as some (that’s to come) but he has pure skill and magic in his feet, will drift around the pitch looking for space. To weave his magic.
Ronaldo and Vlahovic with 29 and 21 league goals respectively and with Fan playing a Serie A defence it saves me typing too much, my boys have scored past their respective markers this season. Vlahovic the target man will get close and physical to the Chelsea Cb’s bullying them and making space for Ronaldo to exploit and punish. These two have all the ingredients to be a formidable pairing.
Subs 65 mins
Insigne > Bernardo – the time for drive and energy is upon us, he comes in as a twin-10, pace and aggression he forms the left side of our wedge.
Jota > Vlahovic – see above but it’s the right side.
see’s play the last 25 like this
…………………………………………………………Pickford…………………………………………..
K-J-Hoever……………………..Milenkovic……………..Romagnoli……………Doig
…………………………………………………………Neves…………………………………….
…………………………………McTominay………………….De Ketelaere……………
………………………………………………Jota………………Insigne………………
………………………………………………………Ronaldo……………….……………
Jota and Insigne running from deep, occupying the DM’s and causing a lot over-loads in our favour, fast paced, long/direct balls, as we blitzkrieg this shell-shocked Chelsea defence, the slow-ass cumbersome DM’s of the Londoners don’t have the legs or energy to deal with this two in full-flight coming at them.
posted on 30/5/21
Leeds United v SHEFFIELD UNITED
----------------------Kelleher
Maehle, Andersen, T. Silva, Grimaldo
--------------Kovacic, Höjbjerg
-Mahrez----------James----------Mertens
-----------------------Suárez
Subs: Lamptey, Alderweireld, Koopmeiners, de Roon, Brooks, Isco, Ibrahimovic
Captain: Thiago Silva
Free Kicks: Mahrez/James (Isco)/Mertens
Penalties: Suárez (Ibrahimovic)
Our defensive unit consists of Joachim Andersen and Thiago Silva paired up at centre-back, Joakim Maehle at right-back and Álex Grimaldo at left-back, with Mateo Kovacic and Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg as our midfield ‘double pivot’ screening them.
This ‘double pivot’ is the key to our team and in Kovacic and Höjbjerg we have a perfect pairing to initiate attacks by distributing the ball in an intelligent fashion, to be key players in circulation and to prevent dangerous opposition attacks, being disciplined in positioning and limiting space in between the lines.
The strength of our double pivot is that Höjbjerg can press the ball without leaving lots of space, as Kovacic can maintain a good position to react if the initial press is bypassed. Our double pivot will offer huge defensive stability and will ensure that a structured shape is maintained.
Having two defensive midfielders centrally prevents others being dragged out of position to press.
Helping the defenders maintain solid positioning is a key part of Höjbjerg's role, he will press almost anywhere in his own half to allow defenders to stay in the defensive line.
With Höjbjerg running his socks off for the team, our high tempo will be dictated by his partner in holding midfield, Mateo Kovacic.
Kovacic is not just your “win the ball and pass it on to the closest player” – there is a real creative mind in his locker, but it’s his ability to be the shield of the back four and then be creative once he gets the ball that makes Kovacic such a talent.
The attacking unit consists of Riyad Mahrez, James Rodríguez and Dries Mertens as our band of three attacking midfielders with Luis Suárez as our lone central striker.
Our 4-2-3-1 is set up to have that wonderful ‘springy' quality - it absorbs pressure without breaking and then snaps back with surprising force.
In defence our 4-2-3-1 covers space very effectively, with the band of three attacking midfielders and centre forward able to press the opposition high up the pitch while the two defensive midfielders ensure that there is no space left in front of the defence. Then the back four can either play a high line, compressing the space even further, or drop deeper as preferred.
Once we have won the ball back, often by Kovacic or Höjbjerg, then our 4-2-3-1 can spring into attack.
Maehle and Grimaldo can surge up the wings in the knowledge that Kovacic and Höjbjerg can drop into the space left behind if needed. As they come up the wings, both Riyad Mahrez and Dries Mertens, who are excellent in tight spaces and fantastic dribblers will cut inside or make runs into the box.
James, our attacking central midfielder’s low centre of gravity will enable him to navigate away from defenders. James is blessed with an instant first touch and can dribble with the ball at such a close proximity to his feet that it makes him almost impossible to tackle this creative passer with his quick flicks and one-touch passing, will combine exceptionally well with Mahrez, Mertens & Suárez to create openings and goal scoring opportunities for each other.
Upfront, Suárez will be utilised to “bind” our oppositions defenders in place by occupying them with his positioning, to the point of blocking their defenders in order to create space for Mahrez, James & Mertens to exploit between the lines as this trio look to profit from Suárez’s off-the-ball actions.
Suárez will act as a focal point around which our team will build our attacks, using his strength to hold off their defenders. Suárez is proven adept at one-touch passing and quick flicks in combination play and of course Suárez’s stock in trade when the occasion calls for it – intelligent dummies to fool their defenders.
All 4 of our most advanced players are equally gifted in terms of assisting and scoring goals, and as thus we will not be purely reliant on Suárez on this front, although I expect of course for him to find the back of the net on a number of occasions.
Subs on 75 mins
Lamptey on for Maehle, Isco on for James and Ibrahimovic on for Suárez
Triple substitution - dribbling trickery from Isco, electric pace from Lamptey, and in Ibrahimovic a real powerhouse and focal point for the attacking midfielders in the last 15 minutes to look to unlock the opposition’s defence for a late goal regardless of the score line.
posted on 31/5/21
----------------- Ter Stegen -----------------
--- B.Pavard --- M.De Ligt --- P.Torres ---
------------ Fabinho --- N.Kante -----------
J.Sancho ------ De Bruyne -------- L.Sane
-------- Kun Aguero --- Timo Werner -----
Subs:
Sanchez, Cancelo, Ferland, Ramos, Asensio, Hazard, Iheanacho
Tactics:
Now we’re into the business end of the competition the tinkering is over, with home advantage we go on the offensive as we look to build a lead going into the second leg.
Whilst the 3-2-3-2 formation can look crazily attacking when broken down it has a nice balance, the Fabinho & Kante pairing are integral as they provide a powerhouse DM duo to protect the defence giving us 5 solid defensive players and 5 attacking goalscoring players.
An obvious exposure of the set up is our flanks however playing with a natural RCB & LCB means we’re well protected, with Fabinho’s ability to seamlessly drop in as a utility CB another weapon in our defensive arsenal. Additionally, we have two hardworking wingers in Sancho & Sane who will drop in as we form a back 5 when the opposition are in possession.
The opposition have bags of pace out wide in Sterling, Mane & co however we’re happy to let them have the ball out on the flanks, our 3 CB’s will stay compact and central, don’t go out and engage the wingers instead force them to come infield, with a compact central area there will be simply no room to manoeuvre and with three towering CB’s we are comfortably dealing with any crosses in the air.
In possession we’re stacked with firepower as we go for goals, De Bruyne pulling the strings with Sancho & Sane offering pace down the wings and Aguero & Werner a dangerous duo up top.
Defence:
We go with a perfectly balanced back three, strong defensively but also with great ball players which will allow us to retain possession and play out from the back. If they play one up top then De Ligt will mark, Pavard and Torres will act as cover and stay relatively centrally at all times. We don’t want them to drift out wide, let then wingers come to us, keeping the central area’s compact will make it extremely difficult for the opposition to play through us.
Our brick wall of Fabinho and Kante will shield our defence, limiting the supply to their attack whilst also having bags of pace and energy to scamper across and deal with any threats out wide.
In this set up we also have the flexibility for Fabinho to drop in alongside De Ligt, allowing Pavard & Torres to cover the flanks in a conventional back 4. Tactical flexibility is our greatest weapon.
Midfield:
Kante and Fabinho will act as our enforcers in the middle. They will sit in front of our defence stifling the oppositions creativity and more importantly, cutting off the supply line to their forwards. We want to physical impose ourselves in this area of the pitch and these two are absolute warriors.
All action players we rely on their fantastic tenacity and high level work rate to break up the opposition play, winning back possession and setting us up on the counter as we look to get the ball into our creative players as quickly as possible.
If their wingers break at pace then we want one of Fabinho/Kante to drift across to engage them whilst the other stays central and picks up their AM. Importantly this will allow our back three to stay intact and deal with their forwards.
If they look to build from the back slowly then this is when we will drop into a deeper defensive shape with Fabinho dropping in at CB and KDB dropping in alongside Kante forming a DM/CM partnership. As soon as we win back possession we spring in to attack with KDB terrorising them from AM as Fabinho slots back in alongside Kante at DM.
Forwards:
In this set up our attack is where the fun really begins. With a back three and DM defensive pivot this allows us to essentially play with a front five when in possession and enables us to really cause some damage.
De Bruyne will be instrumental as plays his strongest position in the AM role. A player with superb vision he will look to get on the ball as much as possible, running at the opposition drawing them in and committing a defender before playing that decisive pass. He’s also a great goal scorer perfectly capable of striking a thunderbolt from distance at any moment, if the opposition drop off he has license to go for goal at any moment.
Out wide we look to hit them with pure pace and skill. If they opt for three at the back then Sancho and Sane can cause them real damage. We want them to hug the touch line, make the pitch as wide as possible and exploit any space on offer. We want them to be direct, get on the ball and go straight at the opposition, looking to either supply one of our front two, cut the ball back to KDB or go direct for goal themselves.
Up top we go with the duo of Aguero & Werner. Timo will play on the shoulder of the last man, looking to use his lightening pace to get in behind and through on goal, the German often at his best when playing in a front two. Aguero has a bit more freedom, the Argentine has great link up play so able to drift between the lines however when on the attack we want him to get in the box and finish any chances that fall his way.
Subs:
If winning:
70 mins: Werner & Sane off, Cancelo & Ferland on. We tighten up defensively, moving to an orthodox 5-4-1 to see out the win.
If drawing/losing:
70 mins: Werner off, Iheanacho on. We bring on the first player in premier league history to score a goal on every single day of the week in one season! Kelechi offering a new threat as we push for the winner
posted on 31/5/21
Newcastle 4-3-3 / 2-3-5
_____________Navas
Trent_____Dias______VVD_____Shaw
____________Casemiro
_______Llorente_____Modric
Salah_________Silva___________Son
Subs: Koke, Koulibaly, Fabian, Coman, Olmo, Lingard, Raul
Today I’d like to take complete control of midfield, holding possession and stretch their back line while outnumbering every area of the middle third and final third of the pitch. Our full backs will play as inverted fullbacks assuming the role as box to box and pivoting midfielders, thereby pushing our midfielders further forwards creating a 5 man attack.
______________Navas
_________Dias_____VVD_______
____Trent____Casemiro_____Shaw
Salah__Llorente___Modric____Coman
_______________Son______________
By doing so I will always have an extra man in midfield, including wide passing options, creating overloads. It will also help us stretch the field wider as I would expect opposition players to drift in-field to try and mitigate the presence of the extra bodies in midfield leaving wide areas for our wide players to exploit. As such the wide players will be given instruction so hug the touchline when waiting to receive the ball, then they can cut in and play their natural game but providing pass options initially is a must.
I fully expect us to create difficulty for the opposition in assessing exactly how and where to cover space and how to effectively pressure the ball. Create pass options to drag players out of position when they struggle to cope with the extra man in midfield exploiting gaps between the lines.
Our attacks will be taking a very vertical approach which allows the attacking midfielders to receive the ball in space allowing us to hurt them. Our version of a vertical approach is passing the ball up and down the field, with players inviting pressure as they receive and release the ball thereby creating a gap for another player to move into to receive a recycled pass. Eventually a path to goal will appear and it’ll be up to the players to exploit that playing their natural games. The whole point of this system is about opening greater space in between the lines for the attacking midfielders to receive. The attacking midfielders will also be expected to break the lines and make runs beyond the striker to find space higher up the pitch creating goal-scoring opportunities. The fullbacks therefore have many options to pass to, the 9, the 10s, and out wide depending on the natural movements of the players.
Defensive stability is very important to the way we want to play. One of the rules ultimately in football is you cannot score if you don’t have the ball, so we aim to keep the ball as much as possible with the ongoing ball recycling process of trying to drag players out of position finding space to exploit. When the opposition do gain possession they immediately face a block of five in the middle and our third of the pitch, quickly changing back to a standard 4-5-1 in two flat lines (plus the striker up top). Doing so will allow us to effectively defend our wide areas stopping any crosses coming in while congesting the middle enough for minimal gaps to appear between the lines. We press less to minimise the risk of gaps appearing but instead rely on cutting passing lanes and options. Once possession is regained, we immediately progress up the pitch and revert back to 2-3-5. The central defensive triangle of both CBs and the DM are good in the air capable of winning plenty of duels in the air as well as on the ground, in addition of course to their exceptional passing ability. It is important to have players that occupy those three positions that have on-the-ball intelligence, astute awareness of how to cover space in transition, and an aerial presence.
Subs.
65 mins - Koke on Modric off. Fresh legs.
70 mins losing/drawing - Olmo on Llorente off. Better finisher in the box from midfield.
75 mins losing/drawing - Raul on Silva off. Better presence up top.
75 mins winning - Lingard on Llorente off. Fresh legs while not losing creative quality.
posted on 1/6/21
Possession 4-3-3
We play a 4-3-3 to dominate possession, best form of defence is attack and them not having the ball. Possession always starts at the back and so we go with possibly the two best ball playing cbs out and with great pace to allow us to play the high line needed to play real possession football. As you’d expect with a possession gameplan we will be patient in the first two thirds of the park, this means we will move the ball quickly and at pace but will not force the play, let them chase us tiring them physically and mentally. Fernandes is the exception as we give him freedom to play more direct balls from deeper areas.
In the final third we give all players freedom to use their quality to create and produce magic to open up the opposition.
Up top we go with a front 3 full of pace, the wingers stay high and wide in possession, stretching Spurs defence and setting the side up perfectly for the possession play. In front of the defence Rodri and Thiago are the perfect two for the possession, play with Fernandes playing an Iniesta role as attacking Cm with freedom to drift. Everyone in their best position, in a formation and system that suits everyone playing their natural positions.
In defence Rodri drops behind the other two cms who press the play as the trio narrow, similarly in attack Rodri stays deepest but the trio do not play so narrow. We have a defence full of pace and great energy in front so play a reasonably high line, helping us press in high areas, and aiding distribution out from the back line.
Laporte the man marker as he is the stronger physically and can dominate in the air next to Marquinhos who is free to use his reading of the game and pace to sweep up. In midfield, the trio narrow in front with the cm opposite play dropping behind, allowing the other two to press with cover. Closing down the space, narrowing to the side of play. Win the ball back from Wolves quickly before they can get anywhere.
Quick passing and moving to find space in between the opposition lines. Using the pace of our wide forwards and fbs (one bombs forward at a time) to create space as we push forward.
We have a cm duo who can both drop deep to offer an option and collect the ball from defence. Likewise a fluid front three, who can switch positions or drop deep to collect the ball from midfield. This fluidity will help the players to get away from their markers, catch the opposition out and create space.
As we move forward we get quick one twos in the opposition half. With this fluid front three, Thiago supports creating and linking the play, Fernandes gets in and around the box looking for the final ball or shooting.
Positional structure, in addition to our technical players will be key to our quick passing possession gameplan going forward. Our approach in build up is to play a flexible asymmetric shape, giving bodies on different lines to increase the options we have in possession, and to create gaps in the opposition, and space for our players.
————————————— Allison ———————————
Carvajal — Marquinhos —— Laporte — T.Hernandez
————————————— Rodri ————————————
———————— Thiago.A —— B.Fernandes —————
—————————————————————————————
Gnabry ——————-— L.Martinez ————— S.Mane
Subs. Henderson, Alaba, Rice, Goretzka, Felix, Sterling, Osimhen
Defending high
When we lose the ball the closest player presses the ball, the second closest presses the obvious passing channel. As they’re doing this everyone gets into a narrow rigid formation behind the ball in position to press high up the park. Stop them breaking and press them high up the park.
In a narrow, rigid formation, we will look to press the space, not allowing them options. Keep them from advancing to positions where they can’t hurt us, by trying to win the ball back very quickly. Then break quickly in these high positions when we do win the ball.
As Spurs advance into higher areas of the park and into our half, our shape will resemble a 4-1-3-2. Winger on the side of play drops deep and Rodri drops behind the other two cms pressing the space behind the two cms pressing the ball, sweeping up danger behind them and in front of the defence.
Lautaro and the remaining wide forward in the space in between the opposition defence and midfield, and either side of their dm. This will make it difficult for their to dm to circulate possession back to their defence.
The wide man on the side of play that drops and the two cms (Thiago and Fernandes) are the trio pressing the ball, and look to force Spurs backwards. With the two forwards left forward this is where we look to press the opposition into mistakes and win the ball in high areas. With pace to join the attack quickly and overload Spurs.
When Spurs get past the initial press higher up the park, we drop deeper into a narrower tighter formation narrowing to the side of play, ensuring there are no gaps in the formation. Our fb’s have fantastic pace up against their wide forwards, bide their time, not diving in.
Subs.
If winning after 70 mins bring on Osimhen for Lautaro. More pace up top.
If winning after 75 mins bring on Goretzka for Fernandes. Strong defensively and hard working, fresh energy in Cm.
If winning after 80 mins bring on Sterling for Mane, fresh pace.
If drawing after 70 mins bring on Alaba and Osimhen for Theo and Carvajal. 3-5-2. More direct and goal scorer.
If drawing after 75 mins bring on Felix for Thiago.
If losing after 65 mins bring on Goretzka for Rodri. Thiago to dm. High energy in Cm as box to box role.
If losing after 70 mins bring on Sterling for Mane. More trickery to get us back in it.
If losing after 80 mins bring on Felix for Theo. Gung ho.
posted on 2/6/21
------------------------Neuer
Castagne---Soyuncu---Hernandez---Guerreiro
----------------------Brozovic
--------------SMS----------Pellegrini
Chiesa-------------------------------------Depay
---------------------Kane
Pope
White
Menino
Phillips
Alberto
Foden
Vardy
A return to our favoured 4-3-3 for today to oppose Sheffield United. I want us to play an aggressive attacking style, targetting the wide areas, hoping to exploit Sheffield United’s weakness in these areas. In Chiesa and Depay, I think we have players with the skillsets capable of targetting these areas, and in Kane we have a striker who is going to bag the goals created by this strategy. The midfield I have selected is full of energy, which allows for us to place the focus elsewhere. We are unlikely to be overrun here, and pressing these areas quickly will accommodate the adventurous natures of the FBs that we have selected. Defensively, I want to see the ball moved upfield quickly, whether that be from driving runs from the FBs, or quick movement of the ball on the deck.
The defenders should limit themselves to two-three touch football, allowing for us to play slick and quick stuff. This will prevent us from dilly-dallying on the ball and causing mistakes, and force the Sheffield United attack into a tiring, energetic press. Behind them, we have one of the world’s finest sweeper keepers, and in front Brozovic provides an energetic and mobile option who is good on the ball, meaning that we should always have options. The FBs will almost operate as conventional WBs, and create our first chance of breaking from defensive possession into attack, with targetted runs down the flanks. If this fails, SMS and Pellegrini operate an energetic, yet immensely talented, double pivot, with one dropping back as a support option, and then working triangles up the pitch. Brozovic will look to sit during the game, to make sure we are not left shorthanded at the back by the nature of our marauding FBs. I don’t want to see our wingers drop back for the ball, as we want to see the opposition FBs pegged back. By operating without a more conventional number 10, I also believe that we will have to force their midfield to reshape itself.
In attack, I want to see us have six bodies getting in and around the penalty area, whilst one of the CMs, alternating depending on the nature of the attack, will sit slightly deeper and look to sweep up any loose balls out, allowing for us to keep ourselves on the front foot. The key will be to attack the flanks, with our winger and wing-back doubling up on whichever FB is being targetted, though I would like us to target their right side most, as I believe it to be the weaker of the two. The FB should look to provide the wider option, with the winger sitting slightly inside. They can be supported by the breaking runs of the CMs, meaning there should always be space for one of three targetted attackers. The winger and FB on the other side will look to ghost into the penalty area, supporting Kane, and trying to give us a numerical advantage inside the penalty area. This will allow for us to keep on tops of loose balls, and keep the pressure on, looking to carve a chance out of their defence. Kane will want to stick between the posts, so that we can try and get the most out of his potent clinicality.
When possession is lost, a staged press should be engaged. Kane, Depay, and Chiesa will look to target their defence in the initial stage, buying time for the other attacking players to retake positions. Pellegrini will be the higher presser of him and SMS, looking to target their holding midfielders, whilst SMS will sit on the 10, limiting this as a channel for their attack. This should also free up Brozovic to work as a fire fighter, covering the wider spaces where needed, and providing support to the wide defenders.
Substitutions
If winning
Ben White on for Lorenzo Pellegrini 70 mins
Switch to a 3-4-3, with White occupying RCB.
Kalvin Phillips on for Marcelo Brozovic 77 mins
A slightly more physical and conservative option in the holding midfielder role.
Phil Foden on for Federico Chies 82 mins
Fresh legs.
If losing/drawing
Jamie Vardy on for Lorenzo Pellegrini 70 mins
Switch to a 4-4-2, with Vardy up top alongside Kane.
Phil Foden on for Marcelo Brozovic 77 mins
A more offensively minded 4-4-2
posted on 5/6/21
--------------------------- Oblak ----------------------------
W-Bissaka ----- E.Konsa ----- Romero ----- Robertson
-------------- F.de Jong -------- Bissouma ---------------
-- Mbappe ------------- Havertz ------------- Grealish --
-------------------------- Haaland --------------------------
Meslier, Locatelli, Camavinga, N.Mendes, Ferran, Malen, Bellingam
We will try and control this game as best we can , especially the midfield where we want to dominate, quick on the break and really pressurise the opposition with an in your face performance from the front, up against it but our trio has everything we need to stop them controlling the game, we want to hit them quickly so we need to press them quickly to get the ball, when we defend, the back 4 must stay solid with the midfield ahead of them harassing the man with the ball before they get to our back 4 and our midfield will be in and around the half way line, Haaland slightly higher up, this will congest the midfield and allow us to dictate play, defend from the front, stop them coming forward from the back, however, if they do push forward onto us and we get the ball they will be on the back foot and will really struggle with our front 3/4 with Fullbacks who are always ready to pounce and hit them with pace.
Romero picks up the CF he wont let much passed him he is a very robust and hard defender, Konsa spare picks up the AM if he gets away from our midfield, both powerful boys so keep the forward(s) away from the danger area, get onto them quickly, take the ball away from them and play it out of defence, look to get to our midfield quickly, Both are comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass to those in front to hit them with pace, both must attack high balls to get the ball away from the opposition big men. Fullbacks keep the wingers quiet, stop their attacks. 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. When they attack, only one at a time!!, Robertson is a dangerous weapon to have and he will do more attacking than Bissaka who will mostly make up a back 3 when Robertson goes as he supports Grealish down the left, often driving passed him to whip in dangerous balls, Bissaka does sometimes but not as often as he makes up the back 3 so this gives Mbappe more freedom on the right as he has the cover behind him. If either get caught up field I want the midfielders to help them out by filling the gaps so we don't get exposed, this allows the fullbacks to make their way to midfield to cover. CBs to go up for corners, with the fullbacks and Bissouma sitting back.
Recoveries mean possession, possession means control, Bissouma is excellent at this, a part of his game that he excels at. He is high energy in yer face, he is our deepest midfielder sitting just in front of the CB's he will shadow there AM and not allow him to control the game, he must be aware of all that is around him, be in the right place at the right time and look to cover for defensive players moving forward, he has to impose himself early on the AM to make him wary of holding onto the ball too long, will at times drop between the 2 Cbs to get the ball, once on the ball look around, head up and pick the pass that will get us moving forward quickly always making himself for a return ball from a deeper angle as he spreads it from side to side then eventually forward he is always looking for the ball to start again if need be, can be out to the fullbacks or indeed a longer ball to the front three to take the opposition out of it as they are still high up the pitch. de Jong will help stop the run of play quicker to make our defenders jobs a lot easier, protect our defence as best as possible, in possession get it to the front 3/4 but also look for fullbacks as they move into space, keep it simple, he has a very good range of pass. Either pass and move(triangles) into space or look for a piercing through ball to our front three to drive onto.Can move forward to assist and look for balls coming out so he can either, shoot or whip straight back in.
Havertz is essential to our style of play, he is the link between defence and attack, as we break quickly he will look to set up our front three and at times be in an advanced No.10/CF role and look for the de Jong/Bissouma/CB pass. He will drop back at times to pick it up and will look to his dribbling capabilities to get him around players, and into the danger area to unleash a powerful drive, sometimes taking a foul as he is a tricky player to mark. When in possession always head up looking for the movement of our front three to play them in, he will follow his pass and make up the numbers up front.After the pass he can push wide or central to make that extra man When he doesn't drop deep i.e when the defenders go long, he will look to form a front four as they move around and look to tear the defence apart and create space for the front 3, they will have quality in midfield but not as good as it normally is. All of our midfield three must press the opposition, Havertz on the DM and get to grips with this game very early on.
Our wingers are extremely quick, skillfull and will cause all sorts of problems, when we don't have the ball they drop back a bit to make up the numbers as they attack, push into the faces of the opposition to force them into mistakes and hopefully in the end they lose the ball, when they do lose the ball we charge at them and we do it quickly, go through the cms or out to one of our attacking fullbacks especially Robertson who will support Grealish very well. However, the movement up front between Mbappe and Grealish will cause them problems drifting in an out, the ball at times sticks to them like glue and extremely hard to dispossess, thus allowing Havertz to pick his moment to move into space either as a 10 or out wide. If he does push wide this will allow Wingers to go in central as we will have an attacking fullback up and supporting. Quick passing in triangles, quick one twos that will get us in and beyond their defenders and eventually to Haaland who can beat any defender with power and pace and the other wingers who will look to get into space to get a shot off, if there defence is on top then we can always go direct at times and fire early crosses especially from deep from the fullbacks into Haaland who will sit on the last foot so he can spring them and have a shoot or sight mentality, can move central, we must always make sure he is well supported, especially Havertz who at times will be right on his shoulder or alongside, if he cant get the shot away he will be looking to bring others into the game by dropping slightly back to get numbers for the attack he is a very tireless worker, who also helps defend from the from by harassing there back line/DM.
Captain - de Jong
Penalties - Haaland
Free Kicks - Grealish
Corners - Grealish
Losing by 1
80 Mins - Locatelli for Havertz to see it out, Bissouma drops back a bit with Locatelli alongside de Jong
85 Mins - N.Mendes for Grealish
Losing by 2
60 Mins - Malen for Robertson he goes up top 3232
70 Mins - Ferran for Havertz
Mbappe - Haaland - Malen up top 343
ET
Bellingham for de Jong, Mendes for Grealish
Winning/drawing
75 Mins - Locatelli for Havertz again Bissouma dropping back a bit
85 Mins - Mendes for Grealish
posted on 5/6/21
****ONE EXTRA SUB ALLOWED IF TIE GOES TO EXTRA TIME****
posted on 5/6/21
70 Mins - Ferran for Havertz
Mbappe - Haaland - Malen up top 343
Ferran goes to RW ** never added that
posted on 5/6/21
Attacking high press 3-5-2
We go with an attacking side built on a strong defence, must win game so we look to take the game to Spurs with pace and trickery out wide and creativity through the middle. If that doesn’t work we’ll get more power and height on to throw the kitchen sink at them in the last half hour. We go with a side with a high work rate, full of energy to press from the front. The defence starts with the front two.
After pipping us in the league and winning the first leg, we feel it is the perfect time for revenge with a few of their key players missing. We look to score more than them, attacking the areas outside their cbs(if 3 at back) or inside their fbs(if 4) to get in behind using our pace in attack and creativity from the middle.
Our formation allows us to play quick flowing football, with a ball playing back three, Rodri setting the tempo in Cm, pacey wingers and front two to stretch Spurs defence. The front two set the tempo for the game with their all action styles. Both have the ability to drop deep or wide, drag players out of position and overload their defence. Mount and Bruno plays with high intensity in the middle with Rodri sitting. We have three cms able to pick a pass, and with the ability to dictate the tempo of the game and control possession.
We play with a high line to allow us to dominate possession, Werner if he plays will offer a threat getting in behind but we’ll back our players to create more from dominating play, and be better at taking their chances.
The width is provided by the wingers, and by an over lapping cb. We allow one cb to get forward at a time, either offering an extra man in midfield to control possession when needed or overlapping the winger. This will see us always have two cbs and a deep midfielder in front when we attack offering cover. We stop this tactic if we take the lead on aggregate.
We will direct our attacks down the wings. Both wingers will have absolute freedom to attack, bombing down the wings, crossing for the front two and coming inside to give us extra players in the box. The overlapping cb, wbs and with front two will give us an overload in attacking situations.
We defend in a narrow formation, limiting the space for Spurs to play in. Defending in the 3-5-2 shape we look to defend high up the park, as Spurs push up the park the team narrows to the side Spurs are attacking. Rodri sitting zonally in front of defence as Mount and Bruno press the ball and central passing lane. The wingers on side of play look to defend - against any attacking fbs on side of play or to pick up a dm if no fbs, we always leave both forwards up, plus winger opposite play. So if the opposition go with 3 at back or have a fb attacking a 3 vs 3 counter could be on for us.
The defence and midfield press as a unit, ensuring there is no space between the lines for Spurs attacking mids.
When we win the ball we attack at pace. Use the pace of our wide players bombing forward linking with the forwards to create.
———————————— Schmeichel ————————————
————— Militao —— Marquinhos —— D.Alaba ————
————————— Rodri ———— M.Mount —————
R.Sterling ————— B.Fernandes ————— S.Mane
————————— S.Gnabry —— Lautaro.M ————————
Subs. Henderson, Carvajal, Theo.H, Goretzka, Bale, Felix, Osimhen
Defence
When we lose the ball high up the park we always look to win it back straight away, don’t give Spurs a chance to counter. The closest 2/3 players press. Allowing others to get back into position behind the ball.
In a narrow, rigid formation, we will look to press the space, not allowing them options. Keep them from advancing to positions where they can’t hurt us, by trying to win the ball back very quickly. Then break quickly in these high positions when we do win the ball.
When Spurs get past the initial press higher up the park, we drop deeper into a narrower tighter formation narrowing to the side of play, ensuring there are no gaps in the formation set out above. Our defence have fantastic pace up against their forwards, bide their time, not diving in.
Marquinhos acts as sweeper, the other two cbs defend zonally going man for man when opposition forwards in their zone. If overloaded Rodri can drop to cb, also going man for man if needed. If opposition players drop deep or out wide to opposite side of play we let them run free, defend the goal and pressing the ball asa well drilled unit. If they’re too far away from goal they can’t hurt us.
Attack
We attack at pace down the wings, Bruno, Mount and Gnabry linking with the wingers to work through the Spurs defence. Overlapping cb offers another threat out wide to overload Spurs.
The back 3 are all comfortable on the ball and look to play out, helping us move the ball quickly having a strong base.
Subs.
After 65 mins bring on Goretzka for Mount. Fresh legs, power and height.
If winning on aggregate after 70 mins bring on Theo for Mane. Pace and power, perfect for counter and stronger defensively as we’d expect Spurs to go for it.
If winning on aggregate after 75 mins bring on Carvajal for Sterling. Keeping the shape but with better defensive players layers to defend deeper areas.
If drawing or losing on aggregate after 70 mins bring on Bale for Sterling. Height, power and big game player.
If drawing or losing on aggregate after 70 mins bring on Osimhen for Mane. Gnabry goes left.
3 subs on over 6 foot to dominate in the air, set pieces will be huge with Militao, Marquinhos, Goretzka, Rodri, Bale, Osimhen to aim for in the box.
If extra time, and 4th substitute, after 15 mins (105) bring on Theo for Rodri. Another over 6ft and fresh pace, playing lcm box to box with Goretzka, Bruno ahead. Pace and energy to go for it against tired legs. If Theo already on, bring on Felix for Rodri. Playing attacking midfield.
If pens:
1. Bruno Fernandes - pk king
2. Marquinhos - big game player and leader
3. Lautaro - our talisman
4. Gnabry - big game player and German
5. Bale - big game player
6. Alaba - big game player and as good as German
7. Goretzka - big German
8. Osimhen / Felix / Theo
posted on 6/6/21
SHEFFIELD UNITED v Leeds United
----------------------Kelleher
Lamptey, Andersen, T. Silva, Grimaldo
--------------Kovacic, Höjbjerg
-Mahrez----------James----------Mertens
-----------------------Suárez
Subs: Livramento, Ampadu, Koopmeiners, de Roon, Gallagher, Brooks, Isco
Captain: Thiago Silva
Free Kicks: Mahrez/James (Brooks)/Mertens (Isco)
Penalties: Suárez
Our defensive unit consists of Joachim Andersen and Thiago Silva paired up at centre-back, Tariq Lamptey at right-back and Álex Grimaldo at left-back, with Mateo Kovacic and Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg as our midfield ‘double pivot’ screening them.
This ‘double pivot’ is the key to our team and in Kovacic and Höjbjerg we have a perfect pairing to initiate attacks by distributing the ball in an intelligent fashion, to be key players in circulation and to prevent dangerous opposition attacks, being disciplined in positioning and limiting space in between the lines.
The strength of our double pivot is that Höjbjerg can press the ball without leaving lots of space, as Kovacic can maintain a good position to react if the initial press is bypassed. Our double pivot will offer huge defensive stability and will ensure that a structured shape is maintained.
Having two defensive midfielders centrally prevents others being dragged out of position to press.
Helping the defenders maintain solid positioning is a key part of Höjbjerg's role, he will press almost anywhere in his own half to allow defenders to stay in the defensive line.
With Höjbjerg running his socks off for the team, our high tempo will be dictated by his partner in holding midfield, Mateo Kovacic.
Kovacic is not just your “win the ball and pass it on to the closest player” – there is a real creative mind in his locker, but it’s his ability to be the shield of the back four and then be creative once he gets the ball that makes Kovacic such a talent.
The attacking unit consists of Riyad Mahrez, James Rodríguez and Dries Mertens as our band of three attacking midfielders with Luis Suárez as our lone central striker.
Our 4-2-3-1 is set up to have that wonderful ‘springy' quality - it absorbs pressure without breaking and then snaps back with surprising force.
In defence our 4-2-3-1 covers space very effectively, with the band of three attacking midfielders and centre forward able to press the opposition high up the pitch while the two defensive midfielders ensure that there is no space left in front of the defence. Then the back four can either play a high line, compressing the space even further, or drop deeper as preferred.
Once we have won the ball back, often by Kovacic or Höjbjerg, then our 4-2-3-1 can spring into attack.
Lamptey and Grimaldo can surge up the wings in the knowledge that Kovacic and Höjbjerg can drop into the space left behind if needed. As they come up the wings, both Riyad Mahrez and Dries Mertens, who are excellent in tight spaces and fantastic dribblers will cut inside or make runs into the box.
James, our attacking central midfielder’s low centre of gravity will enable him to navigate away from defenders. James is blessed with an instant first touch and can dribble with the ball at such a close proximity to his feet that it makes him almost impossible to tackle this creative passer with his quick flicks and one-touch passing, will combine exceptionally well with Mahrez, Mertens & Suárez to create openings and goal scoring opportunities for each other.
Upfront, Suárez will be utilised to “bind” our oppositions defenders in place by occupying them with his positioning, to the point of blocking their defenders in order to create space for Mahrez, James & Mertens to exploit between the lines as this trio look to profit from Suárez’s off-the-ball actions.
Suárez will act as a focal point around which our team will build our attacks, using his strength to hold off their defenders. Suárez is proven adept at one-touch passing and quick flicks in combination play and of course Suárez’s stock in trade when the occasion calls for it – intelligent dummies to fool their defenders.
All 4 of our most advanced players are equally gifted in terms of assisting and scoring goals, and as thus we will not be purely reliant on Suárez on this front, although I expect of course for him to find the back of the net on a number of occasions.
Subs on 75 mins
Brooks on for James and Isco on for Mertens
Double substitution - fresh legs and plenty of dribbling trickery from Isco and Brooks in the last 15 minutes to look to unlock the opposition’s defence for a late goal regardless of the score line.
posted on 7/6/21
----------------- Ter Stegen -----------------
---- S.Ramos --- P.Torres --- F.Mendy ----
------------ Fabinho --- N.Kante -----------
J.Sancho ------- E.Hazard -------- L.Sane
---------- T.Werner --- Griezmann --------
Subs:
Sanchez, Cancelo, Reguilon, De Paul, Asensio, Martial, Iheanacho
Tactics:
The boys are absolutely flying at the moment and with confidence sky high we continue with our brand of fast paced high quality attacking football.
After edging the first leg lessor teams would go to Leicester looking to shut up shop and try to defend the lead, with confidence high we do the opposite as we look to take the game to the opposition and go for goals.
The onus will be on them to attack which will create plenty of space for us to exploit in behind on the counter. We go with a perfectly balanced 3-2-3-2, a solid back three with two of the best DM’s in the business protecting them will give us a solid defence shape to frustrate the opposition. As soon as we win back possession we look to counter at pace. Sancho and Sane offer us pure pace out wide as we look to hit them on the flanks whilst Werner is one of the quickest CF’s in the business.
If the opposition go too hung ho they will leave themselves exposed and with aways goals to our advantage we’re more than happy for this one to turn into a shootout.
Defence:
We go with a perfectly balanced back three, strong defensively but also with great ball players which will allow us to retain possession and play out from the back. If they play one up top then Torres will mark, Ramos and Mendy will act as cover or pick up the second CF. We don’t want them to drift out wide, let then wingers come to us, keeping the central area’s compact will make it extremely difficult for the opposition to play through us.
The opposition have bags of pace out wide in Sterling, Mane & co however we’re happy to let them have the ball out on the flanks, our 3 CB’s will stay compact and central, don’t go out and engage the wingers instead force them to come infield, with a compact central area there will be simply no room to manoeuvre and with three towering CB’s we are comfortably dealing with any crosses in the air.
Our brick wall of Fabinho and Kante will shield our defence, limiting the supply to their attack whilst also having bags of pace and energy to scamper across and deal with any threats out wide.
In this set up we also have the flexibility for Fabinho to drop in alongside Torres, allowing Ramos & Ferland to cover the flanks in a conventional back 4. Tactical flexibility is our greatest weapon.
Midfield:
Kante and Fabinho will act as our enforcers in the middle. They will sit in front of our defence stifling the oppositions creativity and more importantly, cutting off the supply line to their forwards. We want to physical impose ourselves in this area of the pitch and these two are absolute warriors.
All action players we rely on their fantastic tenacity and high level work rate to break up the opposition play, winning back possession and setting us up on the counter as we look to get the ball into our creative players as quickly as possible.
If their wingers break at pace then we want one of Fabinho/Kante to drift across to engage them whilst the other stays central and picks up their AM. Importantly this will allow our back three to stay intact and deal with their forwards.
If they look to build from the back slowly then this is when we will drop into a deeper defensive shape with Fabinho dropping in at CB. As soon as we win back possession we spring in to attack with Hazard terrorising them from AM as Fabinho slots back in alongside Kante at DM.
Forwards:
In this set up our attack is where the fun really begins. With a back three and DM defensive pivot this allows us to essentially play with a front five when in possession and enables us to really cause some damage.
Hazard will be given freedom to roam and exploit any gaps in the opposition midfield. A player with superb technical ability he will look to get on the ball as much as possible, running at the opposition drawing them in and committing a defender before playing that decisive pass to slip in our wingers or supply our strike partnership up top.
Out wide we look to hit them with pure pace and skill. If they opt for three at the back then Sancho and Sane can cause them real damage. We want them to hug the touch line, make the pitch as wide as possible and exploit any space on offer. We want them to be direct, get on the ball and go straight at the opposition, looking to either supply one of our front two, cut the ball back to Hazard or go direct for goal themselves.
Up top we go with the dangerous duo of Werner & Griezmann. Timo will play on the shoulder of the last man, looking to use his lightening pace to get in behind and through on goal, the German often at his best when playing in a front two. Griezmann has a bit more freedom, the Frenchman has great link up play so able to drift between the lines however when on the attack we want him to get in the box and finish any chances that fall his way.
Subs:
If winning/drawing:
70 mins: Hazard & Sane off, De Paul & Reguilon on. No point shutting up shop and inviting pressure, instead we keep our shape but bring in fresh legs. De Paul adding increased work rate to go with his creativity whilst Reguilon gives us an orthodox wing back both strong in attack and defence.
If losing on aggregate:
70 mins: Fabinho & Hazard off, De Paul & Asensio on. The dangerous De Paul slots in at CM giving us bundles of creativity whilst Asensio adds an injection of pace and incision with Sancho moving centrally to work his magic as we push for the winner.
posted on 7/6/21
-----------------------Neuer
-------Soyuncu---Hermoso---Hernandez
Castagne---Brozovic----SMS--------Guerreiro
-------Chiesa--------Kane------Depay
Pope
Walker
Denayer
Pellegrini
Foden
Ocampos
Vardy
I have opted for the 3-4-3 today, as I think it gives us a bit more stability in the game, and allows for us to have a tighter grip. With us holding a lead, it gives us a bit more of a defensive base, whilst not sacrificing those attacking options that got us into this position. We should still have men going forward, with clinical attackers, and support from attacking full-backs and SMS, meaning that we should be able to attack in numbers, create chances, and look to get an away goal of our own, without being left open and vulnerable at the back.
I still want to see the same quick movement of the ball in our defensive third, with defenders playing a 2-3 touch system. Brozovic will sit just in front of the defense, operating as the deeper part of the midfield pivot, with SMS more advanced, meaning Brozo will be the first option for the defense playing out, though SMS can also drop deep and support if this option is getting choked out. In Neuer we also have a reliable option to pass back to, if necessary, to keep us on the ball, and draw them out to press. We then have to break their press by looking to spread the balls out wide. In Castagne and Guerreiro we have quick options, who will look to break up the pitch, and this is what we want to see, allowing us to break their lines, and hit them quickly, working in those spaces. Once again, I want to see us double up on their FBs, with the WBs serving as overlapping options, so breaking from these areas is key. Should we attack through SMS in the middle, the WBs should stay in line with him, so that we can spread the ball into these areas.
As I said earlier, the key to our offense is to target the wide areas, so with Chiesa/Depay being supported by Castagne/Guerreiro, I believe we can double-up in these areas, with Chiesa and Depay operating as slightly inside options, and the WBs working on the overlap, looking to get the ball to the byline and put it into the box. In Kane we have a striker capable of operating both on the ground and in the air, so a variety of different balls can be put in. Kane should always be joined in the box by the opposite winger, whilst the WBs and SMS will make a secondary trident around the edge of the penalty area, allowing for us to maintain pressure from loose balls and clearances. We want to keep the pressure on, attacking at a high intensity, pegging them back, not allowing them to play the game on their terms, and also looking to create chances and get ourselves on the front foot. An early goal for us would change the shape of the game, so coming out of the blocks and playing with intensity is key to the game today.
In terms of our defensive press, I want to see Kane, Chiesa, and Depay pressing high, not allowing their defense the time to play out from the back, forcing them either into long balls forward, or errors and mistakes at the back. SMS will engage in the middle third, working as the engine room of the midfield, and allowing for Brozovic to hold his position until our shape has been re-engaged. Brozovic should operate as a crab in the holding midfield role until our WBs get back, covering the space, and pushing out wide to support if necessary. Hernandez and Soyuncu will also have to cover some of the wider areas, and when this is the case Brozo will sit in front of Hermoso, offering him support, and meaning we don’t get overworked in the middle area of the pitch.
A key for us today is to get that first goal, or an away goal in general. Should we take the lead, then we have to transition to a more conservative approach, with less bodies being pushed forward, so the WBs will sit deeper, and instead SMS will be used to link the attack and defense, with a more attacking approach being engaged should we concede.
Substitutions
If winning
Federico Chiesa off for Lorenzo Pellegrini 70 mins
Switch a 3-5-2, with Depay going up front to support Kane, and Pellegrini going into CM, with him and SMS playing either side of Brozovic.
Timothy Castagne off for Kyle Walker 75 mins
A slightly more conservative option here, with Walker also freshening up the legs in a key area.
Memphis Depay off for Jamie Vardy 80 mins
Fresh legs up top, with Vardy looking to use his raw pace to exploit a tiring defence.
SMS off for Phil Foden 90 mins (ET Sub)
Looking to hold possession, Foden gives us a bit more flair as an option, and freshens up the options in midfield.
If drawing
Raphael Guerreiro off for Lorenzo Pellegrini 70 mins
Switch to a 4-3-3, giving us another option to try and control the midfield, with Hernandez shifting to LB, and Pellegrini and SMS operating in front of Brozovic. This is our more conventional tactic option.
Federico Chiesa off for Lucas Ocampos 77 mins
Fresh legs at RW, and Ocampos gives us an energetic pressing option.
Timothy Castagne off for Kyle Walker 85 mins
Fresh legs in defense, as Sheff United will no doubt be throwing all they can at us.
SMS off for Phil Foden
Looking to hold possession, Foden gives us a bit more flair as an option, and freshens up the options in midfield.
If losing
Mario Hermoso off for Jamie Vardy 70 mins
Switch to a 4-4-2, with Vardy and Kane playing up front together. This gives us an option to be going for the goals to get us back in the game.
Federico Chiesa off for Lorenzo Pellegrini 77 mins
Switch to a 4-3-3, with Depay pushing up to operate alongside Kane and Vardy.
Marcelo Brozovic off for Phil Foden 83 mins
A more attacking option, and a switch to a 4-2-1-3, with SMS and Pellegrini slightly more reserved than Foden.
posted on 7/6/21
Newcastle 4-3-3 / 2-3-5
_____________Navas
Trent_____Dias______VVD_____Shaw
____________Casemiro
_______Llorente_____Modric
Salah_________Son___________Coman
Subs: Koke, Koulibaly, Fabian, Gundogan, Olmo, Lingard, Raul
Today I’d like to take complete control of midfield, holding possession and stretch their back line while outnumbering every area of the middle third and final third of the pitch. Our full backs will play as inverted fullbacks assuming the role as box to box and pivoting midfielders, thereby pushing our midfielders further forwards creating a 5 man attack.
______________Navas
_________Dias_____VVD_______
____Trent____Casemiro_____Shaw
Salah__Llorente___Modric____Coman
_______________Son______________
By doing so I will always have an extra man in midfield, including wide passing options, creating overloads. It will also help us stretch the field wider as I would expect opposition players to drift in-field to try and mitigate the presence of the extra bodies in midfield leaving wide areas for our wide players to exploit. As such the wide players will be given instruction so hug the touchline when waiting to receive the ball, then they can cut in and play their natural game but providing pass options initially is a must.
I fully expect us to create difficulty for the opposition in assessing exactly how and where to cover space and how to effectively pressure the ball. Create pass options to drag players out of position when they struggle to cope with the extra man in midfield exploiting gaps between the lines.
Our attacks will be taking a very vertical approach which allows the attacking midfielders to receive the ball in space allowing us to hurt them. Our version of a vertical approach is passing the ball up and down the field, with players inviting pressure as they receive and release the ball thereby creating a gap for another player to move into to receive a recycled pass. Eventually a path to goal will appear and it’ll be up to the players to exploit that playing their natural games. The whole point of this system is about opening greater space in between the lines for the attacking midfielders to receive. The attacking midfielders will also be expected to break the lines and make runs beyond the striker to find space higher up the pitch creating goal-scoring opportunities. The fullbacks therefore have many options to pass to, the 9, the 10s, and out wide depending on the natural movements of the players.
Defensive stability is very important to the way we want to play. One of the rules ultimately in football is you cannot score if you don’t have the ball, so we aim to keep the ball as much as possible with the ongoing ball recycling process of trying to drag players out of position finding space to exploit. When the opposition do gain possession they immediately face a block of five in the middle and our third of the pitch, quickly changing back to a standard 4-5-1 in two flat lines (plus the striker up top). Doing so will allow us to effectively defend our wide areas stopping any crosses coming in while congesting the middle enough for minimal gaps to appear between the lines. We press less to minimise the risk of gaps appearing but instead rely on cutting passing lanes and options. Once possession is regained, we immediately progress up the pitch and revert back to 2-3-5. The central defensive triangle of both CBs and the DM are good in the air capable of winning plenty of duels in the air as well as on the ground, in addition of course to their exceptional passing ability. It is important to have players that occupy those three positions that have on-the-ball intelligence, astute awareness of how to cover space in transition, and an aerial presence.
Subs.
65 mins - Koke on Modric off. Fresh legs.
70 mins losing/drawing - Gundogan on Llorente off. Better finisher in the box from midfield.
75 mins losing/drawing - Raul on Son off. Better presence up top.
75 mins winning - Fabian on Llorente off. Fresh legs while not losing creative quality.
posted on 7/6/21
PORTSMOUTH vs Chelsea (2-4-1-3 wing-backs and inside forwards)
Injuries:
Nathaniel Phillips
Cristiano Ronaldo
Franck Kessie
Scott McTomminay
Took a beating last week, against the run of play but a beating none the less. Today with home advantage and Mr Portsmouth himself (John Portsmouth FC Westwood) banging his drum, driving us on we go in the hunt for the 2 goals to take us through.
Our formation on paper looks really gung-ho, but football isn’t played on paper, and we’re not as gung-ho as you think, cold calculated risks, but if ya gonna go down, may as well engage party mode and have some fun doing it no?
We have some beautifully gifted ball players at our disposal but today is all about pace, getting at this Chelsea back-line, stretching them and getting in behind. Fan has a frightening attack but they can only run one way, so we won’t worry about them so much our defence can deal with it. Our main issue is over-running perhaps the most boring, yes boring midfield combo’s ever assembled we stop this midfield and his attack has nothing to work with.
this is why this formation gives us our best shot, our front line takes his defence man for man, they have not out ball, our wing-backs will mark his wingers, our CM’s are bigger,faster,stronger, and our back-two marshall the tap in merchant up front. Sounds simple doesn’t it
………………………………..Ederson………………….
……………………Milenkovic……Romagnoli…………..
Calabria…………Busquets…..Neves……..D.McNeil
……………………………………Insigne………………………………
Berardi………………………Vlahovic…………………Jota
Subs: Pickford, Mancini, However, Bernardo, Goncalves, Belotti, Koita
So as I said earlier proper attacking on paper, but it’s also pragmatic, we have a top top holding midfielders that can help us to shut up shop and effectively give us a back-four and a front-six approach to this game, I know it’s risky but with a 3 slot head start for home advantage there’s no reason why we shouldn’t try it.
Ederson, we all know his quality and skillset, a very good ‘keeper but his biggest attributes are his ability with ball to feet. That’s a massive use for us in this system, with flying-wingbacks and inside forwards really stretching the pitch and this sssllllooooowwww Chelsea spine.
Milenkovic and Romagnoli are a great duo, not often being 6ft2 make you the “little man” but that’s where Roma finds himself. Milenkovic will use that massive 6ft4 frame to close down the tap-in king. Physically get In his face, slam him on his touch and keep him playing with his back to goal, Roma is an old school Libero, he’ll sit off a yard, watch for any loose balls, and keep a watchful eye for any runs from deep.
Calabria was the top-rated RB in Serie A last season, so he’ll be tasked with man marking Greasy, don’t dive in just faint an attempted tackle and watch the clown fall over, then nip in and take the ball away, given free licence to drive forward and make the most of the space ahead of him, our RIF will occupy the left back, and Greasy won’t chase back so that flank will be massively exposed for him to bang some crosses in.
Dwight Mcneil is a fantastic young talent with an absolute wand of a left-peg, defensively obviously not as sound as Calabria so he’ll just have to jockey the RW and try to slow him down, chase him out wide and try and force the cross, Neither of Fans wingers are known for their defensive out-put and with our LIF taking away the right-back, McNeil will have acres of space and bags of time to whip in those pin-point crosses, it’s not just Vlahovic to aim at he’ll have both of our inside forwards and Lorenzo Insigne loitering for the pull-back as well.
Neves and Biscuits are a great pivot, Busquests has been there and won everything, will use that vast experience to help us dominate the midfield, Neves is a far better player than he’s given credit for, has goals in the locker, and an amazing range of passing, long and short but this season he’s shown that he can be the DM the top sides would love, in the top 5 in the prem for tackles and interceptions. This duo will hold the middle and allow our WB’s to rampage forward, Neves the orchestrator will have 6 targets making the runs for him.
Insigne is the magician in the side, really low centre of gravity and a great burst of speed, a defenders nightmare, he’ll link the play, with 3 some-times 5 players ahead of him he can wreak absolute havoc in this game, little give and goes with big man Vlahovic pulling this Chelsea defence apart.
Berardi and Jota are our inside-forwards, it’s a dying position but when used properly it’s impossible to defend against, our wing-backs will run the line, these two taking the FB away, their wingers won’t track back so we’ll get all the over-laps to turn the tide of this fixture. Once the ball is on the opposite flank they attack the back stick, when it’s on there flank the move towards the penalty spot. Vlahovic is the 6 yard box poacher and with his size and frame theres always gonna be the knock-downs or rebounds to pounce on.
Vlahovic is the target-man, he’s the focal point the rest of the side bounces off, 21 goals in Serie A this season, only 3 less than Lukaku who did it in a title winning side. He has shown he can lead the line pretty much unsupported for a pooor fiotentina side, with the supporting cast he has playing off him today and with the love and adulation from our fans he can and will dominate this defence, we’ll get him his 1v1’s and he’ll punish the Chels.
Subs 65 mins:
Bernardo > Biscuits….Neves becomes the prime DM and Bernardo uses his vision and range from deep, we know have 2 of the very best long and short passes in the game working in tandem.
Pedro G > Jota…. 23 goals in 32 league games for sporting if you’re still chasing goals then this guy isn’t a bad bench option.
Koita > Vlahovic > absolutely rapid this guy, 14 goals in 17 games for Salzburg is a phenomenal strike rate
posted on 8/6/21
SOTON VS Newcastle
----------------------------------------Gulasci-----------------------------------
----------------Fofana--------Upamecano--------Badiashile-----------
Raphinha---------------Ndidi------------Valverde---------------Pulisic
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------Odegaard----------------------------------
--------------------Greenwood-----------------Rashford--------------------
Subs - Sessegnon, Dest, Curtis Jones, Kulusevski, Wirtz, Adama, Kean
CAPTAIN - RASHFORD
CK'S - ØDEGAARD
FK'S - ØDEGAARD
PENALTIES - RASHFORD
I want us to hold a deep defensive line to start of with so the oppo don't get an early goal. Keep things simple in the beginning and only pressure the oppo when they get in our half. When we have the ball I want the team to play pass and move football. Don't stay static, try and get in behind the oppo defence as there is a lot of pace in our attacking players. As the game goes on, when we don't have the ball I want the team to defend from the front line and pressure the oppo and try and win possession back. Do this in fits and bursts as it is a tiring tactic.
Defence
GK to be confident in box. Don't take risks. Punch the ball away if the shot is too powerful. Command your area. The back 3 is well balanced and full of pace and power. Fofana and Badiashile will be playing as the outside CB's and will look to close down the oppo wingers. Upamecano in the middle will marshall the defence and look to snuff out any attacks from the oppo striker/s. All 3 of these CB's are very good at playing from the back and I want them to use that ability if they have some space to dribble into from defence.
WINGBACKS
Raphinha and Pulisic are playing as wingbacks today. They are not defenders irl but both of them put a shift in defensively for their real life clubs and I want them to do that here. Your defending doesn't have to be flashy just stick close to the oppo wingers and stop them from getting past you, the DM's will be helping you a lot aswell. Both of you are rapid so if it's a foot race the oppo wants they'll be up against it! Fofana and Badiashile will be ready as the outside CB's to help you clear up any loose balls etc. Be vary of oppo fullbacks making overlapping runs as I want you to stick with them to stop them getting to the byline. One of our DM's will come over to mark the oppo winger who has the ball incase they don't use the overlapping fullbacks. As an attacking outlet I want Raphinha and Pulisic to play how wingbacks would normally play. Stay wide and make runs forward when given the opportunity. Try and whip some dangerous balls into the oppo area and use your pace to get back into defensive positions if the oppo try and hit us on a counter. Both of you can cut in from time to time if you want to into your stronger fits to give the oppo summat different to think about.
Defence Mids
Ndidi + Valverde
These 2 will be the main defensive force to cover our defence. When the oppo LW is attacking down the wings I want Ndidi to close him down and put a tackle in or stop him getting to the byline. Likewise with Valverde who will be tasked with the same job against the oppo RW. This will help sort our Raphinha and Pulisic's defensive vulnerability. If either Ndidi or Valverde are helping out on the wings I want the other DM to stay in the middle of the pitch and close down the oppo AM if they play one. When in possession pass the ball out to the wings or to Ødegaard who will drop deep from time to time. Valverde will be allowed to stretch his legs and run with the ball from deep if there is space to do so in the centre of the pitch. But he must not forget his main job which is to protect the defence.
Attack Mid
Martin Ødegaard
The Big Ø will be the playmaker and chance creator for our attackers. His technical ability on the ball is world class and he is the type of player that can run all match without getting tired. Off the ball I want him to press the oppo midfielders. When we have possession of the ball try and find space in the attacking third of the pitch for you to receive the ball and use your playmaking ability to create chances for the team. Look out for runs from our wingbacks and strikers and thread some pinpoint passes to them.
Strikers
Marcus Rashford MBE + Greenwood
These 2 blood brothers will be the main goalscorers of the team. Rashford is a striker that has the deadly combination of pace and finishing. He will look to use his pace to get the better of the oppo defence. Be vary of crosses into the box and try and get in front of your marker. Time your runs off the shoulders of the oppo CB's and use your pace to get away from them. Play quick pass and move combinations with your teammates to find spaces in the oppo defence.
Greenwood will use his physical ability and hold up play to bring others in to the game. He's a proper two footed striker equally as strong on his right as he is on his left so I don't want him to hesitate to shoot when he has an opportunity to shoot.
Subs if LOSING BY 65MINS
Put on Wirtz for Ndidi and Kulusevski for Pulisic to bring some more attacking impetus on. Play a high line and put a lot of pressure on the oppo to win the ball back. Adama Traore on for Raphinha aswell.
-------------------------------------Gulasci-----------------------
---------------Fofana---------Upamecano--------Badiashile----------
----------------------------------------Valverde--------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adama----------------Odegaard---------Wirtz-----------------Kulusev
-------------------------Greenwood------------Rashford-------------------
Subs if WINNING BY 60MINS
Take off Ødegaard and put on Curtis Jones in CM. Play defensive with everyone in our own half defending for their lives, waiting to hit the oppo on the counter attack. . Take the attacking wingbacks off and put on Dest and Sessegnon as defensive wingbacks who'll offer a lot more defensive stability.
--------------------------------------Gulasci-----------------------
----------------Fofana--------Upamecano--------Badiashile--------
Dest------------------Valverde----------Ndidi---------------------Sess
--------------------------------------Jones---------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------Greenwood---------Rashford----------------------
Subs if DRAWING BY 65MINS
Kulusevski on for Pulisic
Kean on for Greenwood
Wirtz on for Ødegaard
Fresh legs to bring on.
posted on 9/6/21
Portsmouth vs Leicester – 4-3-3 (inside forwards not wingers)
Second cup final of the season for Pompey after losing to the Chels in the Carabao Cup. Bit of a shock we’ve come this far after our heroics beating the wide-boys in the semi. Rof has got such a strong squad he can comfortably absorb the injuries he’s encountered but we can’t change or affect how he plays only how we play, so with that in mind we’re going to go with a fast paced 4-3-3, short slick passing, keep Leicester moving and exploit the spaces when the chances arrive.
We know RoF tends to go with his 4-3-3 so if that’s the case it’s fine we stand them up man for man, in his last game he went 3-5-2, if that’s how he plays it today it suits us fine as we’ll stretch the pitch and try and get in behind that way.
…………………………………………Ederson………………………..
Calabria……………..Milenkovic……..Romagnoli……….Angelino
……………………………………….Busquets……………………………
………………………Bernardo……………………..Kessie……………..
Ronaldo……………………………………………………………..Neymar
………………………………………Vlahovic…………………………
Subs: Pickford, Mancini, Phillips, McTominay, Goncalves, Belotti, McNeil
To win a big game, you need big game players and we’re packed with serial winners, Our Starting XI has cumulated a combined 556 international full caps, 7 international cups, 95 cups at their respective clubs and a whopping 32 league titles.
Before we get down to the nitty gritty, I know it seems Bernardo and Kessie are on the wrong side but they’re not, Calabria is much better defensively than Angelino, so Kessie goes that side to help strengthen the left flank, the other advantage of having them on the opposite side is that should Rof’s wingers cut-inside to run across them, they’re actually running onto our men’s stronger feet.
We play a deep-line and hold the edge of the 18 yard line, no need to push high up the pitch and leave spaces in behind for Leicester to exploit, any ball squeezing through from just that short distance, Ederson will be on his toes and off his line.
Ederson – is the perfect sweeper keeper, super duper fast off his line to collect any loose balls, Don’t do anything daft, just keep it simple, a very clever player he has the freedom to play the short sharp passes or the little dinks into space over the top.
Calabria and Angelino are given the freedom to attack, they’re effectively playing as wing-backs when we have possession, but I don’t want them just charging, we have wingers in those spaces, this is a disciplined attack they move forward with the ball/ball carrier, always providing that outlet as Rof looks to hit us with his press, When we have the ball Busquets takes 5 steps back and becomes a 3rd CB, we now have a makeshift diamond-shape for passing triangles between the midfield 3 and the FB’s as the ball moves forward they go forward and create a new diamond shape with the wingers and CM’s (Busquets is no longer the base)
Defensively they can’t expect too much help from our wingers but we have a hard working midfield to help the double-up so whilst they can’t allow “their man” too much time on the ball they’re free to “jockey” until support arrives.
The midfield-three is all about combinations, the experience and winning mentality of Busquets, the lung bursting all action exploits of Franck the tank and then Bernardo with the magic wand of a left boot, Busquets will dictate the play in the first stage moving us on and being that vocal influence all sides need, but he won’t be advancing past half-way he’ll sit in and allow our FB’s the freedom. Kessie is a pure specimen and goes B2B today, great defensively and always a good shout for a goal he’s a tough man to close down and can turn the tide in the midfield battle single-handedly. Bernardo is given a free-role, he’s too good to be tied in a single position so has that flexibility to get forwards and support the front three, but he has to be willing to run back, we’re not expecting Maldini-esque defending but HE WILL put a shift in for the team and harry his man if nothing else.
That midfield three pretty much makes us a 4-2-3-1 but it’s more a 4-1-2-3 – Busquets is the safety first option, Kessie the power and Bernardo the glory.
The trident up top have absolutely everything to make them a frightening prospect, most teams double up on Ronaldo to stop him, (try and stop him) but how can you do that and mark Neymar to?
Ronaldo and Neymar are inside-forwards, they start wide and we want them drifting inside taking the full-back with them and creating the over-laps for our FB’s to get into, I know it may be over-loaded with 2 men plus Bernardo centrally but these three have the awareness to be flexible and spot the spaces to run into and to be honest the 3 way interchanges of play should be exciting to watch. Vlahovic is our no-nonsense old school #9 6ft2 and a bag of goals for Fiorentina he’ll look to bully Rof’s centre-backs, 21 goals from 42 shots on target show this lad has all the credentials to be a top top hitman. And with Neymar 9 goals from 21 and Ronaldo 29 from 68, anything loose in the foxes box(es) is getting hit and punished.
Defensively Vlahovic will try to cover both CB’s, if they spread too far go to the defender without the ball (or least likely to have it) CR7 and Neymar mark the LB/RB respectively. Bernardo and Kessie tuck in, Biscuits marks the AM/SS/#10 and our back-four go man for man, we’re well drilled and hard to breakdown, the only players unmarked are their keeper and one of the two CB’s what happens next is down to Lesta’s decision making, but we will compete for every secondary ball, hit them hard on their touch each and every single time, we have to be in their faces from the off, and get to them fast, really really fast 😊
Subs 70 Mins:
McTominay > Busquets – goes to anchor man just fresh legs and a massive frame for set-pieces (both sides)
Pedro G > Bernardo – like for like but with an additional goal threat
Belotti > Vlahovic - less target man, more ice cold finisher
posted on 12/6/21
SHEFFIELD UNITED v Newcastle United
------------------------Patrício
Maehle, Andersen, T. Silva, Grimaldo
-------------Cristante, Höjbjerg
-Mahrez-----------James---------Mertens
-------------------------Suárez
Subs: Meret, Lamptey, Ampadu, Gallagher, Isco, Brandt, Ibrahimovic
Captain: Thiago Silva
Free Kicks: Mahrez/James/Mertens (Isco)
Penalties: Suárez (Ibrahimovic)
Our defensive unit consists of Joachim Andersen and Thiago Silva paired up at centre-back, Joakim Maehle at right-back and Álex Grimaldo at left-back, with Bryan Cristante and Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg as our midfield ‘double pivot’ screening them.
This ‘double pivot’ is the key to our team and in Cristante and Höjbjerg we have a perfect pairing to initiate attacks by distributing the ball in an intelligent fashion, to be key players in circulation and to prevent dangerous opposition attacks, being disciplined in positioning and limiting space in between the lines.
The strength of our double pivot is that Höjbjerg can press the ball without leaving lots of space, as Cristante can maintain a good position to react if the initial press is bypassed. Our double pivot will offer huge defensive stability and will ensure that a structured shape is maintained.
Having two defensive midfielders centrally prevents others being dragged out of position to press.
Helping the defenders maintain solid positioning is a key part of Höjbjerg's role, he will press almost anywhere in his own half to allow defenders to stay in the defensive line.
With Höjbjerg running his socks off for the team, our high tempo will be dictated by his partner in holding midfield, Bryan Cristante.
Cristante is not just your “win the ball and pass it on to the closest player” – there is a real creative mind in his locker, but it’s his ability to be the shield of the back four and then be creative once he gets the ball that makes Cristante such a talent.
The attacking unit consists of Riyad Mahrez, James Rodríguez and Dries Mertens as our band of three attacking midfielders with Luis Suárez as our lone central striker.
Our 4-2-3-1 is set up to have that wonderful ‘springy' quality - it absorbs pressure without breaking and then snaps back with surprising force.
In defence our 4-2-3-1 covers space very effectively, with the band of three attacking midfielders and centre forward able to press the opposition high up the pitch while the two defensive midfielders ensure that there is no space left in front of the defence. Then the back four can either play a high line, compressing the space even further, or drop deeper as preferred.
Once we have won the ball back, often by Cristante or Höjbjerg, then our 4-2-3-1 can spring into attack.
Maehle and Grimaldo can surge up the wings in the knowledge that Cristante and Höjbjerg can drop into the space left behind if needed. As they come up the wings, both Riyad Mahrez and Dries Mertens, who are excellent in tight spaces and fantastic dribblers will cut inside or make runs into the box.
James, our attacking central midfielder’s low centre of gravity will enable him to navigate away from defenders. James is blessed with an instant first touch and can dribble with the ball at such a close proximity to his feet that it makes him almost impossible to tackle this creative passer with his quick flicks and one-touch passing, will combine exceptionally well with Mahrez, Mertens & Suárez to create openings and goal scoring opportunities for each other.
Upfront, Suárez will be utilised to “bind” our oppositions defenders in place by occupying them with his positioning, to the point of blocking their defenders in order to create space for Mahrez, James & Mertens to exploit between the lines as this trio look to profit from Suárez’s off-the-ball actions.
Suárez will act as a focal point around which our team will build our attacks, using his strength to hold off their defenders. Suárez is proven adept at one-touch passing and quick flicks in combination play and of course Suárez’s stock in trade when the occasion calls for it – intelligent dummies to fool their defenders.
All 4 of our most advanced players are equally gifted in terms of assisting and scoring goals, and as thus we will not be purely reliant on Suárez on this front, although I expect of course for him to find the back of the net on a number of occasions.
Subs on 75 mins
Lamptey on for Maehle, Isco on for Mertens and Ibrahimovic on for Suárez
Triple substitution - Searing pace from Lamptey, sublime dribbling from Isco and a real focal point for the attacking midfielders in Ibrahimovic in the last 15 minutes to look to unlock the opposition’s defence for a late goal regardless of the score line.
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