High tempo 4-4-2
We go with an attacking team full of pace, playing with a high tempo in defence and attack. A fluid front four with real quality and pace.
We know the opposition don’t like to use fbs, and like to defend deep, so no hanging about we look to attack and target them out wide. Outnumber them in attack, and defend in a 4-4-2 formation, we have a very strong back 4 and Cm duo while the wingers and fbs will commit forwards they have great pace to get back into shape.
Two strong athletic cms key to our plan, Rodri dictating the tempo and spreading the play with Goretzka playing box to box and liking the play. Up top we have the classic big man small man combo and both naturally play with a high tempo and work rate, Lautaro is excellent at linking the play, playing off Osimhen who has the pace power and control to hurt United. Finally and key to our tactics is our strong back 4, giving the attacking players the platform to attack.
One fb bombs forward at a time supporting the winger, and with a front two we have a forward that can link out wide too. Target the wings and get into positions to get down the outside for cut backs and crosses to the two front men.
We direct our attacks out wide and set a high tempo for the game. We have a front four full of pace, looking to stretch the opposition and create space for other attackers to exploit.
Summer signing Jota comes in to offer high defensive work rate on the left, and because he is used to attacking from deeper positions under Nuno (difference being we are attacking not counter attacking!). Sterling on the right for width and direct running into the box. We leave some of our best players on the bench as we go with players we think fit the system best.
Rodri plays zonally in front of cbs, Goretzka who presses the play. Similar in attack, Rodri plays deepest covering. We have a defence full of pace and great energy in front so play a reasonably high line, helping us press the opposition in high area, and aiding distribution out from the back line. We have a strong defence, allowing us to take the game to United with an attacking formation.
If we didn’t already make the point, we look to exploit their full backs and space out wide. If they do fbs we still feel this is where they can be hurt defensively.
Quick passing and moving to find space in between the opposition lines. Using the pace of our forwards and fbs (one bombs forward at a time) to create space as we push forward.
Key to our attack is quick passing play, not looking to force the play but moving the ball quickly. Pass and move. Tire the opposition out physically and mentally with our high tempo play.
We have a cm duo who can both drop deep to offer an option and collect the ball from defence. Likewise a fluid front four, 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.
—————————————— Allison
R.James —— Marquinhos —— Laporte —— D.Alaba
——————————— Rodri —— Goretzka
Sterling ———————————————————— D.Jota
—————————- Lautaro —— Osimhen
Subs. Henderson, D.Rice, Thiago, Mount, B.Fernandes, Gnabry, Mane
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.
Laporte the man marker next to Marquinhos who is free to use his pace and intelligence to sweep up. In midfield, Rodri plays zonally in front of cbs, with Goretzka ball side. The wingers narrow in front to the side of play United are attacking, in spaces on either side of their cms. In a position to block passing lanes central or wide. We expect a front 3 from them, and will be wary of Greenwood and Rashford but more importantly we want them worrying about our attackers a lot more. If they go 3 in attack this gives us a spare defender to cover.
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 United get into our half, the wide players drop deep to add protection in front of the fb and next to the two cms. Closing down the space, narrowing to the side of play.
Subs.
If winning after 70 mins bring on Bruno for Lautaro. More control and energy in midfield, 4-2-3-1.
If winning after 75 mins bring on Thiago for Goretzka. Fresh legs, and control to see game out.
If winning after 80 mins bring on Mane for Jota. Fresh pace in attack.
If drawing after 70 mins bring on Thiago and Bruno for Lautaro and Rodri. More control and creativity, 4-2-3-1. Thiago deepest next to his partner Goretzka. Dominate against tired legs.
If drawing after 80 mins bring on Mane for R.James. Jota central, Mane left. 352.
If losing after 65 mins bring on Thiago and Bruno for R.James and Rodri. More control and creativity, 3-5-2. Thiago deepest next to his partner Goretzka. Dominate against tired legs.
If losing after 75 mins bring on Mane for Jota.
Liverpool v BRENTFORD
--------------------Kelleher
Maehle, Andersen, T. Silva, Grimaldo
-------------Kovacic, Höjbjerg
Berardi-----------Isco------Baumgartner
-------------------Suárez
Subs: Gorter, Lamptey, Ampadu, Laimer, Saint-Maximin, Immobile, Ibrahimovic
Captain: Thiago Silva
Free Kicks: Berardi/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 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 Domenico Berardi, Isco and Christoph Baumgartner 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 Domenico Berardi and Christoph Baumgartner, who are excellent in tight spaces and fantastic dribblers, will cut inside or make runs into the box.
Isco, our attacking central midfielder’s low centre of gravity will enable him to navigate away from defenders. Isco 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 Berardi, Baumgartner & 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 Berardi, Isco & Baumgartner 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, Saint-Maximin on for Baumgartner and Ibrahimovic on for Suárez
Triple substitution - Searing pace from Lamptey, sublime dribbling from Saint-Maximin 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.
------------------------ Johnstone ------------------------
J.Cancelo ----- Bonucci ----- Bastoni ----- N.Mendes
---------------- Bissouma ----- F.de Jong ---------------
-- Mahrez ------------- Grealish ------------ Mbappe --
------------------------- Haaland --------------------------
Sinisalo(yth), Romero, Locatelli, Camavinga, Musiala, Ferran, P.Daka
We like playing from the back and quick on the break and really pressurise the opposition with a dominate performance, from the front we do not allow them to play from the back or allow their midfield to dominate, I want our front three play quite a high line, put pressure on the defence, we cant get in behind quite easily as there fullbacks like to push forward, 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 Bissouma and de Jong ahead of them just in front 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, Grealish slightly higher up always on top of the midfielders stopping them passing between each other, 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 4 with Fullbacks who are always ready to pounce and hit them with pace.
Bastoni and Bonucci at the heart of our defence. Bastoni picks up the CF he is quick and powerful so will stop the threat of their No.9, Bonucci is spare picks up the AM or any other player that's roams into the danger area, Johnsotne behind he will constantly be shouting and keeping the bank of 4 in a line as to not leave gaps, if they get away from our midfield, 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 it out wide quickly, Both CBs comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass longer to the forwards 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 we cant afford be exposed,they will drive up and down the pitch for 90+ mins, they support the wingers on the outside making an extra man. If either get caught up field I want others to help out defensively and to cover spaces made by our fullbacks, this gives our fullbacks more freedom to make their way to midfield to cover. Grealish also covers by dropping back to fill in the midfield even just to follow any defender that moves up field or to fill the gap either CM has made by moving to pick up men. CBs up for corners, FBs and Bissouma stay back.
Bissouma is is tenacious, energetic and feisty, just what we need in our midfield, 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, 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, he will also look for piercing balls for the front 3 to drive onto and go for goal. Our midfield maestro Grealish is essential to our style of play, he is the link between defence and attack he controls the pace of the game, as we break quickly he will look to set up our front three, also, he will drop back at times to pick it up then look to his dribbling and passing capabilities to get him around player and if their is space he will 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 draws players in, often taking a kick or two while he does it, gaining many free kicks, so as he does this he will pass the ball away sometimes taking 2/3 players out of the game leaving a lot more room for others to make something dangerous, he will pass and move to always make himself available. 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. All of our midfield three must press the opposition and get to grips with this game very early on.
Our wingers are extremely quick, 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, either a long ball over defenders our defenders are superb long ball passers, go through the cms or out to one of our attacking fullbacks, however, the movement up front between Mahrez and Mbappe will cause them problems drifting in an out, getting in behind their fullbacks, thus allowingGrealish more time and space to pick his moment to move into space as an attacking threat Quick passing in triangles that will get us in and beyond their defenders and eventually to Haaland who can beat any defender with power/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 the opposite winger, mids and Haaland so they can spring them and have a shoot or sight mentality at times, , we must always make sure Haaland is well supported, especially wingers who at times will be right on his shoulder or alongside(depends what side the attack is from) as he is allowed freedom of the park when we attack, 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 front by harassing there back line/DM.
Captain - Bonucci
Free Kicks - Grealish
Corners - Grealish
Penalties - Haaland
Subs -
Losing -
65 Mins - P.Daka for Mahrez, Mbappe to the right, Grealish to the left, 4-4-2, Locatelli for de Jong for fresh legs in the middle
Winning -
75 Mins - Locatelli for Mahrez, Mbappe to the right, Grealish left and Locatelli into a 3 man midfield
83 Mins - Ferran for Haaland, he goes right, Mbappe up top
Drawing -
65 Mins - Ferran for Mahrez, Locatelli for De Jong fresh legs
75 Mins - Musiala for Grealish again fresh legs
MAN UNITED vs Leicester
----------------------------------Dragowski---------------------------------
------------Fofana--------Upamecano--------Badiashile-----------
----------------------------Ndidi------Valverde------------------------
Dest----------------------------------------------------------------Sessegnon
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------Raphinha------Greenwood-------Rashford---------------
Subs - Gulasci, J Gomez, Tchoucameni, Sulemana, Wirtz, Bailey, Martinelli
CAPTAIN - VALVERDE
CK'S - RAPHINHA
FK'S - RAPHINHA
PENALTIES - GREENWOOD
Great opening win last week against City and we look to make home advantage count again against a strong Leicester side. We have our 3 best players returning from injury aswell in Ndidi, Greenwood and 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 stop any attacks that go down their wings. Upamecano in the middle will marshall the defence and look to snuff out any attacks from the oppo strikers. 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
Dest and Sessegnon are playing as wingbacks today. They will both have the freedom to bomb up and down their flanks. When defending stick close to the oppo wingers and stop them from getting past you, the DM's will be helping you a lot aswell. 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 use the overlapping fullbacks. I want both wingbacks to 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..
Defence Mids
Ndidi + Valverde
These 2 will be the main enforcers to protect the defence and to control the central midfield. Ndidi will be the midfield destroyer. He will help the wingbacks in defending against oppo wingers and will also look to put a lock on the oppo AM to stop him dictating play. Valverde will be the b2b engine who will be given the freedom to attack. When in possession pass the ball out to the wings and try and play some quick one two's. 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. When out of possession drop deep next to Ndidi and try and intercept the ball.
Wingers
Raphinha + Rashford
These 2 will be the focal point of my attack. I want to give them the freedom to express themselves in attack so they do not have to track back and help out in defence. Rashford will be looking to cut in from the left and Raphinha likewise who will cut in from the right. I want you both to try and beat the oppo fullbacks with your pace and dribbling ability but don't try too hard as if you see them doubling up on you you can either pass back into the centre of the pitch to one of our DM's or play quick one two's with our wingbacks. The main role of the wingers will be to get some crosses, low balls into the box for Greenwood to attack. When we are defending corners I want both of them to stay near the halfway line so we can hit the oppo on the counter attack. .
Striker
Mason Greenwood
The baby faced assassin will be leading the line for us today. He has got the strength and pace to play the role and he will have plenty of support in attack. 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. I want Greenwood and Rashford to interchange positions with each other from time to confuse the oppo defence.
Subs if LOSING BY 65MINS
Put on Wirtz for Ndidi and Sulemana for Rashford 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. Bailey on for Raphinha aswell.
-------------------------------------Dragowski-----------------------
---------------Fofana---------Upamecano--------Badiashile----------
-------------------------------------Valverde--------------------------------------
Dest----------------------------------------------------------------------Sesseg
--------------------------------------Wirtz-------------------------------------------
-----------Bailey-------------Greenwood------------Sulemana----------
Subs if WINNING BY 60MINS
Take off Rashford and put on Tchoucameni in CM. Play defensive with everyone in our own half defending for their lives, waiting to hit the oppo on the counter attack. Put on Martinelli for Raphinha.
--------------------------------------Drag-----------------------
----------------Fofana--------Upamecano--------Badiashile--------
Dest------------------Valverde----------Ndidi---------------------Sess
--------------------------------------Tchou.---------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------Greenwood--------------Martinelli----------------------
Subs if DRAWING BY 65MINS
Bailey on for Raphinha
Martinelli on for Greenwood
Wirtz on for Valverde
----------------------Neuer
-------Carlos------Maguire----Hernandez
Castagne---SMS------Pellegrini-------Digne
------Foden--------Kane-------Depay
Meslier
White
Menino
Brozovic
Zaha
Harrison
Bamford
We’ve changed shape for today, opting for a 3-4-3 due to the attacking nature of the Wolves team. Diego Carlos comes in for a full debut at RCB, whilst Castagne and Pellegrini also come in, with Chies conspicuously missing against Wolves, a team he has been linked with all summer. Just press talk for the moment, though, and with Foden in at RW, we have an adequate replacement in one of the world’s best wonderkids, and another of Leeds’ hottest properties. Pellegrini joins Milinkovic-Savic in the middle, and the two will operate as the engine room for a busy, and high intensity approach. Castagne starts at RWB in that system, a position and role that were practically made for his approach to football, and, because of Foiden wanting to drift inside, his attacking width will be invaluable. Kane is the world’s best striker, and there’s no commitment issues here, so will hopefully guarantee us some goals.
We build from the back, however, and I want to see the lads playing out. No dallying on the ball, as we rely on our standard two-touch approach, with constant movement from the four in front providing the forward balls, and the world’s finest sweeper keeper behind, meaning options will always be open for the quick movement of possession. In Digne and Castagne, we have FBs who want to get up and down the line, so these will be the traditional out-balls, with both wanting to occupy the wide areas, to cover for Depay and Foden’s roles as inside forwards. The opposition have strength in the wide areas, however, so we want to avoid these two players being caught too far forward. Both will, therefore, be given license to roam, but keep a watchful eye behind them, and not committ if it means leaving ourselves exposed. With SMS and Pellegrini in the middle, we have two players comfortable of operating both deep and advanced, and as such they will operate as a pivot in the middle, with one dropping deeper to help control possession, whilst the other pushes on, to help us connect the defence to the attack. Both will also be tasked with working as the engine of the team, with tireless running in the middle of the park, contributing both to the press and to the retaining of possession.
We have plenty of attacking talent in the advanced areas, and the key will be to use these effectively. As mentioned earlier, Depay and Foden will operate as inside forwards, drifting inside from the wide areas to cause havoc in the middle. This will accomplish one of two things. Firstly, the opposition FBs may track them, causing for spaces on the flanks for Castagne and Digne to exploit (I don’t think the opposition wide-men are the best back-trackers, so these two should be able to get free pretty easily), or, conversely, the opposition FBs don’t track, and Depay and Foden, along with Kane, should be able to triple up on the opposition CBs, with a combination of attacking approaches. Kane will be sticking between the goalposts today, where he is most lethal, keeping himself in advanced positions, and allowing the skill and pace of the other attackers to play off him. With Digne and Castagne pushing up, we should be able to overload in attacking areas, with one of the CMs sat just off the D, aiming to recycle possession quickly, and keep us on the front foot by being first to the second balls. Depay is naturally going to rely on his pace and trickery, and what Foden lacks in pace, he makes up for with deft touches and pure flair, so I think this could be a pretty lethal trio up top, and is amongst the most gifted attacking tridents in the league. Supported by the consistently fabulous crossing from Digne and Castagne, and the energy of Pellegrini and SMS? I think it works fantastically.
In terms of when the ball is lost, the first key thing is our ability to win second balls. With Castagne, Digne, SMS/Pellegrini, and Foden in the advanced areas, we have players that are gifted at knowing where the ball will be, and should be able to operate in all the key spaces to maximise our chances of being first to the second balls, and keeping the pressure on their defence. If this is unsuccessful, and Wolves gain possession, then we must engage our press. As per usual, the press starts from the front, with Kane targetting the opposition CBs, and Depay and Foden sitting on their FBs, to provide them few easy out-balls. The advanced midfielder will sit on their deepest midfielder, preventing them from playing short balls out, and forcing them into longer balls. In Maguire and Carlos, especially, I think I have two very gifted aerial defenders, who not only provide threats from set-plays, but are also likely to win most long balls forward. The press higher up the field will likely also buy time for us to get our WBs back in position, operating here as more conventional FBs in a 5, with Foden tucking in as part of the midfield, and Depay and Kane remaining advanced, making us difficult to break through, with plenty of energy in front of the defence to keep up the intensity of the press, and pace up front to break quickly.
Substitutions
Zaha on for Foden 65 minutes
A league debut for our new signing, Zaha will add pace and running to the attack, and a totally different approach for the defense to have to deal with from RW. I want to see him running at the opposition, with quick feet likely to win us free-kicks and penalties.
If winning
Depay off for Brozovic 75 mins
Switch to a 5-3-2, with Zaha operating centrally alongside Kane, and Brozovic going in to the deep lying role in midfield. SMS and Pellegrini will be allowed to attack from deep, meaning our attackers won’t be isolated.
Castagne off for Menino 85 mins
Fresh legs at RB as they likely throw the kitchen sink at getting a win.
If losing/drawing
Digne off for Harrison 72 mins
Switch to a 4-2-3-1, with Depay operating at 10, Harrison providing us the attacking width down the right hand side, and Zaha down the right.
Newcastle 4-3-3 / 2-3-5
_____________Mendy
Trent___Christensen____VVD_____Shaw
____________Casemiro
_______Modric_____Gundogan
Salah_________Silva___________Son
Subs: Kessie, Tomori, Llorente, Naby, Olmo, Martinez, Pote
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
_________Christensen_____VVD_______
____Trent____Casemiro_____Shaw
Salah__Modric___Gundogan____Son
_______________Silva______________
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 - Llorente on Modric off. Fresh legs.
70 mins losing/drawing - Pote on Gundogan off. Better finisher in the box from midfield.
75 mins losing/drawing - Martinez on Silva off. Better presence up top.
75 mins winning - Naby on Gundogan off. Fresh legs while not losing creative quality.
-------------------------- Oblak -------------------------
Ezri Konsa ---- Bonucci ---- Bastoni ---- Robertson
--------------- F.de Jong ---- Bissouma ---------------
-- Mahrez ------------ Grealish ----------- Mbappe --
------------------------ Haaland -------------------------
Pope, Mendes, Romero, Bellingham, D.Luiz, Ferran, Moreno
We like playing from the back and quick on the break and really pressurise the opposition with a dominate performance, from the front we do not allow them to play from the back or allow their midfield to dominate, I want our front three play quite a high line, put pressure on the defence, we cant get in behind quite easily as there fullbacks like to push forward, 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 Bissouma and de Jong ahead of them just in front 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, Grealish slightly higher up always on top of the midfielders stopping them passing between each other, 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 4 with Fullbacks who are always ready to pounce and hit them with pace.
Bastoni and Bonucci at the heart of our defence. Bastoni picks up the CF he is quick and powerful so will stop the threat of their No.9, Bonucci is spare picks up the AM or any other player that's roams into the danger area, Johnsotne behind he will constantly be shouting and keeping the bank of 4 in a line as to not leave gaps, if they get away from our midfield, 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 it out wide quickly, Both CBs comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass longer to the forwards 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 (mostly Robertson)Konsa forming a back 3, we cant afford be exposed,they will drive up and down the pitch for 90+ mins, they support the wingers on the outside making an extra man. If either get caught up field I want others to help out defensively and to cover spaces made by our fullbacks, this gives our fullbacks more freedom to make their way to midfield to cover. Grealish also covers by dropping back to fill in the midfield even just to follow any defender that moves up field or to fill the gap either CM has made by moving to pick up men. CBs up for corners, FBs and Bissouma stay back.
Bissouma is is tenacious, energetic and feisty, just what we need in our midfield, 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, 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, he will also look for piercing balls for the front 3 to drive onto and go for goal. Our midfield maestro Grealish is essential to our style of play, he is the link between defence and attack he controls the pace of the game, as we break quickly he will look to set up our front three, also, he will drop back at times to pick it up then look to his dribbling and passing capabilities to get him around player and if their is space he will 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 draws players in, often taking a kick or two while he does it, gaining many free kicks, so as he does this he will pass the ball away sometimes taking 2/3 players out of the game leaving a lot more room for others to make something dangerous, he will pass and move to always make himself available. 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. All of our midfield three must press the opposition and get to grips with this game very early on.
Our wingers are extremely quick, 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, either a long ball over defenders our defenders are superb long ball passers, go through the cms or out to one of our attacking fullbacks, however, the movement up front between Mahrez and Mbappe will cause them problems drifting in an out, getting in behind their fullbacks, thus allowingGrealish more time and space to pick his moment to move into space as an attacking threat Quick passing in triangles that will get us in and beyond their defenders and eventually to Haaland who can beat any defender with power/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 the opposite winger, mids and Haaland so they can spring them and have a shoot or sight mentality at times, , we must always make sure Haaland is well supported, especially wingers who at times will be right on his shoulder or alongside(depends what side the attack is from) as he is allowed freedom of the park when we attack, 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 front by harassing there back line/DM.
Captain - Bonucci
Free Kicks - Grealish
Corners - Grealish
Penalties - Haaland
Losing -
65 Mins - Ferran for Mahrez, he goes RW, Grealish LW, Mbappe up top for added pace 4-4-2, Bellingham for de Jong also
75 Mins - N.Mendes for Robertson, fresh legs down the left
Winning -
75 Mins - Ferran for Mahrez, D.Luiz for Grealish, Bissouma goes back a bit 4141
Drawing -
65 Mins - Ferran for Mahrez, Bellingham for de Jong
------------------------ Martinez ------------------------
-------- Skriniar ----- S.deVrij ----- Kamara ---------
M.Aarons ----- T.Kroos ---- N.Kante ----- R.Gosens
------------------------- B.Silva -------------------------
--------------- Lukaku --------- Watkins ---------------
Areola, Tierney, Prowse, Buendia, Zaniolo, Coutinho, M.Kean
When we don't have the ball, we will press high up the pitch, conceding very little space, B.Silva will look to steal the ball within the attacking third and hopefully, quickly get it to those ahead of him. We do not give them any time on the ball and our front 2 prevent their defence hanging on to it too long or trying to play form the back as we pressurise them all the time.
If they do get to our half then we have a strong back 3 and double pivot ahead to prevent play through the middle, meaning they will need to push wide, whichever side they attack from tho I want B.Silva to push to that side again to close them down and support the wingbacks, lots of pace in the front three to get at players.
When we have the ball it starts from the back moving the ball around between defence and centre midfield until the moment arrives when a pass can be made through to the front line, , there is no rush, if they come pressing we simply move it to the wide areas for them to bomb down the line and look to either cut it back or get a pass into the front three.
Martinez is our sweeper keeper, he always makes himself big, I want him involved with the defence playing out, if he has the ball I want him to find players especially the wingbacks when we are ready to attack
Skriniar and Kamara, Cover the wingbacks when they have pushed forward and take the ball out of defence, use there positional sense well as they may be out paced., must do this with confidence, if they lose the ball then all numbers back to cover, if they are being pressurised then a simple pass even back to the keeper and start again, stay wide (depending on what side) to cover wingbacks if they are forward.
de Vrij - He will press the opposition striker, when we lose the ball he needs to be on top of the CF very quickly, he must intercept everything, but he has the experience to do this, don't take any risks as the CF will also be on him so move it quickly when he gets it.
Aarons and Gosens, must work very hard, they have great work rate but this must done for the whole game, get down the line, get the crosses in, two great forwards to aim for, don't worry so much about whats behind you as their is plenty cover, I don't mean forget your defence duties, just play with a bit of freedom, crosses, one-twos, cut backs and all with pace to hurt them.
Although Kante's primary role in front of the defence is to win possession and then start an attacking phase. Within this he needs to cover spaces in between the midfield and defence where the opposition’s number 10 will likely to be operating whilst also being aware when the full-backs had pushed forward. Take care of the No 10/SS is also a main focus, he has a lot of grit and determination to his game so stick to him like glue and stop him becoming a threat, very good in the air so can attack long/high balls before they get to our defenders. Once he is in possession of the ball nice simple balls to those around him.
Kroos has responsibility throughout the pitch. He is expected to score goals and create chances for the front 3, whilst also helping in the defensive third. One requirement of this role are high fitness levels due to the amount of running he is expected to do and he does a lot. The box-to-box midfielder is more likely to be found on the side of the pitch where the full-back that is less efficient in the attacking third plays to provide balance on both flanks..
B.Silva is in a free role I want him to dictate proceedings in the final third, either playing the through ball to the front two or use the wingers, pass in between the lines and give them something to run onto as the drive passed the defender, making late runs into the box and look for any loose ball to have a pop at goal, he, Silva is a great finisher so look to make late runs into the area and latching onto crosses from wide areas, defending wise, I want him to harass who ever has the ball in that area, get it and move it forward as quickly as possible, also can draw players into him, therefore winning a lot of free kicks
Watkins I want to be making all the runs behind the defence, a tirless worker always making it hard for defenders, I want him to drift wide and pull defenders away, quick and skillfull, look to move out to create an outlet for the wingbacks to use or indeed link with B.Silva to get Lukaku away on goal, he and Lukaku both fantastic in the air, so while they aim for Lukaku, Watkins & Silva will be making the late runs into the danger area and with a head start look to get up early and attack the crosses coming in. Again, really put the pressure on their back line, they are great going forward but today, pretty weak at the back
Lukaku, is our out an out No.9, fox in the box, a bully and powerful striker, he is there to finish off chances created by other, I want him always on the last man, no defending required from him, always ready to pounce, if however he cant get in on goal he has plenty round him to lay it off to, or just a quick pass and look to get into space where he can get his shot off, end of, he is in to score goals and that is what he shall do.
Captain de Vrij
Pens - Lukaku
Free Kicks - B.Silva
Corners - B.Silva
Losing -
65 Mins - M.Kean for Kamara, we go 4213, M.Kean to the right of Lukaku
75 Mins - Zaniolo for B.Silva and take over his duties
Winning -
75 Mins - Prowse for Watkins, slots into midfield 3511, Tierney for Gosens
Drawing -
65 Mins - M.Kean for Watkins, Zaniolo for Silva, Tierney for Gosens
Newcastle 4-3-3 / 2-3-5
_____________Mendy
Trent______Dias____VVD____Tsimikas
____________Casemiro
_______Modric_____Gundogan
Salah_________Lewa___________Son
Subs: Kessie, Christensen, Llorente, Naby, Madueke, Silva, Pote
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____Tsimikas
Salah____Modric___Gundogan______Son
_______________Lewa______________
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 - Llorente on Modric off. Fresh legs.
70 mins losing/drawing - Pote on Gundogan off. Better finisher in the box from midfield.
75 mins losing/drawing - Silva on Casemiro off. Better presence up top in a 4-4-2.
75 mins winning - Naby on Gundogan off. Fresh legs while not losing creative quality.
BRENTFORD v Manchester United
--------------------Simón
Maehle, Andersen, T. Silva, Grimaldo
-------------Kovacic, Höjbjerg
Berardi----------James----------Mertens
-------------------Suárez
Subs: Kelleher, Livramento, Koopmeiners, Gallagher, Isco, Saint-Maximin, Broja
Captain: Thiago Silva
Free Kicks: Berardi/James
Penalties: Suárez
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 Domenico Berardi, 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 Domenico Berardi and Dries Mertens, who are excellent in tight spaces and fantastic dribblers, will cut inside or make runs into the box.
James Rodríguez, 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 Berardi, 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 Berardi, 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
Saint-Maximin on for Mertens and Gallagher on for Höjbjerg
Triple substitution - all round energetic midfield play from Gallagher and sublime dribbling and unpredictable attacking play from Saint-Maximin in the last 15 minutes to look to unlock the opposition’s defence for a late goal regardless of the score line.
🟥 Move to a 441 formation. Sacrifice (unless sent off himself) James for any of Kelleher (GK), Livramento (RB - NB. Maehle can play LB or RW), Koopmeiners (DM/CB), Isco (AM/LW), Broja (CF)
ARSENAL v Man City
-------------------- A. Onana ----------------------
Hakimi ---- W.Saliba --- Tapsoba ---- Chilwell
------------ T. Partey --- N. Barella -------------
B. Saka ------------ Dybala ------- Aubameyang
------------------ Calvert-Lewin -------------------
Subs: Maignan, Pereira, Ginter, Paqueta, Smith Rowe, N. Pepe, Benzema
Onana – The Ajax stopper is one of the best in the world at playing out from the back. In possession he the back four and CMs to pass into, he also has some tall forwards to aim at if he goes long, the hold up of Calvert-Lewin or the pace of Saka and Aubameyang either side.
Hakimi – The Moroccan is one of the worlds best right backs, His qualities ensure he can offer us a dynamic outlet in possession and a strong defensive unit to combat what Man City throw at us. As he advances up the right in an attacking sense, he has Saka who likes to come inside with the ball ahead of him, this gives that right flank a serious double threat on the inside and out. On overlap he has one of the best final balls around, capable of scoring himself or picking out three brilliant finishers in that box of Dybala, Calvert-Lewin and Aubameyang.
Saliba – One of the best young central defenders around, Saliba has top level experience despite being young and he will use his awareness and pace to ensure we can deal with Man City today. Has made a great start in his Marseille loan.
Tapsoba – Tapsoba has been brilliant when placed alongside calm defenders, so we have prepared the perfect environment for him today. Chilwell as an outlet ahead of him and Aubameyang as a longer outball. Equally he can carry the ball further himself, through the middle and work with the CMs. He’s also extremely strong and tall and will partner well with Saliba from a defensive point of view.
Chilwell - Finished last season as one of the best left backs on the planet. He will offer the outlet out of defence, an overlap to Aubameyang who will cut inside when in possession. Defensively he has the pace, experience and tactical nous to snuff out what Man City can throw at us.
Partey – Partey has been chosen for his physical dominance and ability to turn and play at pace. The dynamic midfielder has the qualtity and experience to add to our midfield. With the attacking quartet ahead of him, Partey will sit and marshall the right half space, allowing Hakimi the attacking freedom. Partey has played at right back before so this is well suited. He will sit at the heart of midfield both in and out of possession, offering a shield to the defence and helping to nullify Man City.
Barella - Barella is one of the best midfielders in Serie A and has just won Euro 2020. He’s a great box to box player, but for this game he should keep the ball ahead of him for the most part. When the opportunity presents he can play a 1-2 with Dybala or the wide players to work his way into the box to become an additional attacking threat. Crucially he has the legs to get back though and prioritise the defensive side of his game.
Dybala – Another one of the best players in Serie A, Dybala is going to take this game by the scruff of the neck. He will be our most forward thinking of our midfield trio, playing as a support striker if you like. He has the defensive security behind him to play a bit more of a free role, ahead of him he has a hold up striker he can play off and either side of him he has pace and wingers who want to cut in and full backs who want to overlap, he will be the conductor.
Saka – A player with a huge workrrate coupled with pace and a clinical edge, the perfect player to play in a final and to play on the break. Coupled with the others in our front three, we have a huge amount to handle for Man City. Saka should work well with Hakimi as he can defend too at times, allowing Hakimi that creative freedom. He’s also a teammate of Partey and between that trio we have a very well balanced right side.
Aubameyang – Quick in transition, deadly in this left zone when allowed to come inside. The threat of the Chilwell overlap and Aubameyang cutting in makes the left channel almost impossible to defend for Man City. Both players will then be looking for Dybala and Calvert-Lewin in the box – two lethal finishers.
Calvert-Lewin – With pace around him, DCL can be the target man, offering another dimension of attack. We’ve seen how strong he is and how well he can both hold it up and finish chances with his head. Chilwell and Hakimi will be overlapping and crossing lots, they can mix up the delivery, aerially to DCL and more of cutbacks with Dybala, Auba, Saka, Barella etc. -
SUBS
After 60 (all scenarios) - Benzema for Calvert-Lewin
If winning
After 60 – Paqueta for Dybala
If drawing/losing
After 60 – Paqueta for Barella
After 80 (all scenarios) – Pepe for Saka
Comment deleted by Article Creator
MAN UNITED vs Brentford
----------------------------------Dragowski---------------------------------
------------J Gomez--------Upamecano--------Badiashile-----------
----------------------------Ndidi------Valverde------------------------
Dest----------------------------------------------------------------Sessegnon
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------Bailey-----------Greenwood---------Rashford---------------
Subs - Gulasci, Tchoucameni, Sulemana, Wirtz, Ismaila Sarr, Fabio Silva, Martinelli
CAPTAIN - VALVERDE
CK'S - BAILEY
FK'S - BAILEY
PENALTIES - GREENWOOD
Up against a strong experienced Brentford side so we are going to continue with the 343.
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. Gomez and Badiashile will be playing as the outside CB's and will look to stop any attacks that go down their wings. Upamecano in the middle will marshall the defence and look to snuff out any attacks from the oppo strikers. 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
Dest and Sessegnon are playing as wingbacks today. They will both have the freedom to bomb up and down their flanks. When defending stick close to the oppo wingers and stop them from getting past you, the DM's will be helping you a lot aswell. Gomez 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 use the overlapping fullbacks. I want both wingbacks to 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..
Defence Mids
Ndidi + Valverde
These 2 will be the main enforcers to protect the defence and to control the central midfield. Ndidi will be the midfield destroyer. He will help the wingbacks in defending against oppo wingers and will also look to put a lock on the oppo AM to stop him dictating play. Valverde will be the b2b engine who will be given the freedom to attack. When in possession pass the ball out to the wings and try and play some quick one two's. 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. When out of possession drop deep next to Ndidi and try and intercept the ball.
Wingers
Bailey + Rashford
These 2 will be the focal point of my attack. I want to give them the freedom to express themselves in attack so they do not have to track back and help out in defence. Rashford will be looking to cut in from the left and Bailey likewise who will cut in from the right. I want you both to try and beat the oppo fullbacks with your pace and dribbling ability but don't try too hard as if you see them doubling up on you you can either pass back into the centre of the pitch to one of our DM's or play quick one two's with our wingbacks. The main role of the wingers will be to get some crosses, low balls into the box for Greenwood to attack. When we are defending corners I want both of them to stay near the halfway line so we can hit the oppo on the counter attack. .
Striker
Mason Greenwood
The baby faced assassin will be leading the line for us today. He has got the strength and pace to play the role and he will have plenty of support in attack. 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. I want Greenwood and Rashford to interchange positions with each other from time to confuse the oppo defence.
Subs if LOSING BY 65MINS
Put on Wirtz for Ndidi and Sulemana for Rashford 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. Sarr on for Bailey aswell.
-------------------------------------Dragowski-----------------------
---------------Gomez---------Upamecano--------Badiashile----------
-------------------------------------Valverde--------------------------------------
Dest----------------------------------------------------------------------Sesseg
--------------------------------------Wirtz-------------------------------------------
--------------Sarr-------------Greenwood------------Sulemana----------
Subs if WINNING BY 60MINS
Take off Rashford and put on Tchoucameni in CM. Play defensive with everyone in our own half defending for their lives, waiting to hit the oppo on the counter attack. Put on Silva for Bailey.
--------------------------------------Drag-----------------------
----------------Gomez--------Upamecano--------Badiashile--------
Dest------------------Valverde----------Ndidi---------------------Sess
--------------------------------------Tchou.---------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------Greenwood--------------F Silva----------------------
Subs if DRAWING BY 65MINS
Sarr on for Bailey
Martinelli on for Greenwood
Wirtz on for Valverde
-------------------- Ederson -------------------
B.Pavard -- De Ligt --- Ramos --- A.Sandro
------------------- R.Neves -------------------
---------- De Bruyne --- P.Pogba ------------
G.Jesus ---------- L.Messi -------- E.Hazard
Subs:
Ramsdale, P.Torres, Bentancur, J.Sancho, L.Sane, Havertz, Aguero
Captain: Ramos
Free Kicks: Messi
Penalties: Messi
Corners: De Bruyne
Tactics:
Another big game and we are delighted to add a bit of Samba magic with Gabriel Jesus and Alex Sandro adding to our start studded line up.
With our home faithful in full voice we look to take the game to our opponents in an attacking 4-3-3 set up. A solid defensive set up will ensure we don’t leave ourselves open to the pace they possess out wide. The duo of Pavard and A.Sandro are two of the best defensive full backs around whilst De Ligt and Ramos form a watertight CB duo.
As always the midfield battle will be key and we are delighted that we can go with our powerhouse and perfectly balanced trio of De Bruyne, Pogba & Neves. Neves shielding the defence is one of the best players around for ball recoveries. Going forward De Bruyne and Pogba are two of the best around, both capable of the sublime and giving us a midfield full of creativity.
We know Rof will try to downplay the effectiveness of Messi and KBD operating in the same space blah, blah. With the addition of Jesus all of this goes out the window. The Brazilian has been in scintillating form operating at right wing with a goal and three assists in just two starts, his pace and energy allows us to play Messi centrally where quite frankly he is unplayable.
With the freedom to roam the frontline the Argentine plundered 30 goals and laid on 11 assists playing at CF last season. In fact his all time his stats at CF are a ridiculous 288 starts, 300 goals & 129 assists! With Hazard operating on the left flank we have an interchangeable front three which is likely to give any defence nightmares. It also means KDB will be running the show in the middle third with Messi operating exclusively in the final third of the pitch.
As always we retain a flexible tactical shape, when out of possession we want KDB and Pogba to drop in alongside Neves in a balanced three. We sit deep taking away any space in behind our defence which will limit the pace of their attack. It will also draw the opposition onto us higher up the pitch creating plenty of space for us to exploit on our devastating counter attacks.
Defence:
We go with a strong defensive unit at the back, packed with quality as we look to nullify the threat posed by the oppositions attack. If the opposition play one up top then Ramos will mark. Master of the dark arts he's strong, aggressive and a great reader of the game with the tools to deal with any opponent. De Ligt will act as cover, sweeping up and offering cover in behind to eliminate any balls over the top. The Dutchman sweeping up from the back and immediately looking to get us on the counter with his fantastic vision and passing.
Our fullbacks will sit in, no need to bomb on with the quality with have further up the field. Instead we want them to focus on their defensive duties, give the wingers no room to operate. When they're in possession see them down the line, keep them on their weaker foot and don't let them cut inside.
Midfield:
Midfield is where we possess the perfect trio to take the game to the opposition. Neves will sit as a holding player in the middle operating as a DM. A fantastic reader of the game we want him to sit in front of our defence, breaking up the opposition play and a big asset in our ball retention.
De Bruyne and Pogba speak for themselves. When on it they are truly a world class pairing. Their range of passing is sublime and they'll be spraying round the ball round majestically all afternoon.
They'll be our chief creators, picking apart the opposition and playing that killer pass in the final third. Both also possess a great strike from range, if the opposition drop off then both have license to go for goal.
Forwards:
Pace, flair, creativity and goals, this front three really does have it all.
Messi will undoubtably attract the most attention, pretty much everyone he has come against have tried and failed to limit the Argentine maestro. Playing centrally is where we feel he can cause the most damage. His ability to drift ensures it is impossible for him to be man marked or doubled up on by their CB’s. Quick one two’s in and around their box are his bread and butter with the magician able to get create space and get a snapshot off in the blink of an eye. Fortunately he won’t have to do it single-handedly with KDB and Pogba offering him the perfect supply line.
With Jesus on the right it means that if they try and defend narrow they’ll be exposed on the flank with the Brazilian offering pace to get in behind. We want him to really stretch their defence with his runs in behind, forcing them to drop deeper and creating space for Messi to operate. He can also move centrally and interchange with Leo in a dynamic interchanging frontline causing real difficulty for their defence to employ any sort of man marking tactic.
As if this pairing weren’t too much trouble we add a fit again Hazard to the mix. The Belgian getting back to his best and on any other day would be the centre of attention. With their defence trying to handle Jesus and Messi the likelihood is Hazard may well find himself in one on one situations where he is deadly. Go at their defence, look to slip in Messi, a sliderule ball to Jesus, cutback to KDB or Pogba, or just go for goal yourself, the possibilities are endless.
Subs;
If winning:
70 mins: Pogba off, Bentancur on. Dual DM's sitting in front of our defence with KDB as AM.
80 mins: Hazard off, P.Torres on. Tighten up defensively with a 5-4-1 to seal the victory.
If drawing/losing:
65 mins: Hazard off, Sancho on.
75 mins: Jesus & Pogba off, Aguero & Sane on. 4-2-2-2 with Sancho & Sane on the wings and Messi & Aguero up top. Goals.
--------------------Neuer
------Carlos-----Maguire---Struijk
Catsagne—Jorginho—SMS----Digne
----Chiesa--------Kane-------Depay
Meslier
White
Menino
Brozovic
Pellegrini
Harrison
Isak
Retaining the 3-4-3 for today’s game, but with a couple of changes of personnel from the draw against Wolves. Pascal Struijk comes in for a league debut, to bring better balance to the back three, due to his status as a left-footed defender, enforced by the injury to Hernandez, whilst Federico Chiesa returns on the right hand side of the attack, which is fortuitous, as it is our belief that the wide areas will be key in our plan against Newcastle. Because of the way Ludy likes to play, I believe he often leaves his wide areas exposed for attack, with the FB’s pushing into the midfield leaving space in behind them, and often also leaving his CBs overly exposed, so today we are setting up for a quick counter attacking system, with most of our attacking threat coming down the sides. I have opted for Jorgy and SMS in midfield, to serve as the industry behind the flair, keeping the heart of our team beating, and for the back three, because I know Newcastle like to throw everything into the attack. They will be buoyed by their big money new signing, but with Harry Beckenbauer marking him, and with Lewa unproven in competitive leagues, he will struggle to have a sniff.
Defensively, we know that they like to throw bodies into attack, forming a five man attacking force by pushing men into the advanced midfield. We believe that we have countered this, by opting for the back three, and playing SMS and Jorginho in deeper roles. SMS will operate as a regista for this game, controlling the space in front of the defence, and putting all of his boundless energy into supplementing Jorgy. I want Maguire to stick to Lewandowski, limiting the opportunities of supply into him. Maguire is perfect for this job, as Lewa is unlikely to exploit his pace, whilst Harry should also be a physical match. I want to see Jorgy sitting on Gundogan, tracking his runs into the box, as we see him as a secondary threat to Lewandowski. By not allowing him the time to dictate the play, we should limit their ball retention in this area, and by tracking his runs we should be able to keep him from winning dangerous second balls. Salah and Son will both want to come into more central areas, I suspect, so this will pose a challenge for the two wide CBs. They will double up on these players, supported by the FBs, to prevent them from having the influence that we know they are capable of exerting. In terms of release balls, I want to see Depay and Chiesa sitting wide, allowing us to knock the ball into the wide areas of the pitch, bypassing their intense midfield, and hitting them on the break as quickly as we can, utilising our pacy attacking players in this areas.
Attcking wise, there isn’t really much to say. We need to get the ball into our attacking wingers quickly, and allow them to attack the space vacated by the opposition FBs pushing into midfield. The barcodes have good CBs, but with our attacking trident bearing down upon them, we believe there should be space to exploit, as long as we hit it quickly. Kane will be a handful for their defenders as it is, so that space should be even more exploitable for Depay and Chiesa, both players who thrive in running into wide open areas of the pitch. Support for these players may be limited, as I don’t want to push any of the other players too far forward, knowing that Newcastle have the players to do damage should we leave ourselves overly exposed, so, for today at least, I don’t want to see marauding runs from Castagne and Digne. An exception will be made for set-pieces, where our three big lads can join Kane in the box, and with Digne on delivery, we believe that this is another avenue for us causing them problems.
Despite our change in system, I still want to see an intensity of press, but it will be employed less high than usual. Kane will drop slightly deeper, and engage his press around the deeper part of the Newcastle midfield, whilst Chiesa and Depay adopt their wide outlet position. As said before, Jorgy’s job is to watch Gundogan, meaning that SMS will have to cover the other players in that Newcastle midfield, in conjunction with Kane. It’s a big ask, but I know my players suit the roles that each have been given.
Substitutions
I think to go overly offensive against Newcastle is virtually suicide, so these changes will be to freshen up our options for a high intensity game, as opposed to actually changing the gameplan.
Pellegrini on for Jorginho 70 mins
Brozovic on for SMS 75 mins
Harrison on for Depay 80 mins
Counter attacking narrow 4-2-3-1
High tempo side, defend narrow in a compact structure with great pressers in front of the dms. In attack we look to exploit the space behind their midfield- which there will be plenty of.
Tactically Spurs are easy to defend against. They lack any width with fbs staying back, and wingers that come inside, Messi and their cms playing in same areas. The 34 year old doesn’t have the pace to hurt us out wide or in behind and we know both him and KdB will be looking to get on the ball in central right areas. If he plays wide as he did at his best, it was with Alves bombing outside him giving the width and a runner, these days he’s a playmaker. So it’s simple, we defend narrow, two strong defensive cms in front of the defence and in a compact shape with no space between the lines. Congers this area so they can’t play in it.
Push them wide and deep. Ideally Messi plays with Aguero up top - they have never worked well together in 15 years for Argentina, either way they lack options to create for and will be relying on ageing legs in an overly congested area.
Spurs relying on individual quality but we have a clear gameplan, individual quality, specific tactics to defend against their threat and specific tactics to expose their weaknesses. We control the game by defending in this narrow deep shape and breaking quickly - let them have the ball in areas they can’t hurt us. We press hard (in our own half only) moving as a compact unit to the side of play.
In attack we play more direct, target the space in behind their midfield - as there would be huge gaps here. This is a dream for likes of Bruno and Mount. Bruno on the left with freedom to drift central into this space. Up top Sterling as false 9. With so much space between their defence and midfield, Sterling also drops deeper into this area and with the overload here will draw out a cb, leaving a gap in defence for a runner to exploit.With Bruno, Mount and Mane as willing runners and Goretzka supporting. Sterling then getting back in the box and he loves a back post tap in. Mane plays high up the park, always offering an option and looking to get him close to Raheem, supporting and getting in behind. One of the fbs bombs forward at a time providing width - double up on their fbs if they dont get protection.
Set pieces will also be important we have four giants in the air to get forward, and fantastic delivery where we can dominate against Spurs - have one of the four draw Ramos to the wrong post (back or front) then then other three target area central and at the other post.
————————————— Alisson ———————————
R.James ——Marquinhos —— Laporte —— D.Alaba
————————- Goretzka —— Rodri —————————
————————————— M.Mount ———————
——— S.Mane ———————————— B.Fernandes ——
————————————- R.Sterling ——————————
Subs. Schmeichel, D.Rice, Szoboszlai, Gnabry, D.Jota, Lautaro, Osimhen
Rodri and Goretzka are the two big boys in front of defence to bully their players that will be crowding this area. Mount and Bruno in front also offer a great work rate to press. Mane’s work rate for a star is also impressive as he gets back in to the narrow shape.
Rodri dictating the tempo of the game moving the ball quickly - he stays in front of defence giving cover when we attack. The defence are all fantastic on the ball though, they move it quickly and we give them freedom to play long. Get the ball to the front 4 as quickly as possible, find them in space.
Quick and direct football in to feet and in to space, in the final third we give all players creative freedom to use their quality to create and produce magic to open up the opposition.
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.
Defence plays relatively deep when the opposition get in our half, leaving no space behind - with midfield covering in front, so no space either side. In a compact and narrow 4-2-3-1, closing down the space, narrowing to the side of play.
Pressing
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 the space. Stop them breaking and press them high up the park. After this initial quick press if we don’t win the ball in 10 seconds we drop off - and press again when they come into our half.
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 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, we drop deeper into a narrower tighter formation narrowing to the side of play, ensuring there are no gaps in the formation. Push them wide. 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 Jota for Bruno. More pace up top to stretch tired legs, and a greater presser to keep up high tempo.
If winning after 75 mins bring on Rice for Goretzka. Strong defensively and hard working, fresh energy in Cm.
If winning after 80mins bring on Lautaro for Mane. Power and pace up top to bully tired cbs.
If drawing after 70 mins bring on Gnabry for Mount. More pace as game opens up and legs tire. Bruno to Cm.
If drawing after 80 mins bring on Lautaro for Mane.
If drawing after 85 mins bring on Szoboslai for Goretzka. Attacking move - fantastic long passes and distance shooting specialist.
If losing after 70 mins bring on Szoboslai for Goretzka - Mount deeper. Long shot specialist.
At same time if losing after 70 mins we also bring on Osimhen for R.James. 3-5-2. Our own Drogba as big man up top. They like to shut up shop when winning - this just invites pressure and we will deliver.
If losing after 75 mins bring on Gnabry for Mount. Bruno, Rodri, Szoboslai central. Sterling and Osimhen up top. Mane and Gnabry wide.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS VS Liverpool
Injuries:
Nelson Semedo
Owen Wijndal
Jordan Pickford
Nikola Milenkovic
……………………………………Donnarumma……………………..
Hoever…………….Koulibaly……….Romagnoli………Spinazzola
……………………………..Busquets………..Verratti………………….
Bale………………………………….Insgine…………………….Neymar
……………………………………….Ronaldo………………
Subs: Turati, Williams, Phillips, Wijnaldum, Soumare, Griezmann, Vlahovic
First home game of the season, and after a disappointing return of just 1 point from the opening 2 games we need to get moving.
Liverpool have a good mix of youth and experience but man for man we have the better side, plus home advantage giving us a +3 slot head start.
Fast paced direct football today, 3 touch, pass and move, draw the scouse out of position and hit them hard and fast with our mobile front-four.
Donnarumma, may only be 22 but with 215 games for Milan and 33 caps for Italy under his belt he’s already considered an old head, big strong and fills the goal, a daunting prospect for Liverpools attack.
The back-line has that lovely blend of pace and power, koulibaly and Romagnoli give us that highly rated Left/Right combo, and the recovery speed of Kouli alongside the blistering pace of our full-backs enables to play a higher line today, meaning we can keep the ball better and dictate the tempo of this fixture.
Roma is the spare man watching the secondary balls and/or late runs into the box whilst Kouli is the muscle that attack the first ball.
Hoever and Spina are modern full-backs that will be expected to cover a lot of ground in the attacking third as well. Both have the pace to get up and down and with their wingers liking to come inside they’ll have a lot of space available to them to get the pitch really wide… defensively nothing exciting im afraid, Jockey the man and slow him down, don’t dive in unless necessary but if you miss the ball make sure you play the man.
Verratti and Busquets are as good a double-six as you’ll find anywhere, trophy laden careers domestically, continentally and internationally, they cover each others weakness and compliment each others strengths, both have a great work ethic, strong in the tackle and can pick the right pass consistently. We want them to hold their positions somewhat today, we have a potent front four and two flying FB’s so these two will push no closer than 35 yards from the Liverpool goal.
Bale and Neymar are out wide but are more inside forwards, will both come in off their line hoping to take a body with them and create spaces for our FB’s to exploit, both men have a good shot on them form distance so it’s always an option, we desperately need goals so we have to take advantage of a boisterous home crowd and pepper the Liverpool goal.
Insigne is the nominal #10 and given free licence to roam around the final third linking the play and finding the switch balls when they’re on. Great at driving forwards with the ball and hitting those sweet curlers, if he can find half a yard of space, with his low centre of gravity it’s all he needs to create himself that chance.
Ronaldo is the #9, leads the line by example, a natural born leader and a stone cold finisher, we don’t want him chasing back or running channels, there’s no need we have enough numbers for that, we want him in and around the box doing what he’s best at, pull the trigger and win us the game.
Subs 65 mins:
Wij > Busquets
Soumare > Verratti
Wij goes B2B and Soumare goes as a pure DM
Griezmann > Insigne like for like
Wulfs vs LIVERPOOL
Injuries:
Adama Traore
Cody Gakpo
Brandon Williams
Morgan Gibbs-White
……………………………………………lloris…………………………………….
……………………..Ake……………..Varane………..Botman
Trippier……………….Tonali………………McKennie………….Zinchenko
…………………………………………..Neto………………………………….
…………………………Belotti……………….Icardi
Subs: trubin, Williams, Schuurs, Willock, Cajuste,Leao, Kelechi
Away at the Molineux for a really difficult game, Wolves are jam packed of attacking talent, so we’ve gone with a 3-5-2, keep a defensively rigid shape, stifle the middle ground and try to stop them laying through us, and hit them hard on the counter.
No fancy tactics from us today, we’re the underdog and we know what we have to do, keep it simple take the sting out of the game, and wait patiently for a chance, it’ll come they always come and then booom we’re in business.
Our back-line is challenged with a potent attack today but they take a man each and see how it plays out.
Ake vs Neymar, watch the cut inside, try and show him the line, don’t dive in just stand him up and nick the ball away
Botman vs Bale, tricky one this as a flying Bale murders us but we give him half a yard, don’t step in tight let him come on to you and then using that 6ft5 frame to physically slow him down, Bale gan go inside or out so like Ake no diving in, jut read his body language.
Varane vs Ronaldo… if anyone can stop CR7 it’s Rapha, he’s a rolls Royce of a player. Will need to get up close and personal, use the dark arts and nip at him on his touch, try and keep him playing with his back to goal, man or ball or man and ball its all good.
Trippier and Zinchenko are charged with getting us some attacking width, they both push on, high and wide, our defence and Tonali will be looking for the wide angled balls, so we want these two, bringing the ball down and pinging them into the box for our strikers to latch onto. Defensively help out the RCB and LCB cus Bale and Neymar in a 1v1 is a tough call.
Tonali and McKennie are in the engine room, Tonali will play the hybrid Anchor and playmaker role that he performs so well, him sitting there just gives that protection to the defence as he can cut out the balls into Insigne and stop Wolves over-running us. Mckennie is a big game player and he comes in as our B2B, big strong and athletic with an eye for goal, he’ll be looking to go toe to toe with the Wolves DM’s get in at them and stop them settling into a rhythm.
Neto is the #10, so quick and direct, a real pest for opposing defenders, he wants to drive on with the ball and that’s his game today, get at wolves draw tackles and offload into the spaces he’s carved out.
Belotti and Icardi are maybe too samey but they carry such a goal threat that they have to learn to play with each other, we want them running parallel to each other, as one drops deep the other runs on (this alternates) this should in theory make some space and hopefully a 1v1 in the danger zone as one of wolves CB’s will have to come out to follow the man. The key to this working is Neto, as the one striker drops deep into his “space” Neto then makes the late run into the box, this hopefully causes confusion between CB and DM as to whos man is Neto, gives us a split second and that’s all it takes for icardi or Belotti to pull the trigger
Subs:
60 mins
Kelechi > Belotti – like for like
Leao > Icardi – like for like
Willock > Neto – Like for like
LIVERPOOL vs leeds
Injuries:
Rayan Ait Nouri
Adama Traore
Rafael Leao
Kelechi Iheanacho
Leeds are much improved under Lubo, who has taken them from relegation fodder to a solid mid-table unit, they’ve come away with points vs Newcastle and Wolves so this is no easy fixture.
Adama is injured for the 11 millionth week in a row and with Leao and Kelechi sidelined as well it’s not the most attacking unit in the world.
………………………………………………….lloris…………………………………..
…………………………….Kabak…………Varane………Botman…………..
Dumfries…………………….Tonali………….McKennie…………….Zinchenko
………………………………………………..Neto…………………………………
……………………………….Belotti…………………Icardi………………………
Subs: Trubin, Trippier, Ake, Cajuste, Willock, Gakpo, Stengs
Our side is a work in progress, the midfield is lacking that top class game changer in the engine room, so we play to our relative strengths, solid core to this side, really strong back-line and a potent strike duo that when they click we’ll be in business.
Straight forward football today, not asking anything complex from the lads, just play their natural games, that’s why they’re in the side,
Fast paced, slick passing style, keep hold of the ball and probe the leeds defence, don’t rush it don’t force it, there’s 90 mins to get the goals we need.
Lloris is a top quality shot stopper, with a wealth of experience and a world cup winners medal to boot. Cool calm and collected, will organise the defence, quick off his line closing down the angles, with ball to feet will look to play it out, either to the CB’s or WB’s
The back-line is a solid wall in-front of our keeper, Leeds have a great attack that’s pretty quick, so we play a slightly deeper line, hold it about 25 yards out from goal, it cuts out the through ball and run behind as Lloris will be off his line like a whippet.
Kabak and Botman will look to shuffle wide and help their WB out when required, ball to feet open up their bodies and look to hit the balls either into midfield or go longer with diagonals to the wing-backs to latch onto.
Varane is a rolls Royce of a defender, will use his 6ft2 frame to nullify Kane but he’s so much more than just a stopper, he’s comfortable on the ball and a natural winner, will talk his young defensive partners through the game, organisation is key to his game.
Dumfries and Zinchenko as wing-backs will give us the attacking width, look to push up the pitch and bang crosses into the box as quick as possible, we want to be peppering the Leeds goal early doors before they get chance to settle in, defensively I’m expecting them to be dealing with Leeds wing-backs unless Lubo being a reactionary manager changes to a different shape, we have the pace to live with Leeds WB’s so no need to just dive in, stand them up and try to force the cross.
Tonali and mcKennie may be outnumbered but we’re never outgunned. Sandro T is the deep lying playmaker, will string the transitions together and dictate the tempo we want to play at, because our defence is a little deeper than usual, the natural urge would be for him to sit deeper but we don’t need him to, we want him 35 yards from our goal, closing out Leeds’ passing lanes and making them have to try and force a pass that then leads to turnover possession. Whilst Sandro does the defensive hard work, Weston puts in the hard miles in the B2B role, big game player with an eye for goal.
Neto is the #10, so quick and direct, a real pest for opposing defenders, he wants to drive on with the ball and that’s his game today, get at Leeds defence draw tackles and offload into the spaces he’s carved out.
Belotti and Icardi are maybe too samey but they carry such a goal threat that they have to learn to play with each other, we want them running parallel to each other, as one drops deep the other runs on (this alternates) this should in theory make some space and hopefully a 1v1 in the danger zone as one of wolves CB’s will have to come out to follow the man. The key to this working is Neto, as the one striker drops deep into his “space” Neto then makes the late run into the box, this hopefully causes confusion between CB and DM as to whos man is Neto, gives us a split second and that’s all it takes for icardi or Belotti to pull the trigger
Subs 65 mins
Cajuste > McKennie, like for like, just fresh legs in the engine room
Men united vs WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Injuries:
Raul Jimenez
Samuele Ricci
Alessio Romagnoli
Leonardo Spinazzola
Tough game away at old Trafford, Nadz is finally using wing-backs which makes it a bit more of a task to break down this very French-centric side.
United have been playing a back three of late so we’ll stick to our attacking principles mix it up in one of our old systems and try to find the overloads in Nadz’s final third, worst case scenario we stifle each other and end up with a draw, which considering he has home advantage I’d take pre-kick off.
……………………………………………………..Donnarumma……………………………
…………………………..…Koulibaly………..Milenkovic……..Soyuncu………….
………………………………………..Busquets……………..Verratti………………..
Bale………………………………………………….Insigne…………………………………Neymar
………………………………………Griezmann…………….Ronaldo…………………………….
Subs: Pickford, Semedo, Wijndal, Wijnaldum, Trincao, McNeil, Vlahovic
I know it’s super attacking and we run massive risks, but as a wide man once said “the best form of defence is attack”
Obviously our rear guard looks exposed at the flanks but the most we expect Nadz to play is a trident uptop, that’s fine, perfectly fine as our defenders go man-to-man, LCB and RCB if it’s a winger don’t go out-wide to them just patrol the perimeter of the box, if it’s a front like he played last week then it’s man marking.
It does look on paper that his wing-backs get a free run at our defence but that’s not the case if you imagine the layout of the pitch, his wing-backs can’t push on because Bale and Neymar are pushed so high up the pitch if they kick on then that exposes Man Uniteds flanks, yes they play 3 at the back but we’re playing a front-two and a #10 so that ties up his 3 centre-backs.
So yes lack of wing-backs exposes us in theory but in practice IF he goes his usual setup it’s negated by the very fact that if he pushes them on to punish us he leaves himself exposed and our front-five is so full of game changers that he can’t risk getting into 1v1’s so he’ll have to double up on some of our players but which ones does he risk letting go?
He does however have a very good base with which to build a platform, but with Lorenzo in the hole that occupies one of his midfielders full-time (unless a CB pushes out to cover him) but then that leaves Ronaldo and Griezzer in a 2v2.
So that’s a lot of words for saying we attack from the front.
Nadz tends to start games with a deeper line to keep the initial phases tight, that’s fine we won’t go too gung-ho, we’ve discussed out front five enough but now it’s about feeding them service.
Donna – possibly one of the best GK’s in world football, certainly the best in his age bracket, an absolute beast, has the power to go long which he can do to mix it up but we want the ball so it’s short measured passes where possible, if the press is on then be sensible Row Z is better than being dispossessed and conceding a cheap one.
The back-line are big strong individuals not the quickest, but all clear 6ft so any lofted balls into our box is bread and butter for them, all are good with ball to feet, so we look to open up the passing triangles to bypass the United press, United’s front men are pacey so we can’t take liberties, one touch to control it one touch to move it on, no faffing about.
The key to our system working is our double pivot being able to control the midfield and whilst we don’t have a wrecking ball, destroyer in there we have 2 men that can put their foot in and do so, but they use their brains not brawn, Biscuits still cant believe that Fan let him go without a replacement even though he’s still amongst the best in the world in that role, he’ll be the one to sit and sweep, dropping deeper as required to help out the defence, has a great range of passing that he can mix up and keep united running.
Verratti is more box to box, he’s not a blockbuster in the Gerrard mould, but he has a passing ability that not many can match, he’ll take it, pass it, move, rinse and repeat, always probing for a weakness.
Busquets and Verratti is a two man Tik-Italia
Bale-Ins-Ney is a fluid attacking midfield trident, all three are capable of playing in the 3 positions so we want fluid transitions between, them, the nominal wingers will be high and wide – as high as possible to keep on-side, we need to stretch out this united defence and peg back their wing-backs or full-backs, whilst both can cut in, I want them taking their man on and then putting balls into the box, coming inside is the worst thing we can do as it will add more congestion. Whoever is the 10 will be given the freedom to roam, but as he drops deeper trying to take a runner with him and link with Tik-Italia, the space left is filled by GRIEZMANN who then connects the wide forwards and Ronaldo, as the 10 rejoins the phase Griezzer than pushes on too.
Ronaldo is our #9 Griezzer is the #9.5 – Ronaldo will stay high and centre, pinning atleast 1 CB in position, they won’t want to allow him any 1v1’s so he will probably take 2 defenders away, thus giving our other attackers even more creative freedom, Griezzer is a capable front-man but he has a wonderful footballing brain so will just take a few steps back to make himself some pockets of space, we’ll be getting lots of balls into the box, and whilst Ronaldo will win more than his share there will be loose balls for him and Insigne to pounce on.
Subs 65 mins:
Vlahovic > Ronaldo – like for like swap, has continued where he left off with 3 in 3 for Fiorentina this season.
Wijnaldum > Busquets – more energy in the engine as we go with two B2B’s.
Trincao > Bale – fast and tricky, the wolves/barca youngster up against tiring legs
------------------------ Martinez ------------------------
------- Skriniar ------ S.deVrij ------ C.Coady -------
Aarons ------- T.Kroos ------ Onyeka ------- Gosens
------------------------- B.Silva -------------------------
---------------- Lukaku -------- Werner ---------------
Okoye, Tierney, Di Lorenzo, Prowse, Zaniolo, Gouiri, Watkins
When we don't have the ball, we will press high up the pitch, conceding very little space, B.Silva will look to steal the ball within the attacking third and hopefully, quickly get it to those ahead of him. We do not give them any time on the ball and our front 2 prevent their defence hanging on to it too long or trying to play form the back as we pressurise them all the time.
If they do get to our half then we have a strong back 3 and double pivot ahead to prevent play through the middle, meaning they will need to push wide, whichever side they attack from tho I want B.Silva to push to that side again to close them down and support the wingbacks, lots of pace in the front three to get at players.
When we have the ball it starts from the back moving the ball around between defence and centre midfield until the moment arrives when a pass can be made through to the front line, , there is no rush, if they come pressing we simply move it to the wide areas for them to bomb down the line and look to either cut it back or get a pass into the front three.
Martinez is our sweeper keeper, he always makes himself big, I want him involved with the defence playing out, if he has the ball I want him to find players especially the wingbacks when we are ready to attack
Skriniar and Coady, Cover the wingbacks when they have pushed forward and take the ball out of defence, use there positional sense well as they may be out paced., must do this with confidence, if they lose the ball then all numbers back to cover, if they are being pressurised then a simple pass even back to the keeper and start again, stay wide (depending on what side) to cover wingbacks if they are forward.
de Vrij - He will press the opposition striker, when we lose the ball he needs to be on top of the CF very quickly, he must intercept everything, but he has the experience to do this, don't take any risks as the CF will also be on him so move it quickly when he gets it.
Aarons and Gosens, must work very hard, they have great work rate but this must done for the whole game, get down the line, get the crosses in, two great forwards to aim for, don't worry so much about whats behind you as their is plenty cover, I don't mean forget your defence duties, just play with a bit of freedom, crosses, one-twos, cut backs and all with pace to hurt them.
Although Oneyka's primary role in front of the defence is to win possession and then start an attacking phase, he is not too different to Kante in the type of style he plays. Within this he needs to cover spaces in between the midfield and defence where the opposition’s number 10 will likely to be operating whilst also being aware when the full-backs had pushed forward. Take care of the No 10/SS is also a main focus, he has a lot of grit and determination to his game so stick to him like glue and stop him becoming a threat, very good in the air so can attack long/high balls before they get to our defenders. Once he is in possession of the ball nice simple balls to those around him.
Kroos has responsibility throughout the pitch. He is expected to score goals and create chances for the front 3, whilst also helping in the defensive third. One requirement of this role are high fitness levels due to the amount of running he is expected to do and he does a lot. The box-to-box midfielder is more likely to be found on the side of the pitch where the full-back that is less efficient in the attacking third plays to provide balance on both flanks..
B.Silva is in a free role I want him to dictate proceedings in the final third, either playing the through ball to the front two or use the wingers, pass in between the lines and give them something to run onto as the drive passed the defender, making late runs into the box and look for any loose ball to have a pop at goal, he, Silva is a great finisher so look to make late runs into the area and latching onto crosses from wide areas, defending wise, I want him to harass who ever has the ball in that area, get it and move it forward as quickly as possible, also can draw players into him, therefore winning a lot of free kicks
Werner I want to be making all the runs behind the defence, a tirless worker always making it hard for defenders, I want him to drift wide and pull defenders away, quick and skillfull, look to move out to create an outlet for the wingbacks to use or indeed link with B.Silva to get Lukaku away on goal, he and Lukaku both fantastic in the air, so while they aim for Lukaku, Werner & Silva will be making the late runs into the danger area and with a head start look to get up early and attack the crosses coming in. Again, really put the pressure on their back line, they are great going forward but today, pretty weak at the back
Lukaku, is our out an out No.9, fox in the box, a bully and powerful striker, he is there to finish off chances created by other, I want him always on the last man, no defending required from him, always ready to pounce, if however he cant get in on goal he has plenty round him to lay it off to, or just a quick pass and look to get into space where he can get his shot off, end of, he is in to score goals and that is what he shall do.
Captain de Vrij
Pens - Lukaku
Free Kicks - B.Silva
Corners - B.Silva
Losing -
65 Mins - Watkins for Aarons, Watkins goes to right of a 3 man attack, Silva to RM a more 343 formation
75 Mins - Gouiri for Gosens, more attacking from our wide players
Winning -
75 Mins - Prowse for Werner and to the left of Onyeka 3511, Di Lorenzo for Aarons for fresh legs and to stop any new threat
80 Mins - Tierney for Gosens go 5311
Drawing -
70 Mins - Di Lorenzo for Aarons, Watkins for Werner, fresh legs
75 Mins - Zaniolo for Silva
------------------------- Oblak -------------------------
J.Cancelo ---- Romero ---- Bastoni ---- Robertson
------------- Bissouma -------- F.de Jong ------------
-- F.Torres ---------- Grealish ----------- Musiala --
------------------------ Mbappe ------------------------
Pope, Kouassi, Mendes, Locatelli, Bellingham, Mahrez, Moreno
Maybe a few surprising selections today as we play an in form Newcastle side full of quality, but who we have brought in are young, creative wingers, full of energy and pace, we will have a go as we always do to try and bounce back from a pretty disappointing result last week.
Playing from the back and quick on the break and really pressurise the opposition with a dominate performance, we don't allow their midfield to dominate, I want our front three play quite a high line, put pressure on the defence, force them into mistakes and misplaced passes so we can gain control again, Wingers will be able get in behind quite easily as their fullbacks like to push forward, we want to hit them quickly, when we defend, the back 4 must stay solid with Bissouma and de Jong ahead of them just in front harassing the man with the ball before they get to our back 4. CBs up for set pieces.
Bastoni and Romero at the heart of our defence. Romero picks up the CF he is quick, feisty and powerful so will stop the threat of their No.9, he must look a few seconds ahead so he can intercept any ball coming through to stop the striker in his tracks early, Bastoni is spare picks up the AM or any other player that's roams into the danger area, if they get away from our midfield, 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 it out wide quickly, Both CBs comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass longer to the forwards 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 the other forming a back 3, we cant afford be exposed,they will drive up and down the pitch for 90+ mins, they support the wingers on the outside making an extra man. If either get caught up field I want others to help out defensively and to cover spaces made by our fullbacks, this gives our fullbacks more freedom to make their way to midfield to cover. Grealish also covers by dropping back to fill in the midfield even just to follow any defender that moves up field or to fill the gap either CM has made by moving to pick up men. CBs up for corners, FBs and Bissouma stay back.
Bissouma is is tenacious, energetic and feisty, just what we need in our midfield, 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, 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, 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, he will also look for piercing balls for the front 3 to drive onto and go for goal. Grealish is essential to our style of play, he is the link between defence and attack he controls the pace of the game, as we break quickly he will look to set up our front three, also, he will drop back at times to pick it up then look to his dribbling and passing capabilities to get him around player and if their is space he will into the danger area to unleash a powerful drive, sometimes taking a foul as he is a tricky player to mark gaining cheap freekicks, When in possession always head up looking for the movement of our front three to play them in, he draws players in, so as he does this he will pass the ball away sometimes taking 2/3 players out of the game leaving a lot more room for others to make something dangerous, he will pass and move to always make himself available. 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. All of our midfield three must press the opposition and get to grips with this game very early on.
Our wingers are extremely quick, young and full of energy, when we don't have the ball they drop back a bit to make up the numbers as opposition attack, push into the faces of the opposition to force them into mistakes and hopefully in the end they lose the ball, Ferran and Musiala will cause them problems drifting in an out, taking men on and getting in behind their fullbacks, thus allowing Grealish more time and space to pick his moment to move into space as an attacking threat and eventually to Mbappe who can beat any defender with power/pace and the other wingers who will look to get into space to get a shot off, if their defence is on top then we can always go direct at times and fire early crosses especially from deep from the fullbacks to mids and Mbappe, we must always make sure Mbappe is well supported, especially wingers who at times will be right on his shoulder or alongside.
Captain - de Jong
Free Kicks - Grealish
Corners - Grealish
Penalties - Mbappe
Losing -
65 Mins - G.Moreno for Musiala, he goes up top, Grealish to LM in a 4-4-2 formation, look to get the ball into the front two quickly and Grealish causing mayhem down the left
75 Mins - Bellingham for Robertson, Cancelo to RCB, Bellingham to play in a supporting role for the forwards, Mahrez for Ferran
Winning -
75 Mins - Locatelli for Musiala, Grealish LM, Locatelli to the right of Bissouma as we look to close it out
84 Mins - Mahrez for Ferran 451
88 Mins - Moreno for Mbappe
Drawing -
65 Mins - Bellingham for de Jong, Mahrez for Ferran
75 Mins - Moreno for Musiala, Grealish to the left, Moreno up top 442
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. Arsenal’s side is very attack heavy and we look to exploit the space left by this in midfield by controlling midfield, getting on top of the game and keeping them penned in their half. With this control we look to target the space between Arsenal’s cbs and fbs, their fbs are great attacking but have weaknesses defensively that we will look to exploit next to a young cb pair.
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. Look to get the wide players running at and in behind their fbs.
Up top we go with a front 3 full of pace, the wingers stay high and wide in possession, stretching Arsenal’s defence and setting the side up perfectly for the possession play and in possession to exploit space left by and in behind their fbs and defence.
In front of the defence Rodri and Thiago are the perfect two for the possession, play with Fernandes playing an attacking role with freedom to drift. 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.
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 Arsenal 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. Double up on their fbs if we can.
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 ———————————
R.James — Marquinhos —— Laporte —— Alaba
————————————— Rodri ————————————
———————— Thiago.A —— B.Fernandes —————
—————————————————————————————
Gnabry ——————— L.Martinez ————- S.Mane
Subs. Henderson, Gvardiol, Rice, Goretzka, Felix, Jota, 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 Arsenal 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 Arsenal 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 Arsenal 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 Jota for Mane, fresh pace.
If drawing after 70 mins bring on Jota for James. 3-5-2. More direct and goal scorer.
If drawing after 80 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 Jota for Mane. More trickery to get us back in it.
If losing after 80 mins bring on Felix for James. Gung ho.
If a red : bring off Lautaro for player in position that’s been sent off, going 4-3-2. Mane and Gnabry have goals and pace to trouble any defence alone.
If gk - Henderson
If rb, Marquinhos to rb, Alaba to cb, Gvardiol on at lb
If cb Alaba to cb, Gvardiol to lb
If Rodri - bring on Rice.
If Bruno - bring on Felix
If Mane/Gnabry or Lautaro - no subs (till later then winning/losing)
Tottenham Hotspur v BRENTFORD
------------------Simón
Maehle, T. Silva, Guehi, Grimaldo
----------Kovacic, Höjbjerg
Berardi--------James--------Mertens
-----------------Suárez
Subs: Kelleher, Livramento, Koopmeiners, Gallagher, Isco, Immobile, Ibrahimovic
Captain: Thiago Silva
Free Kicks: Berardi/James
Penalties: Suárez
Our defensive unit consists of Thiago Silva and Marc Guehi 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 Domenico Berardi, 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 Domenico Berardi and Dries Mertens, who are excellent in tight spaces and fantastic dribblers, will cut inside or make runs into the box.
James Rodríguez, 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 Berardi, 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 Berardi, 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
Gallagher on for Höjbjerg and Ibrahimovic on for Suárez
Double substitution - boundless midfield play from Gallagher 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.
NEWCASTLE 3-5-2
———————-— Mendy
————— Dias - Matip - Virgil
Trent - Gundogan - Fabian - Kessie - Shaw
—————— Salah - Lewa
Subs: Modric, Casemiro, Christensen, Son, Silva, Pedro Goncalves, Naby
Captain: VVD
Set piece: Trent
Penalties: Salah
Today we line up with a three man defence to create a solid base. Point of this system is to create space for the deep lying midfielder to play and counter the press. Creating a system to make the deep lying midfielder press resistant by making a space for him to constantly drop in and receive the ball.
In possession, the wing backs are expected to keep the width for the team and progress with the team to their box. Our main method of direct progression is direct passes and layoffs through the lines and we do this all over the pitch. From centre half into the number 8 and the number 8 lays off to the number 6. The 6 then plays into the striker and again laying off to the 8. Crucial for that is the use of triangles between the players.
We have two excellent and complementary forwards who thrive on direct balls. They can hold up play or drop off. To complement their play we will play very vertically, especially if the centre backs can bring the ball out and then look to play the strikers in directly. When done well this could help create 3v4 or 3v3 situations.
Our centre centre back will be the one that breaks the line and passes into midfield, very occasionally galloping up the field to join the attack. He will be able to break the offense, midfield, and even the defensive line with just one pass. Of course this is not always the case, so if there is no direct way to get the forwards involved he will use his dribbling ability to pass the first defending line where he will then be able to play a line-breaking ball out of a midfield position. If the opposition have blocked the passing lanes to the strikers, the CCB will use his overview to switch the point of the game. He will then make a long-range pass out wide to one of the wing-backs who usually have a lot of space in front of them.
When one striker has the ball, the other will run forward centrally to open up spaces with midfielders exploiting the spaces providing passing and layoff options.
Attacking play style
We also look to width to create chances. We attack in a 3-3-4 formation with both wingbacks joining to become a front 4. At least one wingback looks to push high and isolate his opposite man. The inside midfielder will then push outwards to create overloads in wide areas, assisted by a striker dropping off - the other striker and midfielder are then able to make runs against the opposition CBs also making deeper runs into the box.
Defensive play style
Defensively we become a 5-3-2 when under periods of sustained pressure. We will create a compact defensive shape of 5 defenders and 3 midfielders very close to the backline. The forwards work defensively to help regain possession by reducing space for the opponents.
We look to press man for man higher up the pitch and try to shoo the opposition into wide areas by allowing the opposition fullbacks some space leaving them as the easiest pass options. This allows us to congest the middle making us hard to play through. When engaging the press out wide, there is often space behind the opposition wingbacks into which we can attack. Particularly effective against teams playing 433/4231 as we can go man for man across the pitch killing their possession play.
Defensive transitions
First and foremost get all men back into the defensive shape, return very very quickly into this shape and add more numbers than opponents have attackers. Make space tight. Most important are the two wingbacks as they have to drop back into the defensive line quickly very often during the game. A formidable and organized defence keeping things tight at the back, allowing an extremely solid foundation from which to attack.
Offensive transitions
We need to also be great on the counter. When the ball is won, the strikers look for out balls. On the break they are joined by a CM and one of the wingbacks.
Subs.
65 mins - Naby on Gundogan off. Fresh legs.
70 mins losing/drawing - Son on Kessie off. Struggling to break them down so we need to stretch them. 3-4-3 Son left salah right Lewa central
75 mins losing/drawing - Silva on Matip off. Get behind their defence. 442
75 mins winning - Modric for Kessie. Calm things a bit.
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Tactics
Page 38 of 83
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posted on 21/8/21
High tempo 4-4-2
We go with an attacking team full of pace, playing with a high tempo in defence and attack. A fluid front four with real quality and pace.
We know the opposition don’t like to use fbs, and like to defend deep, so no hanging about we look to attack and target them out wide. Outnumber them in attack, and defend in a 4-4-2 formation, we have a very strong back 4 and Cm duo while the wingers and fbs will commit forwards they have great pace to get back into shape.
Two strong athletic cms key to our plan, Rodri dictating the tempo and spreading the play with Goretzka playing box to box and liking the play. Up top we have the classic big man small man combo and both naturally play with a high tempo and work rate, Lautaro is excellent at linking the play, playing off Osimhen who has the pace power and control to hurt United. Finally and key to our tactics is our strong back 4, giving the attacking players the platform to attack.
One fb bombs forward at a time supporting the winger, and with a front two we have a forward that can link out wide too. Target the wings and get into positions to get down the outside for cut backs and crosses to the two front men.
We direct our attacks out wide and set a high tempo for the game. We have a front four full of pace, looking to stretch the opposition and create space for other attackers to exploit.
Summer signing Jota comes in to offer high defensive work rate on the left, and because he is used to attacking from deeper positions under Nuno (difference being we are attacking not counter attacking!). Sterling on the right for width and direct running into the box. We leave some of our best players on the bench as we go with players we think fit the system best.
Rodri plays zonally in front of cbs, Goretzka who presses the play. Similar in attack, Rodri plays deepest covering. We have a defence full of pace and great energy in front so play a reasonably high line, helping us press the opposition in high area, and aiding distribution out from the back line. We have a strong defence, allowing us to take the game to United with an attacking formation.
If we didn’t already make the point, we look to exploit their full backs and space out wide. If they do fbs we still feel this is where they can be hurt defensively.
Quick passing and moving to find space in between the opposition lines. Using the pace of our forwards and fbs (one bombs forward at a time) to create space as we push forward.
Key to our attack is quick passing play, not looking to force the play but moving the ball quickly. Pass and move. Tire the opposition out physically and mentally with our high tempo play.
We have a cm duo who can both drop deep to offer an option and collect the ball from defence. Likewise a fluid front four, 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.
—————————————— Allison
R.James —— Marquinhos —— Laporte —— D.Alaba
——————————— Rodri —— Goretzka
Sterling ———————————————————— D.Jota
—————————- Lautaro —— Osimhen
Subs. Henderson, D.Rice, Thiago, Mount, B.Fernandes, Gnabry, Mane
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.
Laporte the man marker next to Marquinhos who is free to use his pace and intelligence to sweep up. In midfield, Rodri plays zonally in front of cbs, with Goretzka ball side. The wingers narrow in front to the side of play United are attacking, in spaces on either side of their cms. In a position to block passing lanes central or wide. We expect a front 3 from them, and will be wary of Greenwood and Rashford but more importantly we want them worrying about our attackers a lot more. If they go 3 in attack this gives us a spare defender to cover.
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 United get into our half, the wide players drop deep to add protection in front of the fb and next to the two cms. Closing down the space, narrowing to the side of play.
Subs.
If winning after 70 mins bring on Bruno for Lautaro. More control and energy in midfield, 4-2-3-1.
If winning after 75 mins bring on Thiago for Goretzka. Fresh legs, and control to see game out.
If winning after 80 mins bring on Mane for Jota. Fresh pace in attack.
If drawing after 70 mins bring on Thiago and Bruno for Lautaro and Rodri. More control and creativity, 4-2-3-1. Thiago deepest next to his partner Goretzka. Dominate against tired legs.
If drawing after 80 mins bring on Mane for R.James. Jota central, Mane left. 352.
If losing after 65 mins bring on Thiago and Bruno for R.James and Rodri. More control and creativity, 3-5-2. Thiago deepest next to his partner Goretzka. Dominate against tired legs.
If losing after 75 mins bring on Mane for Jota.
posted on 21/8/21
Liverpool v BRENTFORD
--------------------Kelleher
Maehle, Andersen, T. Silva, Grimaldo
-------------Kovacic, Höjbjerg
Berardi-----------Isco------Baumgartner
-------------------Suárez
Subs: Gorter, Lamptey, Ampadu, Laimer, Saint-Maximin, Immobile, Ibrahimovic
Captain: Thiago Silva
Free Kicks: Berardi/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 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 Domenico Berardi, Isco and Christoph Baumgartner 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 Domenico Berardi and Christoph Baumgartner, who are excellent in tight spaces and fantastic dribblers, will cut inside or make runs into the box.
Isco, our attacking central midfielder’s low centre of gravity will enable him to navigate away from defenders. Isco 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 Berardi, Baumgartner & 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 Berardi, Isco & Baumgartner 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, Saint-Maximin on for Baumgartner and Ibrahimovic on for Suárez
Triple substitution - Searing pace from Lamptey, sublime dribbling from Saint-Maximin 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.
posted on 22/8/21
------------------------ Johnstone ------------------------
J.Cancelo ----- Bonucci ----- Bastoni ----- N.Mendes
---------------- Bissouma ----- F.de Jong ---------------
-- Mahrez ------------- Grealish ------------ Mbappe --
------------------------- Haaland --------------------------
Sinisalo(yth), Romero, Locatelli, Camavinga, Musiala, Ferran, P.Daka
We like playing from the back and quick on the break and really pressurise the opposition with a dominate performance, from the front we do not allow them to play from the back or allow their midfield to dominate, I want our front three play quite a high line, put pressure on the defence, we cant get in behind quite easily as there fullbacks like to push forward, 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 Bissouma and de Jong ahead of them just in front 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, Grealish slightly higher up always on top of the midfielders stopping them passing between each other, 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 4 with Fullbacks who are always ready to pounce and hit them with pace.
Bastoni and Bonucci at the heart of our defence. Bastoni picks up the CF he is quick and powerful so will stop the threat of their No.9, Bonucci is spare picks up the AM or any other player that's roams into the danger area, Johnsotne behind he will constantly be shouting and keeping the bank of 4 in a line as to not leave gaps, if they get away from our midfield, 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 it out wide quickly, Both CBs comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass longer to the forwards 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 we cant afford be exposed,they will drive up and down the pitch for 90+ mins, they support the wingers on the outside making an extra man. If either get caught up field I want others to help out defensively and to cover spaces made by our fullbacks, this gives our fullbacks more freedom to make their way to midfield to cover. Grealish also covers by dropping back to fill in the midfield even just to follow any defender that moves up field or to fill the gap either CM has made by moving to pick up men. CBs up for corners, FBs and Bissouma stay back.
Bissouma is is tenacious, energetic and feisty, just what we need in our midfield, 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, 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, he will also look for piercing balls for the front 3 to drive onto and go for goal. Our midfield maestro Grealish is essential to our style of play, he is the link between defence and attack he controls the pace of the game, as we break quickly he will look to set up our front three, also, he will drop back at times to pick it up then look to his dribbling and passing capabilities to get him around player and if their is space he will 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 draws players in, often taking a kick or two while he does it, gaining many free kicks, so as he does this he will pass the ball away sometimes taking 2/3 players out of the game leaving a lot more room for others to make something dangerous, he will pass and move to always make himself available. 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. All of our midfield three must press the opposition and get to grips with this game very early on.
Our wingers are extremely quick, 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, either a long ball over defenders our defenders are superb long ball passers, go through the cms or out to one of our attacking fullbacks, however, the movement up front between Mahrez and Mbappe will cause them problems drifting in an out, getting in behind their fullbacks, thus allowingGrealish more time and space to pick his moment to move into space as an attacking threat Quick passing in triangles that will get us in and beyond their defenders and eventually to Haaland who can beat any defender with power/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 the opposite winger, mids and Haaland so they can spring them and have a shoot or sight mentality at times, , we must always make sure Haaland is well supported, especially wingers who at times will be right on his shoulder or alongside(depends what side the attack is from) as he is allowed freedom of the park when we attack, 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 front by harassing there back line/DM.
Captain - Bonucci
Free Kicks - Grealish
Corners - Grealish
Penalties - Haaland
Subs -
Losing -
65 Mins - P.Daka for Mahrez, Mbappe to the right, Grealish to the left, 4-4-2, Locatelli for de Jong for fresh legs in the middle
Winning -
75 Mins - Locatelli for Mahrez, Mbappe to the right, Grealish left and Locatelli into a 3 man midfield
83 Mins - Ferran for Haaland, he goes right, Mbappe up top
Drawing -
65 Mins - Ferran for Mahrez, Locatelli for De Jong fresh legs
75 Mins - Musiala for Grealish again fresh legs
posted on 23/8/21
MAN UNITED vs Leicester
----------------------------------Dragowski---------------------------------
------------Fofana--------Upamecano--------Badiashile-----------
----------------------------Ndidi------Valverde------------------------
Dest----------------------------------------------------------------Sessegnon
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------Raphinha------Greenwood-------Rashford---------------
Subs - Gulasci, J Gomez, Tchoucameni, Sulemana, Wirtz, Bailey, Martinelli
CAPTAIN - VALVERDE
CK'S - RAPHINHA
FK'S - RAPHINHA
PENALTIES - GREENWOOD
Great opening win last week against City and we look to make home advantage count again against a strong Leicester side. We have our 3 best players returning from injury aswell in Ndidi, Greenwood and 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 stop any attacks that go down their wings. Upamecano in the middle will marshall the defence and look to snuff out any attacks from the oppo strikers. 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
Dest and Sessegnon are playing as wingbacks today. They will both have the freedom to bomb up and down their flanks. When defending stick close to the oppo wingers and stop them from getting past you, the DM's will be helping you a lot aswell. 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 use the overlapping fullbacks. I want both wingbacks to 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..
Defence Mids
Ndidi + Valverde
These 2 will be the main enforcers to protect the defence and to control the central midfield. Ndidi will be the midfield destroyer. He will help the wingbacks in defending against oppo wingers and will also look to put a lock on the oppo AM to stop him dictating play. Valverde will be the b2b engine who will be given the freedom to attack. When in possession pass the ball out to the wings and try and play some quick one two's. 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. When out of possession drop deep next to Ndidi and try and intercept the ball.
Wingers
Raphinha + Rashford
These 2 will be the focal point of my attack. I want to give them the freedom to express themselves in attack so they do not have to track back and help out in defence. Rashford will be looking to cut in from the left and Raphinha likewise who will cut in from the right. I want you both to try and beat the oppo fullbacks with your pace and dribbling ability but don't try too hard as if you see them doubling up on you you can either pass back into the centre of the pitch to one of our DM's or play quick one two's with our wingbacks. The main role of the wingers will be to get some crosses, low balls into the box for Greenwood to attack. When we are defending corners I want both of them to stay near the halfway line so we can hit the oppo on the counter attack. .
Striker
Mason Greenwood
The baby faced assassin will be leading the line for us today. He has got the strength and pace to play the role and he will have plenty of support in attack. 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. I want Greenwood and Rashford to interchange positions with each other from time to confuse the oppo defence.
Subs if LOSING BY 65MINS
Put on Wirtz for Ndidi and Sulemana for Rashford 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. Bailey on for Raphinha aswell.
-------------------------------------Dragowski-----------------------
---------------Fofana---------Upamecano--------Badiashile----------
-------------------------------------Valverde--------------------------------------
Dest----------------------------------------------------------------------Sesseg
--------------------------------------Wirtz-------------------------------------------
-----------Bailey-------------Greenwood------------Sulemana----------
Subs if WINNING BY 60MINS
Take off Rashford and put on Tchoucameni in CM. Play defensive with everyone in our own half defending for their lives, waiting to hit the oppo on the counter attack. Put on Martinelli for Raphinha.
--------------------------------------Drag-----------------------
----------------Fofana--------Upamecano--------Badiashile--------
Dest------------------Valverde----------Ndidi---------------------Sess
--------------------------------------Tchou.---------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------Greenwood--------------Martinelli----------------------
Subs if DRAWING BY 65MINS
Bailey on for Raphinha
Martinelli on for Greenwood
Wirtz on for Valverde
posted on 23/8/21
----------------------Neuer
-------Carlos------Maguire----Hernandez
Castagne---SMS------Pellegrini-------Digne
------Foden--------Kane-------Depay
Meslier
White
Menino
Brozovic
Zaha
Harrison
Bamford
We’ve changed shape for today, opting for a 3-4-3 due to the attacking nature of the Wolves team. Diego Carlos comes in for a full debut at RCB, whilst Castagne and Pellegrini also come in, with Chies conspicuously missing against Wolves, a team he has been linked with all summer. Just press talk for the moment, though, and with Foden in at RW, we have an adequate replacement in one of the world’s best wonderkids, and another of Leeds’ hottest properties. Pellegrini joins Milinkovic-Savic in the middle, and the two will operate as the engine room for a busy, and high intensity approach. Castagne starts at RWB in that system, a position and role that were practically made for his approach to football, and, because of Foiden wanting to drift inside, his attacking width will be invaluable. Kane is the world’s best striker, and there’s no commitment issues here, so will hopefully guarantee us some goals.
We build from the back, however, and I want to see the lads playing out. No dallying on the ball, as we rely on our standard two-touch approach, with constant movement from the four in front providing the forward balls, and the world’s finest sweeper keeper behind, meaning options will always be open for the quick movement of possession. In Digne and Castagne, we have FBs who want to get up and down the line, so these will be the traditional out-balls, with both wanting to occupy the wide areas, to cover for Depay and Foden’s roles as inside forwards. The opposition have strength in the wide areas, however, so we want to avoid these two players being caught too far forward. Both will, therefore, be given license to roam, but keep a watchful eye behind them, and not committ if it means leaving ourselves exposed. With SMS and Pellegrini in the middle, we have two players comfortable of operating both deep and advanced, and as such they will operate as a pivot in the middle, with one dropping deeper to help control possession, whilst the other pushes on, to help us connect the defence to the attack. Both will also be tasked with working as the engine of the team, with tireless running in the middle of the park, contributing both to the press and to the retaining of possession.
We have plenty of attacking talent in the advanced areas, and the key will be to use these effectively. As mentioned earlier, Depay and Foden will operate as inside forwards, drifting inside from the wide areas to cause havoc in the middle. This will accomplish one of two things. Firstly, the opposition FBs may track them, causing for spaces on the flanks for Castagne and Digne to exploit (I don’t think the opposition wide-men are the best back-trackers, so these two should be able to get free pretty easily), or, conversely, the opposition FBs don’t track, and Depay and Foden, along with Kane, should be able to triple up on the opposition CBs, with a combination of attacking approaches. Kane will be sticking between the goalposts today, where he is most lethal, keeping himself in advanced positions, and allowing the skill and pace of the other attackers to play off him. With Digne and Castagne pushing up, we should be able to overload in attacking areas, with one of the CMs sat just off the D, aiming to recycle possession quickly, and keep us on the front foot by being first to the second balls. Depay is naturally going to rely on his pace and trickery, and what Foden lacks in pace, he makes up for with deft touches and pure flair, so I think this could be a pretty lethal trio up top, and is amongst the most gifted attacking tridents in the league. Supported by the consistently fabulous crossing from Digne and Castagne, and the energy of Pellegrini and SMS? I think it works fantastically.
In terms of when the ball is lost, the first key thing is our ability to win second balls. With Castagne, Digne, SMS/Pellegrini, and Foden in the advanced areas, we have players that are gifted at knowing where the ball will be, and should be able to operate in all the key spaces to maximise our chances of being first to the second balls, and keeping the pressure on their defence. If this is unsuccessful, and Wolves gain possession, then we must engage our press. As per usual, the press starts from the front, with Kane targetting the opposition CBs, and Depay and Foden sitting on their FBs, to provide them few easy out-balls. The advanced midfielder will sit on their deepest midfielder, preventing them from playing short balls out, and forcing them into longer balls. In Maguire and Carlos, especially, I think I have two very gifted aerial defenders, who not only provide threats from set-plays, but are also likely to win most long balls forward. The press higher up the field will likely also buy time for us to get our WBs back in position, operating here as more conventional FBs in a 5, with Foden tucking in as part of the midfield, and Depay and Kane remaining advanced, making us difficult to break through, with plenty of energy in front of the defence to keep up the intensity of the press, and pace up front to break quickly.
Substitutions
Zaha on for Foden 65 minutes
A league debut for our new signing, Zaha will add pace and running to the attack, and a totally different approach for the defense to have to deal with from RW. I want to see him running at the opposition, with quick feet likely to win us free-kicks and penalties.
If winning
Depay off for Brozovic 75 mins
Switch to a 5-3-2, with Zaha operating centrally alongside Kane, and Brozovic going in to the deep lying role in midfield. SMS and Pellegrini will be allowed to attack from deep, meaning our attackers won’t be isolated.
Castagne off for Menino 85 mins
Fresh legs at RB as they likely throw the kitchen sink at getting a win.
If losing/drawing
Digne off for Harrison 72 mins
Switch to a 4-2-3-1, with Depay operating at 10, Harrison providing us the attacking width down the right hand side, and Zaha down the right.
posted on 23/8/21
Newcastle 4-3-3 / 2-3-5
_____________Mendy
Trent___Christensen____VVD_____Shaw
____________Casemiro
_______Modric_____Gundogan
Salah_________Silva___________Son
Subs: Kessie, Tomori, Llorente, Naby, Olmo, Martinez, Pote
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
_________Christensen_____VVD_______
____Trent____Casemiro_____Shaw
Salah__Modric___Gundogan____Son
_______________Silva______________
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 - Llorente on Modric off. Fresh legs.
70 mins losing/drawing - Pote on Gundogan off. Better finisher in the box from midfield.
75 mins losing/drawing - Martinez on Silva off. Better presence up top.
75 mins winning - Naby on Gundogan off. Fresh legs while not losing creative quality.
posted on 28/8/21
-------------------------- Oblak -------------------------
Ezri Konsa ---- Bonucci ---- Bastoni ---- Robertson
--------------- F.de Jong ---- Bissouma ---------------
-- Mahrez ------------ Grealish ----------- Mbappe --
------------------------ Haaland -------------------------
Pope, Mendes, Romero, Bellingham, D.Luiz, Ferran, Moreno
We like playing from the back and quick on the break and really pressurise the opposition with a dominate performance, from the front we do not allow them to play from the back or allow their midfield to dominate, I want our front three play quite a high line, put pressure on the defence, we cant get in behind quite easily as there fullbacks like to push forward, 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 Bissouma and de Jong ahead of them just in front 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, Grealish slightly higher up always on top of the midfielders stopping them passing between each other, 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 4 with Fullbacks who are always ready to pounce and hit them with pace.
Bastoni and Bonucci at the heart of our defence. Bastoni picks up the CF he is quick and powerful so will stop the threat of their No.9, Bonucci is spare picks up the AM or any other player that's roams into the danger area, Johnsotne behind he will constantly be shouting and keeping the bank of 4 in a line as to not leave gaps, if they get away from our midfield, 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 it out wide quickly, Both CBs comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass longer to the forwards 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 (mostly Robertson)Konsa forming a back 3, we cant afford be exposed,they will drive up and down the pitch for 90+ mins, they support the wingers on the outside making an extra man. If either get caught up field I want others to help out defensively and to cover spaces made by our fullbacks, this gives our fullbacks more freedom to make their way to midfield to cover. Grealish also covers by dropping back to fill in the midfield even just to follow any defender that moves up field or to fill the gap either CM has made by moving to pick up men. CBs up for corners, FBs and Bissouma stay back.
Bissouma is is tenacious, energetic and feisty, just what we need in our midfield, 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, 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, he will also look for piercing balls for the front 3 to drive onto and go for goal. Our midfield maestro Grealish is essential to our style of play, he is the link between defence and attack he controls the pace of the game, as we break quickly he will look to set up our front three, also, he will drop back at times to pick it up then look to his dribbling and passing capabilities to get him around player and if their is space he will 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 draws players in, often taking a kick or two while he does it, gaining many free kicks, so as he does this he will pass the ball away sometimes taking 2/3 players out of the game leaving a lot more room for others to make something dangerous, he will pass and move to always make himself available. 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. All of our midfield three must press the opposition and get to grips with this game very early on.
Our wingers are extremely quick, 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, either a long ball over defenders our defenders are superb long ball passers, go through the cms or out to one of our attacking fullbacks, however, the movement up front between Mahrez and Mbappe will cause them problems drifting in an out, getting in behind their fullbacks, thus allowingGrealish more time and space to pick his moment to move into space as an attacking threat Quick passing in triangles that will get us in and beyond their defenders and eventually to Haaland who can beat any defender with power/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 the opposite winger, mids and Haaland so they can spring them and have a shoot or sight mentality at times, , we must always make sure Haaland is well supported, especially wingers who at times will be right on his shoulder or alongside(depends what side the attack is from) as he is allowed freedom of the park when we attack, 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 front by harassing there back line/DM.
Captain - Bonucci
Free Kicks - Grealish
Corners - Grealish
Penalties - Haaland
Losing -
65 Mins - Ferran for Mahrez, he goes RW, Grealish LW, Mbappe up top for added pace 4-4-2, Bellingham for de Jong also
75 Mins - N.Mendes for Robertson, fresh legs down the left
Winning -
75 Mins - Ferran for Mahrez, D.Luiz for Grealish, Bissouma goes back a bit 4141
Drawing -
65 Mins - Ferran for Mahrez, Bellingham for de Jong
posted on 28/8/21
------------------------ Martinez ------------------------
-------- Skriniar ----- S.deVrij ----- Kamara ---------
M.Aarons ----- T.Kroos ---- N.Kante ----- R.Gosens
------------------------- B.Silva -------------------------
--------------- Lukaku --------- Watkins ---------------
Areola, Tierney, Prowse, Buendia, Zaniolo, Coutinho, M.Kean
When we don't have the ball, we will press high up the pitch, conceding very little space, B.Silva will look to steal the ball within the attacking third and hopefully, quickly get it to those ahead of him. We do not give them any time on the ball and our front 2 prevent their defence hanging on to it too long or trying to play form the back as we pressurise them all the time.
If they do get to our half then we have a strong back 3 and double pivot ahead to prevent play through the middle, meaning they will need to push wide, whichever side they attack from tho I want B.Silva to push to that side again to close them down and support the wingbacks, lots of pace in the front three to get at players.
When we have the ball it starts from the back moving the ball around between defence and centre midfield until the moment arrives when a pass can be made through to the front line, , there is no rush, if they come pressing we simply move it to the wide areas for them to bomb down the line and look to either cut it back or get a pass into the front three.
Martinez is our sweeper keeper, he always makes himself big, I want him involved with the defence playing out, if he has the ball I want him to find players especially the wingbacks when we are ready to attack
Skriniar and Kamara, Cover the wingbacks when they have pushed forward and take the ball out of defence, use there positional sense well as they may be out paced., must do this with confidence, if they lose the ball then all numbers back to cover, if they are being pressurised then a simple pass even back to the keeper and start again, stay wide (depending on what side) to cover wingbacks if they are forward.
de Vrij - He will press the opposition striker, when we lose the ball he needs to be on top of the CF very quickly, he must intercept everything, but he has the experience to do this, don't take any risks as the CF will also be on him so move it quickly when he gets it.
Aarons and Gosens, must work very hard, they have great work rate but this must done for the whole game, get down the line, get the crosses in, two great forwards to aim for, don't worry so much about whats behind you as their is plenty cover, I don't mean forget your defence duties, just play with a bit of freedom, crosses, one-twos, cut backs and all with pace to hurt them.
Although Kante's primary role in front of the defence is to win possession and then start an attacking phase. Within this he needs to cover spaces in between the midfield and defence where the opposition’s number 10 will likely to be operating whilst also being aware when the full-backs had pushed forward. Take care of the No 10/SS is also a main focus, he has a lot of grit and determination to his game so stick to him like glue and stop him becoming a threat, very good in the air so can attack long/high balls before they get to our defenders. Once he is in possession of the ball nice simple balls to those around him.
Kroos has responsibility throughout the pitch. He is expected to score goals and create chances for the front 3, whilst also helping in the defensive third. One requirement of this role are high fitness levels due to the amount of running he is expected to do and he does a lot. The box-to-box midfielder is more likely to be found on the side of the pitch where the full-back that is less efficient in the attacking third plays to provide balance on both flanks..
B.Silva is in a free role I want him to dictate proceedings in the final third, either playing the through ball to the front two or use the wingers, pass in between the lines and give them something to run onto as the drive passed the defender, making late runs into the box and look for any loose ball to have a pop at goal, he, Silva is a great finisher so look to make late runs into the area and latching onto crosses from wide areas, defending wise, I want him to harass who ever has the ball in that area, get it and move it forward as quickly as possible, also can draw players into him, therefore winning a lot of free kicks
Watkins I want to be making all the runs behind the defence, a tirless worker always making it hard for defenders, I want him to drift wide and pull defenders away, quick and skillfull, look to move out to create an outlet for the wingbacks to use or indeed link with B.Silva to get Lukaku away on goal, he and Lukaku both fantastic in the air, so while they aim for Lukaku, Watkins & Silva will be making the late runs into the danger area and with a head start look to get up early and attack the crosses coming in. Again, really put the pressure on their back line, they are great going forward but today, pretty weak at the back
Lukaku, is our out an out No.9, fox in the box, a bully and powerful striker, he is there to finish off chances created by other, I want him always on the last man, no defending required from him, always ready to pounce, if however he cant get in on goal he has plenty round him to lay it off to, or just a quick pass and look to get into space where he can get his shot off, end of, he is in to score goals and that is what he shall do.
Captain de Vrij
Pens - Lukaku
Free Kicks - B.Silva
Corners - B.Silva
Losing -
65 Mins - M.Kean for Kamara, we go 4213, M.Kean to the right of Lukaku
75 Mins - Zaniolo for B.Silva and take over his duties
Winning -
75 Mins - Prowse for Watkins, slots into midfield 3511, Tierney for Gosens
Drawing -
65 Mins - M.Kean for Watkins, Zaniolo for Silva, Tierney for Gosens
posted on 29/8/21
Newcastle 4-3-3 / 2-3-5
_____________Mendy
Trent______Dias____VVD____Tsimikas
____________Casemiro
_______Modric_____Gundogan
Salah_________Lewa___________Son
Subs: Kessie, Christensen, Llorente, Naby, Madueke, Silva, Pote
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____Tsimikas
Salah____Modric___Gundogan______Son
_______________Lewa______________
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 - Llorente on Modric off. Fresh legs.
70 mins losing/drawing - Pote on Gundogan off. Better finisher in the box from midfield.
75 mins losing/drawing - Silva on Casemiro off. Better presence up top in a 4-4-2.
75 mins winning - Naby on Gundogan off. Fresh legs while not losing creative quality.
posted on 29/8/21
BRENTFORD v Manchester United
--------------------Simón
Maehle, Andersen, T. Silva, Grimaldo
-------------Kovacic, Höjbjerg
Berardi----------James----------Mertens
-------------------Suárez
Subs: Kelleher, Livramento, Koopmeiners, Gallagher, Isco, Saint-Maximin, Broja
Captain: Thiago Silva
Free Kicks: Berardi/James
Penalties: Suárez
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 Domenico Berardi, 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 Domenico Berardi and Dries Mertens, who are excellent in tight spaces and fantastic dribblers, will cut inside or make runs into the box.
James Rodríguez, 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 Berardi, 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 Berardi, 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
Saint-Maximin on for Mertens and Gallagher on for Höjbjerg
Triple substitution - all round energetic midfield play from Gallagher and sublime dribbling and unpredictable attacking play from Saint-Maximin in the last 15 minutes to look to unlock the opposition’s defence for a late goal regardless of the score line.
🟥 Move to a 441 formation. Sacrifice (unless sent off himself) James for any of Kelleher (GK), Livramento (RB - NB. Maehle can play LB or RW), Koopmeiners (DM/CB), Isco (AM/LW), Broja (CF)
posted on 30/8/21
ARSENAL v Man City
-------------------- A. Onana ----------------------
Hakimi ---- W.Saliba --- Tapsoba ---- Chilwell
------------ T. Partey --- N. Barella -------------
B. Saka ------------ Dybala ------- Aubameyang
------------------ Calvert-Lewin -------------------
Subs: Maignan, Pereira, Ginter, Paqueta, Smith Rowe, N. Pepe, Benzema
Onana – The Ajax stopper is one of the best in the world at playing out from the back. In possession he the back four and CMs to pass into, he also has some tall forwards to aim at if he goes long, the hold up of Calvert-Lewin or the pace of Saka and Aubameyang either side.
Hakimi – The Moroccan is one of the worlds best right backs, His qualities ensure he can offer us a dynamic outlet in possession and a strong defensive unit to combat what Man City throw at us. As he advances up the right in an attacking sense, he has Saka who likes to come inside with the ball ahead of him, this gives that right flank a serious double threat on the inside and out. On overlap he has one of the best final balls around, capable of scoring himself or picking out three brilliant finishers in that box of Dybala, Calvert-Lewin and Aubameyang.
Saliba – One of the best young central defenders around, Saliba has top level experience despite being young and he will use his awareness and pace to ensure we can deal with Man City today. Has made a great start in his Marseille loan.
Tapsoba – Tapsoba has been brilliant when placed alongside calm defenders, so we have prepared the perfect environment for him today. Chilwell as an outlet ahead of him and Aubameyang as a longer outball. Equally he can carry the ball further himself, through the middle and work with the CMs. He’s also extremely strong and tall and will partner well with Saliba from a defensive point of view.
Chilwell - Finished last season as one of the best left backs on the planet. He will offer the outlet out of defence, an overlap to Aubameyang who will cut inside when in possession. Defensively he has the pace, experience and tactical nous to snuff out what Man City can throw at us.
Partey – Partey has been chosen for his physical dominance and ability to turn and play at pace. The dynamic midfielder has the qualtity and experience to add to our midfield. With the attacking quartet ahead of him, Partey will sit and marshall the right half space, allowing Hakimi the attacking freedom. Partey has played at right back before so this is well suited. He will sit at the heart of midfield both in and out of possession, offering a shield to the defence and helping to nullify Man City.
Barella - Barella is one of the best midfielders in Serie A and has just won Euro 2020. He’s a great box to box player, but for this game he should keep the ball ahead of him for the most part. When the opportunity presents he can play a 1-2 with Dybala or the wide players to work his way into the box to become an additional attacking threat. Crucially he has the legs to get back though and prioritise the defensive side of his game.
Dybala – Another one of the best players in Serie A, Dybala is going to take this game by the scruff of the neck. He will be our most forward thinking of our midfield trio, playing as a support striker if you like. He has the defensive security behind him to play a bit more of a free role, ahead of him he has a hold up striker he can play off and either side of him he has pace and wingers who want to cut in and full backs who want to overlap, he will be the conductor.
Saka – A player with a huge workrrate coupled with pace and a clinical edge, the perfect player to play in a final and to play on the break. Coupled with the others in our front three, we have a huge amount to handle for Man City. Saka should work well with Hakimi as he can defend too at times, allowing Hakimi that creative freedom. He’s also a teammate of Partey and between that trio we have a very well balanced right side.
Aubameyang – Quick in transition, deadly in this left zone when allowed to come inside. The threat of the Chilwell overlap and Aubameyang cutting in makes the left channel almost impossible to defend for Man City. Both players will then be looking for Dybala and Calvert-Lewin in the box – two lethal finishers.
Calvert-Lewin – With pace around him, DCL can be the target man, offering another dimension of attack. We’ve seen how strong he is and how well he can both hold it up and finish chances with his head. Chilwell and Hakimi will be overlapping and crossing lots, they can mix up the delivery, aerially to DCL and more of cutbacks with Dybala, Auba, Saka, Barella etc. -
SUBS
After 60 (all scenarios) - Benzema for Calvert-Lewin
If winning
After 60 – Paqueta for Dybala
If drawing/losing
After 60 – Paqueta for Barella
After 80 (all scenarios) – Pepe for Saka
posted on 31/8/21
Comment deleted by Article Creator
posted on 31/8/21
MAN UNITED vs Brentford
----------------------------------Dragowski---------------------------------
------------J Gomez--------Upamecano--------Badiashile-----------
----------------------------Ndidi------Valverde------------------------
Dest----------------------------------------------------------------Sessegnon
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------Bailey-----------Greenwood---------Rashford---------------
Subs - Gulasci, Tchoucameni, Sulemana, Wirtz, Ismaila Sarr, Fabio Silva, Martinelli
CAPTAIN - VALVERDE
CK'S - BAILEY
FK'S - BAILEY
PENALTIES - GREENWOOD
Up against a strong experienced Brentford side so we are going to continue with the 343.
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. Gomez and Badiashile will be playing as the outside CB's and will look to stop any attacks that go down their wings. Upamecano in the middle will marshall the defence and look to snuff out any attacks from the oppo strikers. 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
Dest and Sessegnon are playing as wingbacks today. They will both have the freedom to bomb up and down their flanks. When defending stick close to the oppo wingers and stop them from getting past you, the DM's will be helping you a lot aswell. Gomez 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 use the overlapping fullbacks. I want both wingbacks to 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..
Defence Mids
Ndidi + Valverde
These 2 will be the main enforcers to protect the defence and to control the central midfield. Ndidi will be the midfield destroyer. He will help the wingbacks in defending against oppo wingers and will also look to put a lock on the oppo AM to stop him dictating play. Valverde will be the b2b engine who will be given the freedom to attack. When in possession pass the ball out to the wings and try and play some quick one two's. 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. When out of possession drop deep next to Ndidi and try and intercept the ball.
Wingers
Bailey + Rashford
These 2 will be the focal point of my attack. I want to give them the freedom to express themselves in attack so they do not have to track back and help out in defence. Rashford will be looking to cut in from the left and Bailey likewise who will cut in from the right. I want you both to try and beat the oppo fullbacks with your pace and dribbling ability but don't try too hard as if you see them doubling up on you you can either pass back into the centre of the pitch to one of our DM's or play quick one two's with our wingbacks. The main role of the wingers will be to get some crosses, low balls into the box for Greenwood to attack. When we are defending corners I want both of them to stay near the halfway line so we can hit the oppo on the counter attack. .
Striker
Mason Greenwood
The baby faced assassin will be leading the line for us today. He has got the strength and pace to play the role and he will have plenty of support in attack. 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. I want Greenwood and Rashford to interchange positions with each other from time to confuse the oppo defence.
Subs if LOSING BY 65MINS
Put on Wirtz for Ndidi and Sulemana for Rashford 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. Sarr on for Bailey aswell.
-------------------------------------Dragowski-----------------------
---------------Gomez---------Upamecano--------Badiashile----------
-------------------------------------Valverde--------------------------------------
Dest----------------------------------------------------------------------Sesseg
--------------------------------------Wirtz-------------------------------------------
--------------Sarr-------------Greenwood------------Sulemana----------
Subs if WINNING BY 60MINS
Take off Rashford and put on Tchoucameni in CM. Play defensive with everyone in our own half defending for their lives, waiting to hit the oppo on the counter attack. Put on Silva for Bailey.
--------------------------------------Drag-----------------------
----------------Gomez--------Upamecano--------Badiashile--------
Dest------------------Valverde----------Ndidi---------------------Sess
--------------------------------------Tchou.---------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------Greenwood--------------F Silva----------------------
Subs if DRAWING BY 65MINS
Sarr on for Bailey
Martinelli on for Greenwood
Wirtz on for Valverde
posted on 31/8/21
-------------------- Ederson -------------------
B.Pavard -- De Ligt --- Ramos --- A.Sandro
------------------- R.Neves -------------------
---------- De Bruyne --- P.Pogba ------------
G.Jesus ---------- L.Messi -------- E.Hazard
Subs:
Ramsdale, P.Torres, Bentancur, J.Sancho, L.Sane, Havertz, Aguero
Captain: Ramos
Free Kicks: Messi
Penalties: Messi
Corners: De Bruyne
Tactics:
Another big game and we are delighted to add a bit of Samba magic with Gabriel Jesus and Alex Sandro adding to our start studded line up.
With our home faithful in full voice we look to take the game to our opponents in an attacking 4-3-3 set up. A solid defensive set up will ensure we don’t leave ourselves open to the pace they possess out wide. The duo of Pavard and A.Sandro are two of the best defensive full backs around whilst De Ligt and Ramos form a watertight CB duo.
As always the midfield battle will be key and we are delighted that we can go with our powerhouse and perfectly balanced trio of De Bruyne, Pogba & Neves. Neves shielding the defence is one of the best players around for ball recoveries. Going forward De Bruyne and Pogba are two of the best around, both capable of the sublime and giving us a midfield full of creativity.
We know Rof will try to downplay the effectiveness of Messi and KBD operating in the same space blah, blah. With the addition of Jesus all of this goes out the window. The Brazilian has been in scintillating form operating at right wing with a goal and three assists in just two starts, his pace and energy allows us to play Messi centrally where quite frankly he is unplayable.
With the freedom to roam the frontline the Argentine plundered 30 goals and laid on 11 assists playing at CF last season. In fact his all time his stats at CF are a ridiculous 288 starts, 300 goals & 129 assists! With Hazard operating on the left flank we have an interchangeable front three which is likely to give any defence nightmares. It also means KDB will be running the show in the middle third with Messi operating exclusively in the final third of the pitch.
As always we retain a flexible tactical shape, when out of possession we want KDB and Pogba to drop in alongside Neves in a balanced three. We sit deep taking away any space in behind our defence which will limit the pace of their attack. It will also draw the opposition onto us higher up the pitch creating plenty of space for us to exploit on our devastating counter attacks.
Defence:
We go with a strong defensive unit at the back, packed with quality as we look to nullify the threat posed by the oppositions attack. If the opposition play one up top then Ramos will mark. Master of the dark arts he's strong, aggressive and a great reader of the game with the tools to deal with any opponent. De Ligt will act as cover, sweeping up and offering cover in behind to eliminate any balls over the top. The Dutchman sweeping up from the back and immediately looking to get us on the counter with his fantastic vision and passing.
Our fullbacks will sit in, no need to bomb on with the quality with have further up the field. Instead we want them to focus on their defensive duties, give the wingers no room to operate. When they're in possession see them down the line, keep them on their weaker foot and don't let them cut inside.
Midfield:
Midfield is where we possess the perfect trio to take the game to the opposition. Neves will sit as a holding player in the middle operating as a DM. A fantastic reader of the game we want him to sit in front of our defence, breaking up the opposition play and a big asset in our ball retention.
De Bruyne and Pogba speak for themselves. When on it they are truly a world class pairing. Their range of passing is sublime and they'll be spraying round the ball round majestically all afternoon.
They'll be our chief creators, picking apart the opposition and playing that killer pass in the final third. Both also possess a great strike from range, if the opposition drop off then both have license to go for goal.
Forwards:
Pace, flair, creativity and goals, this front three really does have it all.
Messi will undoubtably attract the most attention, pretty much everyone he has come against have tried and failed to limit the Argentine maestro. Playing centrally is where we feel he can cause the most damage. His ability to drift ensures it is impossible for him to be man marked or doubled up on by their CB’s. Quick one two’s in and around their box are his bread and butter with the magician able to get create space and get a snapshot off in the blink of an eye. Fortunately he won’t have to do it single-handedly with KDB and Pogba offering him the perfect supply line.
With Jesus on the right it means that if they try and defend narrow they’ll be exposed on the flank with the Brazilian offering pace to get in behind. We want him to really stretch their defence with his runs in behind, forcing them to drop deeper and creating space for Messi to operate. He can also move centrally and interchange with Leo in a dynamic interchanging frontline causing real difficulty for their defence to employ any sort of man marking tactic.
As if this pairing weren’t too much trouble we add a fit again Hazard to the mix. The Belgian getting back to his best and on any other day would be the centre of attention. With their defence trying to handle Jesus and Messi the likelihood is Hazard may well find himself in one on one situations where he is deadly. Go at their defence, look to slip in Messi, a sliderule ball to Jesus, cutback to KDB or Pogba, or just go for goal yourself, the possibilities are endless.
Subs;
If winning:
70 mins: Pogba off, Bentancur on. Dual DM's sitting in front of our defence with KDB as AM.
80 mins: Hazard off, P.Torres on. Tighten up defensively with a 5-4-1 to seal the victory.
If drawing/losing:
65 mins: Hazard off, Sancho on.
75 mins: Jesus & Pogba off, Aguero & Sane on. 4-2-2-2 with Sancho & Sane on the wings and Messi & Aguero up top. Goals.
posted on 31/8/21
--------------------Neuer
------Carlos-----Maguire---Struijk
Catsagne—Jorginho—SMS----Digne
----Chiesa--------Kane-------Depay
Meslier
White
Menino
Brozovic
Pellegrini
Harrison
Isak
Retaining the 3-4-3 for today’s game, but with a couple of changes of personnel from the draw against Wolves. Pascal Struijk comes in for a league debut, to bring better balance to the back three, due to his status as a left-footed defender, enforced by the injury to Hernandez, whilst Federico Chiesa returns on the right hand side of the attack, which is fortuitous, as it is our belief that the wide areas will be key in our plan against Newcastle. Because of the way Ludy likes to play, I believe he often leaves his wide areas exposed for attack, with the FB’s pushing into the midfield leaving space in behind them, and often also leaving his CBs overly exposed, so today we are setting up for a quick counter attacking system, with most of our attacking threat coming down the sides. I have opted for Jorgy and SMS in midfield, to serve as the industry behind the flair, keeping the heart of our team beating, and for the back three, because I know Newcastle like to throw everything into the attack. They will be buoyed by their big money new signing, but with Harry Beckenbauer marking him, and with Lewa unproven in competitive leagues, he will struggle to have a sniff.
Defensively, we know that they like to throw bodies into attack, forming a five man attacking force by pushing men into the advanced midfield. We believe that we have countered this, by opting for the back three, and playing SMS and Jorginho in deeper roles. SMS will operate as a regista for this game, controlling the space in front of the defence, and putting all of his boundless energy into supplementing Jorgy. I want Maguire to stick to Lewandowski, limiting the opportunities of supply into him. Maguire is perfect for this job, as Lewa is unlikely to exploit his pace, whilst Harry should also be a physical match. I want to see Jorgy sitting on Gundogan, tracking his runs into the box, as we see him as a secondary threat to Lewandowski. By not allowing him the time to dictate the play, we should limit their ball retention in this area, and by tracking his runs we should be able to keep him from winning dangerous second balls. Salah and Son will both want to come into more central areas, I suspect, so this will pose a challenge for the two wide CBs. They will double up on these players, supported by the FBs, to prevent them from having the influence that we know they are capable of exerting. In terms of release balls, I want to see Depay and Chiesa sitting wide, allowing us to knock the ball into the wide areas of the pitch, bypassing their intense midfield, and hitting them on the break as quickly as we can, utilising our pacy attacking players in this areas.
Attcking wise, there isn’t really much to say. We need to get the ball into our attacking wingers quickly, and allow them to attack the space vacated by the opposition FBs pushing into midfield. The barcodes have good CBs, but with our attacking trident bearing down upon them, we believe there should be space to exploit, as long as we hit it quickly. Kane will be a handful for their defenders as it is, so that space should be even more exploitable for Depay and Chiesa, both players who thrive in running into wide open areas of the pitch. Support for these players may be limited, as I don’t want to push any of the other players too far forward, knowing that Newcastle have the players to do damage should we leave ourselves overly exposed, so, for today at least, I don’t want to see marauding runs from Castagne and Digne. An exception will be made for set-pieces, where our three big lads can join Kane in the box, and with Digne on delivery, we believe that this is another avenue for us causing them problems.
Despite our change in system, I still want to see an intensity of press, but it will be employed less high than usual. Kane will drop slightly deeper, and engage his press around the deeper part of the Newcastle midfield, whilst Chiesa and Depay adopt their wide outlet position. As said before, Jorgy’s job is to watch Gundogan, meaning that SMS will have to cover the other players in that Newcastle midfield, in conjunction with Kane. It’s a big ask, but I know my players suit the roles that each have been given.
Substitutions
I think to go overly offensive against Newcastle is virtually suicide, so these changes will be to freshen up our options for a high intensity game, as opposed to actually changing the gameplan.
Pellegrini on for Jorginho 70 mins
Brozovic on for SMS 75 mins
Harrison on for Depay 80 mins
posted on 31/8/21
Counter attacking narrow 4-2-3-1
High tempo side, defend narrow in a compact structure with great pressers in front of the dms. In attack we look to exploit the space behind their midfield- which there will be plenty of.
Tactically Spurs are easy to defend against. They lack any width with fbs staying back, and wingers that come inside, Messi and their cms playing in same areas. The 34 year old doesn’t have the pace to hurt us out wide or in behind and we know both him and KdB will be looking to get on the ball in central right areas. If he plays wide as he did at his best, it was with Alves bombing outside him giving the width and a runner, these days he’s a playmaker. So it’s simple, we defend narrow, two strong defensive cms in front of the defence and in a compact shape with no space between the lines. Congers this area so they can’t play in it.
Push them wide and deep. Ideally Messi plays with Aguero up top - they have never worked well together in 15 years for Argentina, either way they lack options to create for and will be relying on ageing legs in an overly congested area.
Spurs relying on individual quality but we have a clear gameplan, individual quality, specific tactics to defend against their threat and specific tactics to expose their weaknesses. We control the game by defending in this narrow deep shape and breaking quickly - let them have the ball in areas they can’t hurt us. We press hard (in our own half only) moving as a compact unit to the side of play.
In attack we play more direct, target the space in behind their midfield - as there would be huge gaps here. This is a dream for likes of Bruno and Mount. Bruno on the left with freedom to drift central into this space. Up top Sterling as false 9. With so much space between their defence and midfield, Sterling also drops deeper into this area and with the overload here will draw out a cb, leaving a gap in defence for a runner to exploit.With Bruno, Mount and Mane as willing runners and Goretzka supporting. Sterling then getting back in the box and he loves a back post tap in. Mane plays high up the park, always offering an option and looking to get him close to Raheem, supporting and getting in behind. One of the fbs bombs forward at a time providing width - double up on their fbs if they dont get protection.
Set pieces will also be important we have four giants in the air to get forward, and fantastic delivery where we can dominate against Spurs - have one of the four draw Ramos to the wrong post (back or front) then then other three target area central and at the other post.
————————————— Alisson ———————————
R.James ——Marquinhos —— Laporte —— D.Alaba
————————- Goretzka —— Rodri —————————
————————————— M.Mount ———————
——— S.Mane ———————————— B.Fernandes ——
————————————- R.Sterling ——————————
Subs. Schmeichel, D.Rice, Szoboszlai, Gnabry, D.Jota, Lautaro, Osimhen
Rodri and Goretzka are the two big boys in front of defence to bully their players that will be crowding this area. Mount and Bruno in front also offer a great work rate to press. Mane’s work rate for a star is also impressive as he gets back in to the narrow shape.
Rodri dictating the tempo of the game moving the ball quickly - he stays in front of defence giving cover when we attack. The defence are all fantastic on the ball though, they move it quickly and we give them freedom to play long. Get the ball to the front 4 as quickly as possible, find them in space.
Quick and direct football in to feet and in to space, in the final third we give all players creative freedom to use their quality to create and produce magic to open up the opposition.
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.
Defence plays relatively deep when the opposition get in our half, leaving no space behind - with midfield covering in front, so no space either side. In a compact and narrow 4-2-3-1, closing down the space, narrowing to the side of play.
Pressing
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 the space. Stop them breaking and press them high up the park. After this initial quick press if we don’t win the ball in 10 seconds we drop off - and press again when they come into our half.
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 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, we drop deeper into a narrower tighter formation narrowing to the side of play, ensuring there are no gaps in the formation. Push them wide. 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 Jota for Bruno. More pace up top to stretch tired legs, and a greater presser to keep up high tempo.
If winning after 75 mins bring on Rice for Goretzka. Strong defensively and hard working, fresh energy in Cm.
If winning after 80mins bring on Lautaro for Mane. Power and pace up top to bully tired cbs.
If drawing after 70 mins bring on Gnabry for Mount. More pace as game opens up and legs tire. Bruno to Cm.
If drawing after 80 mins bring on Lautaro for Mane.
If drawing after 85 mins bring on Szoboslai for Goretzka. Attacking move - fantastic long passes and distance shooting specialist.
If losing after 70 mins bring on Szoboslai for Goretzka - Mount deeper. Long shot specialist.
At same time if losing after 70 mins we also bring on Osimhen for R.James. 3-5-2. Our own Drogba as big man up top. They like to shut up shop when winning - this just invites pressure and we will deliver.
If losing after 75 mins bring on Gnabry for Mount. Bruno, Rodri, Szoboslai central. Sterling and Osimhen up top. Mane and Gnabry wide.
posted on 31/8/21
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS VS Liverpool
Injuries:
Nelson Semedo
Owen Wijndal
Jordan Pickford
Nikola Milenkovic
……………………………………Donnarumma……………………..
Hoever…………….Koulibaly……….Romagnoli………Spinazzola
……………………………..Busquets………..Verratti………………….
Bale………………………………….Insgine…………………….Neymar
……………………………………….Ronaldo………………
Subs: Turati, Williams, Phillips, Wijnaldum, Soumare, Griezmann, Vlahovic
First home game of the season, and after a disappointing return of just 1 point from the opening 2 games we need to get moving.
Liverpool have a good mix of youth and experience but man for man we have the better side, plus home advantage giving us a +3 slot head start.
Fast paced direct football today, 3 touch, pass and move, draw the scouse out of position and hit them hard and fast with our mobile front-four.
Donnarumma, may only be 22 but with 215 games for Milan and 33 caps for Italy under his belt he’s already considered an old head, big strong and fills the goal, a daunting prospect for Liverpools attack.
The back-line has that lovely blend of pace and power, koulibaly and Romagnoli give us that highly rated Left/Right combo, and the recovery speed of Kouli alongside the blistering pace of our full-backs enables to play a higher line today, meaning we can keep the ball better and dictate the tempo of this fixture.
Roma is the spare man watching the secondary balls and/or late runs into the box whilst Kouli is the muscle that attack the first ball.
Hoever and Spina are modern full-backs that will be expected to cover a lot of ground in the attacking third as well. Both have the pace to get up and down and with their wingers liking to come inside they’ll have a lot of space available to them to get the pitch really wide… defensively nothing exciting im afraid, Jockey the man and slow him down, don’t dive in unless necessary but if you miss the ball make sure you play the man.
Verratti and Busquets are as good a double-six as you’ll find anywhere, trophy laden careers domestically, continentally and internationally, they cover each others weakness and compliment each others strengths, both have a great work ethic, strong in the tackle and can pick the right pass consistently. We want them to hold their positions somewhat today, we have a potent front four and two flying FB’s so these two will push no closer than 35 yards from the Liverpool goal.
Bale and Neymar are out wide but are more inside forwards, will both come in off their line hoping to take a body with them and create spaces for our FB’s to exploit, both men have a good shot on them form distance so it’s always an option, we desperately need goals so we have to take advantage of a boisterous home crowd and pepper the Liverpool goal.
Insigne is the nominal #10 and given free licence to roam around the final third linking the play and finding the switch balls when they’re on. Great at driving forwards with the ball and hitting those sweet curlers, if he can find half a yard of space, with his low centre of gravity it’s all he needs to create himself that chance.
Ronaldo is the #9, leads the line by example, a natural born leader and a stone cold finisher, we don’t want him chasing back or running channels, there’s no need we have enough numbers for that, we want him in and around the box doing what he’s best at, pull the trigger and win us the game.
Subs 65 mins:
Wij > Busquets
Soumare > Verratti
Wij goes B2B and Soumare goes as a pure DM
Griezmann > Insigne like for like
posted on 31/8/21
Wulfs vs LIVERPOOL
Injuries:
Adama Traore
Cody Gakpo
Brandon Williams
Morgan Gibbs-White
……………………………………………lloris…………………………………….
……………………..Ake……………..Varane………..Botman
Trippier……………….Tonali………………McKennie………….Zinchenko
…………………………………………..Neto………………………………….
…………………………Belotti……………….Icardi
Subs: trubin, Williams, Schuurs, Willock, Cajuste,Leao, Kelechi
Away at the Molineux for a really difficult game, Wolves are jam packed of attacking talent, so we’ve gone with a 3-5-2, keep a defensively rigid shape, stifle the middle ground and try to stop them laying through us, and hit them hard on the counter.
No fancy tactics from us today, we’re the underdog and we know what we have to do, keep it simple take the sting out of the game, and wait patiently for a chance, it’ll come they always come and then booom we’re in business.
Our back-line is challenged with a potent attack today but they take a man each and see how it plays out.
Ake vs Neymar, watch the cut inside, try and show him the line, don’t dive in just stand him up and nick the ball away
Botman vs Bale, tricky one this as a flying Bale murders us but we give him half a yard, don’t step in tight let him come on to you and then using that 6ft5 frame to physically slow him down, Bale gan go inside or out so like Ake no diving in, jut read his body language.
Varane vs Ronaldo… if anyone can stop CR7 it’s Rapha, he’s a rolls Royce of a player. Will need to get up close and personal, use the dark arts and nip at him on his touch, try and keep him playing with his back to goal, man or ball or man and ball its all good.
Trippier and Zinchenko are charged with getting us some attacking width, they both push on, high and wide, our defence and Tonali will be looking for the wide angled balls, so we want these two, bringing the ball down and pinging them into the box for our strikers to latch onto. Defensively help out the RCB and LCB cus Bale and Neymar in a 1v1 is a tough call.
Tonali and McKennie are in the engine room, Tonali will play the hybrid Anchor and playmaker role that he performs so well, him sitting there just gives that protection to the defence as he can cut out the balls into Insigne and stop Wolves over-running us. Mckennie is a big game player and he comes in as our B2B, big strong and athletic with an eye for goal, he’ll be looking to go toe to toe with the Wolves DM’s get in at them and stop them settling into a rhythm.
Neto is the #10, so quick and direct, a real pest for opposing defenders, he wants to drive on with the ball and that’s his game today, get at wolves draw tackles and offload into the spaces he’s carved out.
Belotti and Icardi are maybe too samey but they carry such a goal threat that they have to learn to play with each other, we want them running parallel to each other, as one drops deep the other runs on (this alternates) this should in theory make some space and hopefully a 1v1 in the danger zone as one of wolves CB’s will have to come out to follow the man. The key to this working is Neto, as the one striker drops deep into his “space” Neto then makes the late run into the box, this hopefully causes confusion between CB and DM as to whos man is Neto, gives us a split second and that’s all it takes for icardi or Belotti to pull the trigger
Subs:
60 mins
Kelechi > Belotti – like for like
Leao > Icardi – like for like
Willock > Neto – Like for like
posted on 3/9/21
LIVERPOOL vs leeds
Injuries:
Rayan Ait Nouri
Adama Traore
Rafael Leao
Kelechi Iheanacho
Leeds are much improved under Lubo, who has taken them from relegation fodder to a solid mid-table unit, they’ve come away with points vs Newcastle and Wolves so this is no easy fixture.
Adama is injured for the 11 millionth week in a row and with Leao and Kelechi sidelined as well it’s not the most attacking unit in the world.
………………………………………………….lloris…………………………………..
…………………………….Kabak…………Varane………Botman…………..
Dumfries…………………….Tonali………….McKennie…………….Zinchenko
………………………………………………..Neto…………………………………
……………………………….Belotti…………………Icardi………………………
Subs: Trubin, Trippier, Ake, Cajuste, Willock, Gakpo, Stengs
Our side is a work in progress, the midfield is lacking that top class game changer in the engine room, so we play to our relative strengths, solid core to this side, really strong back-line and a potent strike duo that when they click we’ll be in business.
Straight forward football today, not asking anything complex from the lads, just play their natural games, that’s why they’re in the side,
Fast paced, slick passing style, keep hold of the ball and probe the leeds defence, don’t rush it don’t force it, there’s 90 mins to get the goals we need.
Lloris is a top quality shot stopper, with a wealth of experience and a world cup winners medal to boot. Cool calm and collected, will organise the defence, quick off his line closing down the angles, with ball to feet will look to play it out, either to the CB’s or WB’s
The back-line is a solid wall in-front of our keeper, Leeds have a great attack that’s pretty quick, so we play a slightly deeper line, hold it about 25 yards out from goal, it cuts out the through ball and run behind as Lloris will be off his line like a whippet.
Kabak and Botman will look to shuffle wide and help their WB out when required, ball to feet open up their bodies and look to hit the balls either into midfield or go longer with diagonals to the wing-backs to latch onto.
Varane is a rolls Royce of a defender, will use his 6ft2 frame to nullify Kane but he’s so much more than just a stopper, he’s comfortable on the ball and a natural winner, will talk his young defensive partners through the game, organisation is key to his game.
Dumfries and Zinchenko as wing-backs will give us the attacking width, look to push up the pitch and bang crosses into the box as quick as possible, we want to be peppering the Leeds goal early doors before they get chance to settle in, defensively I’m expecting them to be dealing with Leeds wing-backs unless Lubo being a reactionary manager changes to a different shape, we have the pace to live with Leeds WB’s so no need to just dive in, stand them up and try to force the cross.
Tonali and mcKennie may be outnumbered but we’re never outgunned. Sandro T is the deep lying playmaker, will string the transitions together and dictate the tempo we want to play at, because our defence is a little deeper than usual, the natural urge would be for him to sit deeper but we don’t need him to, we want him 35 yards from our goal, closing out Leeds’ passing lanes and making them have to try and force a pass that then leads to turnover possession. Whilst Sandro does the defensive hard work, Weston puts in the hard miles in the B2B role, big game player with an eye for goal.
Neto is the #10, so quick and direct, a real pest for opposing defenders, he wants to drive on with the ball and that’s his game today, get at Leeds defence draw tackles and offload into the spaces he’s carved out.
Belotti and Icardi are maybe too samey but they carry such a goal threat that they have to learn to play with each other, we want them running parallel to each other, as one drops deep the other runs on (this alternates) this should in theory make some space and hopefully a 1v1 in the danger zone as one of wolves CB’s will have to come out to follow the man. The key to this working is Neto, as the one striker drops deep into his “space” Neto then makes the late run into the box, this hopefully causes confusion between CB and DM as to whos man is Neto, gives us a split second and that’s all it takes for icardi or Belotti to pull the trigger
Subs 65 mins
Cajuste > McKennie, like for like, just fresh legs in the engine room
posted on 3/9/21
Men united vs WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Injuries:
Raul Jimenez
Samuele Ricci
Alessio Romagnoli
Leonardo Spinazzola
Tough game away at old Trafford, Nadz is finally using wing-backs which makes it a bit more of a task to break down this very French-centric side.
United have been playing a back three of late so we’ll stick to our attacking principles mix it up in one of our old systems and try to find the overloads in Nadz’s final third, worst case scenario we stifle each other and end up with a draw, which considering he has home advantage I’d take pre-kick off.
……………………………………………………..Donnarumma……………………………
…………………………..…Koulibaly………..Milenkovic……..Soyuncu………….
………………………………………..Busquets……………..Verratti………………..
Bale………………………………………………….Insigne…………………………………Neymar
………………………………………Griezmann…………….Ronaldo…………………………….
Subs: Pickford, Semedo, Wijndal, Wijnaldum, Trincao, McNeil, Vlahovic
I know it’s super attacking and we run massive risks, but as a wide man once said “the best form of defence is attack”
Obviously our rear guard looks exposed at the flanks but the most we expect Nadz to play is a trident uptop, that’s fine, perfectly fine as our defenders go man-to-man, LCB and RCB if it’s a winger don’t go out-wide to them just patrol the perimeter of the box, if it’s a front like he played last week then it’s man marking.
It does look on paper that his wing-backs get a free run at our defence but that’s not the case if you imagine the layout of the pitch, his wing-backs can’t push on because Bale and Neymar are pushed so high up the pitch if they kick on then that exposes Man Uniteds flanks, yes they play 3 at the back but we’re playing a front-two and a #10 so that ties up his 3 centre-backs.
So yes lack of wing-backs exposes us in theory but in practice IF he goes his usual setup it’s negated by the very fact that if he pushes them on to punish us he leaves himself exposed and our front-five is so full of game changers that he can’t risk getting into 1v1’s so he’ll have to double up on some of our players but which ones does he risk letting go?
He does however have a very good base with which to build a platform, but with Lorenzo in the hole that occupies one of his midfielders full-time (unless a CB pushes out to cover him) but then that leaves Ronaldo and Griezzer in a 2v2.
So that’s a lot of words for saying we attack from the front.
Nadz tends to start games with a deeper line to keep the initial phases tight, that’s fine we won’t go too gung-ho, we’ve discussed out front five enough but now it’s about feeding them service.
Donna – possibly one of the best GK’s in world football, certainly the best in his age bracket, an absolute beast, has the power to go long which he can do to mix it up but we want the ball so it’s short measured passes where possible, if the press is on then be sensible Row Z is better than being dispossessed and conceding a cheap one.
The back-line are big strong individuals not the quickest, but all clear 6ft so any lofted balls into our box is bread and butter for them, all are good with ball to feet, so we look to open up the passing triangles to bypass the United press, United’s front men are pacey so we can’t take liberties, one touch to control it one touch to move it on, no faffing about.
The key to our system working is our double pivot being able to control the midfield and whilst we don’t have a wrecking ball, destroyer in there we have 2 men that can put their foot in and do so, but they use their brains not brawn, Biscuits still cant believe that Fan let him go without a replacement even though he’s still amongst the best in the world in that role, he’ll be the one to sit and sweep, dropping deeper as required to help out the defence, has a great range of passing that he can mix up and keep united running.
Verratti is more box to box, he’s not a blockbuster in the Gerrard mould, but he has a passing ability that not many can match, he’ll take it, pass it, move, rinse and repeat, always probing for a weakness.
Busquets and Verratti is a two man Tik-Italia
Bale-Ins-Ney is a fluid attacking midfield trident, all three are capable of playing in the 3 positions so we want fluid transitions between, them, the nominal wingers will be high and wide – as high as possible to keep on-side, we need to stretch out this united defence and peg back their wing-backs or full-backs, whilst both can cut in, I want them taking their man on and then putting balls into the box, coming inside is the worst thing we can do as it will add more congestion. Whoever is the 10 will be given the freedom to roam, but as he drops deeper trying to take a runner with him and link with Tik-Italia, the space left is filled by GRIEZMANN who then connects the wide forwards and Ronaldo, as the 10 rejoins the phase Griezzer than pushes on too.
Ronaldo is our #9 Griezzer is the #9.5 – Ronaldo will stay high and centre, pinning atleast 1 CB in position, they won’t want to allow him any 1v1’s so he will probably take 2 defenders away, thus giving our other attackers even more creative freedom, Griezzer is a capable front-man but he has a wonderful footballing brain so will just take a few steps back to make himself some pockets of space, we’ll be getting lots of balls into the box, and whilst Ronaldo will win more than his share there will be loose balls for him and Insigne to pounce on.
Subs 65 mins:
Vlahovic > Ronaldo – like for like swap, has continued where he left off with 3 in 3 for Fiorentina this season.
Wijnaldum > Busquets – more energy in the engine as we go with two B2B’s.
Trincao > Bale – fast and tricky, the wolves/barca youngster up against tiring legs
posted on 4/9/21
------------------------ Martinez ------------------------
------- Skriniar ------ S.deVrij ------ C.Coady -------
Aarons ------- T.Kroos ------ Onyeka ------- Gosens
------------------------- B.Silva -------------------------
---------------- Lukaku -------- Werner ---------------
Okoye, Tierney, Di Lorenzo, Prowse, Zaniolo, Gouiri, Watkins
When we don't have the ball, we will press high up the pitch, conceding very little space, B.Silva will look to steal the ball within the attacking third and hopefully, quickly get it to those ahead of him. We do not give them any time on the ball and our front 2 prevent their defence hanging on to it too long or trying to play form the back as we pressurise them all the time.
If they do get to our half then we have a strong back 3 and double pivot ahead to prevent play through the middle, meaning they will need to push wide, whichever side they attack from tho I want B.Silva to push to that side again to close them down and support the wingbacks, lots of pace in the front three to get at players.
When we have the ball it starts from the back moving the ball around between defence and centre midfield until the moment arrives when a pass can be made through to the front line, , there is no rush, if they come pressing we simply move it to the wide areas for them to bomb down the line and look to either cut it back or get a pass into the front three.
Martinez is our sweeper keeper, he always makes himself big, I want him involved with the defence playing out, if he has the ball I want him to find players especially the wingbacks when we are ready to attack
Skriniar and Coady, Cover the wingbacks when they have pushed forward and take the ball out of defence, use there positional sense well as they may be out paced., must do this with confidence, if they lose the ball then all numbers back to cover, if they are being pressurised then a simple pass even back to the keeper and start again, stay wide (depending on what side) to cover wingbacks if they are forward.
de Vrij - He will press the opposition striker, when we lose the ball he needs to be on top of the CF very quickly, he must intercept everything, but he has the experience to do this, don't take any risks as the CF will also be on him so move it quickly when he gets it.
Aarons and Gosens, must work very hard, they have great work rate but this must done for the whole game, get down the line, get the crosses in, two great forwards to aim for, don't worry so much about whats behind you as their is plenty cover, I don't mean forget your defence duties, just play with a bit of freedom, crosses, one-twos, cut backs and all with pace to hurt them.
Although Oneyka's primary role in front of the defence is to win possession and then start an attacking phase, he is not too different to Kante in the type of style he plays. Within this he needs to cover spaces in between the midfield and defence where the opposition’s number 10 will likely to be operating whilst also being aware when the full-backs had pushed forward. Take care of the No 10/SS is also a main focus, he has a lot of grit and determination to his game so stick to him like glue and stop him becoming a threat, very good in the air so can attack long/high balls before they get to our defenders. Once he is in possession of the ball nice simple balls to those around him.
Kroos has responsibility throughout the pitch. He is expected to score goals and create chances for the front 3, whilst also helping in the defensive third. One requirement of this role are high fitness levels due to the amount of running he is expected to do and he does a lot. The box-to-box midfielder is more likely to be found on the side of the pitch where the full-back that is less efficient in the attacking third plays to provide balance on both flanks..
B.Silva is in a free role I want him to dictate proceedings in the final third, either playing the through ball to the front two or use the wingers, pass in between the lines and give them something to run onto as the drive passed the defender, making late runs into the box and look for any loose ball to have a pop at goal, he, Silva is a great finisher so look to make late runs into the area and latching onto crosses from wide areas, defending wise, I want him to harass who ever has the ball in that area, get it and move it forward as quickly as possible, also can draw players into him, therefore winning a lot of free kicks
Werner I want to be making all the runs behind the defence, a tirless worker always making it hard for defenders, I want him to drift wide and pull defenders away, quick and skillfull, look to move out to create an outlet for the wingbacks to use or indeed link with B.Silva to get Lukaku away on goal, he and Lukaku both fantastic in the air, so while they aim for Lukaku, Werner & Silva will be making the late runs into the danger area and with a head start look to get up early and attack the crosses coming in. Again, really put the pressure on their back line, they are great going forward but today, pretty weak at the back
Lukaku, is our out an out No.9, fox in the box, a bully and powerful striker, he is there to finish off chances created by other, I want him always on the last man, no defending required from him, always ready to pounce, if however he cant get in on goal he has plenty round him to lay it off to, or just a quick pass and look to get into space where he can get his shot off, end of, he is in to score goals and that is what he shall do.
Captain de Vrij
Pens - Lukaku
Free Kicks - B.Silva
Corners - B.Silva
Losing -
65 Mins - Watkins for Aarons, Watkins goes to right of a 3 man attack, Silva to RM a more 343 formation
75 Mins - Gouiri for Gosens, more attacking from our wide players
Winning -
75 Mins - Prowse for Werner and to the left of Onyeka 3511, Di Lorenzo for Aarons for fresh legs and to stop any new threat
80 Mins - Tierney for Gosens go 5311
Drawing -
70 Mins - Di Lorenzo for Aarons, Watkins for Werner, fresh legs
75 Mins - Zaniolo for Silva
posted on 4/9/21
------------------------- Oblak -------------------------
J.Cancelo ---- Romero ---- Bastoni ---- Robertson
------------- Bissouma -------- F.de Jong ------------
-- F.Torres ---------- Grealish ----------- Musiala --
------------------------ Mbappe ------------------------
Pope, Kouassi, Mendes, Locatelli, Bellingham, Mahrez, Moreno
Maybe a few surprising selections today as we play an in form Newcastle side full of quality, but who we have brought in are young, creative wingers, full of energy and pace, we will have a go as we always do to try and bounce back from a pretty disappointing result last week.
Playing from the back and quick on the break and really pressurise the opposition with a dominate performance, we don't allow their midfield to dominate, I want our front three play quite a high line, put pressure on the defence, force them into mistakes and misplaced passes so we can gain control again, Wingers will be able get in behind quite easily as their fullbacks like to push forward, we want to hit them quickly, when we defend, the back 4 must stay solid with Bissouma and de Jong ahead of them just in front harassing the man with the ball before they get to our back 4. CBs up for set pieces.
Bastoni and Romero at the heart of our defence. Romero picks up the CF he is quick, feisty and powerful so will stop the threat of their No.9, he must look a few seconds ahead so he can intercept any ball coming through to stop the striker in his tracks early, Bastoni is spare picks up the AM or any other player that's roams into the danger area, if they get away from our midfield, 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 it out wide quickly, Both CBs comfortable on the ball so can bring it out when in no danger and look for the pass longer to the forwards 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 the other forming a back 3, we cant afford be exposed,they will drive up and down the pitch for 90+ mins, they support the wingers on the outside making an extra man. If either get caught up field I want others to help out defensively and to cover spaces made by our fullbacks, this gives our fullbacks more freedom to make their way to midfield to cover. Grealish also covers by dropping back to fill in the midfield even just to follow any defender that moves up field or to fill the gap either CM has made by moving to pick up men. CBs up for corners, FBs and Bissouma stay back.
Bissouma is is tenacious, energetic and feisty, just what we need in our midfield, 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, 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, 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, he will also look for piercing balls for the front 3 to drive onto and go for goal. Grealish is essential to our style of play, he is the link between defence and attack he controls the pace of the game, as we break quickly he will look to set up our front three, also, he will drop back at times to pick it up then look to his dribbling and passing capabilities to get him around player and if their is space he will into the danger area to unleash a powerful drive, sometimes taking a foul as he is a tricky player to mark gaining cheap freekicks, When in possession always head up looking for the movement of our front three to play them in, he draws players in, so as he does this he will pass the ball away sometimes taking 2/3 players out of the game leaving a lot more room for others to make something dangerous, he will pass and move to always make himself available. 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. All of our midfield three must press the opposition and get to grips with this game very early on.
Our wingers are extremely quick, young and full of energy, when we don't have the ball they drop back a bit to make up the numbers as opposition attack, push into the faces of the opposition to force them into mistakes and hopefully in the end they lose the ball, Ferran and Musiala will cause them problems drifting in an out, taking men on and getting in behind their fullbacks, thus allowing Grealish more time and space to pick his moment to move into space as an attacking threat and eventually to Mbappe who can beat any defender with power/pace and the other wingers who will look to get into space to get a shot off, if their defence is on top then we can always go direct at times and fire early crosses especially from deep from the fullbacks to mids and Mbappe, we must always make sure Mbappe is well supported, especially wingers who at times will be right on his shoulder or alongside.
Captain - de Jong
Free Kicks - Grealish
Corners - Grealish
Penalties - Mbappe
Losing -
65 Mins - G.Moreno for Musiala, he goes up top, Grealish to LM in a 4-4-2 formation, look to get the ball into the front two quickly and Grealish causing mayhem down the left
75 Mins - Bellingham for Robertson, Cancelo to RCB, Bellingham to play in a supporting role for the forwards, Mahrez for Ferran
Winning -
75 Mins - Locatelli for Musiala, Grealish LM, Locatelli to the right of Bissouma as we look to close it out
84 Mins - Mahrez for Ferran 451
88 Mins - Moreno for Mbappe
Drawing -
65 Mins - Bellingham for de Jong, Mahrez for Ferran
75 Mins - Moreno for Musiala, Grealish to the left, Moreno up top 442
posted on 5/9/21
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. Arsenal’s side is very attack heavy and we look to exploit the space left by this in midfield by controlling midfield, getting on top of the game and keeping them penned in their half. With this control we look to target the space between Arsenal’s cbs and fbs, their fbs are great attacking but have weaknesses defensively that we will look to exploit next to a young cb pair.
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. Look to get the wide players running at and in behind their fbs.
Up top we go with a front 3 full of pace, the wingers stay high and wide in possession, stretching Arsenal’s defence and setting the side up perfectly for the possession play and in possession to exploit space left by and in behind their fbs and defence.
In front of the defence Rodri and Thiago are the perfect two for the possession, play with Fernandes playing an attacking role with freedom to drift. 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.
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 Arsenal 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. Double up on their fbs if we can.
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 ———————————
R.James — Marquinhos —— Laporte —— Alaba
————————————— Rodri ————————————
———————— Thiago.A —— B.Fernandes —————
—————————————————————————————
Gnabry ——————— L.Martinez ————- S.Mane
Subs. Henderson, Gvardiol, Rice, Goretzka, Felix, Jota, 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 Arsenal 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 Arsenal 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 Arsenal 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 Jota for Mane, fresh pace.
If drawing after 70 mins bring on Jota for James. 3-5-2. More direct and goal scorer.
If drawing after 80 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 Jota for Mane. More trickery to get us back in it.
If losing after 80 mins bring on Felix for James. Gung ho.
If a red : bring off Lautaro for player in position that’s been sent off, going 4-3-2. Mane and Gnabry have goals and pace to trouble any defence alone.
If gk - Henderson
If rb, Marquinhos to rb, Alaba to cb, Gvardiol on at lb
If cb Alaba to cb, Gvardiol to lb
If Rodri - bring on Rice.
If Bruno - bring on Felix
If Mane/Gnabry or Lautaro - no subs (till later then winning/losing)
posted on 5/9/21
Tottenham Hotspur v BRENTFORD
------------------Simón
Maehle, T. Silva, Guehi, Grimaldo
----------Kovacic, Höjbjerg
Berardi--------James--------Mertens
-----------------Suárez
Subs: Kelleher, Livramento, Koopmeiners, Gallagher, Isco, Immobile, Ibrahimovic
Captain: Thiago Silva
Free Kicks: Berardi/James
Penalties: Suárez
Our defensive unit consists of Thiago Silva and Marc Guehi 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 Domenico Berardi, 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 Domenico Berardi and Dries Mertens, who are excellent in tight spaces and fantastic dribblers, will cut inside or make runs into the box.
James Rodríguez, 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 Berardi, 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 Berardi, 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
Gallagher on for Höjbjerg and Ibrahimovic on for Suárez
Double substitution - boundless midfield play from Gallagher 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.
posted on 5/9/21
NEWCASTLE 3-5-2
———————-— Mendy
————— Dias - Matip - Virgil
Trent - Gundogan - Fabian - Kessie - Shaw
—————— Salah - Lewa
Subs: Modric, Casemiro, Christensen, Son, Silva, Pedro Goncalves, Naby
Captain: VVD
Set piece: Trent
Penalties: Salah
Today we line up with a three man defence to create a solid base. Point of this system is to create space for the deep lying midfielder to play and counter the press. Creating a system to make the deep lying midfielder press resistant by making a space for him to constantly drop in and receive the ball.
In possession, the wing backs are expected to keep the width for the team and progress with the team to their box. Our main method of direct progression is direct passes and layoffs through the lines and we do this all over the pitch. From centre half into the number 8 and the number 8 lays off to the number 6. The 6 then plays into the striker and again laying off to the 8. Crucial for that is the use of triangles between the players.
We have two excellent and complementary forwards who thrive on direct balls. They can hold up play or drop off. To complement their play we will play very vertically, especially if the centre backs can bring the ball out and then look to play the strikers in directly. When done well this could help create 3v4 or 3v3 situations.
Our centre centre back will be the one that breaks the line and passes into midfield, very occasionally galloping up the field to join the attack. He will be able to break the offense, midfield, and even the defensive line with just one pass. Of course this is not always the case, so if there is no direct way to get the forwards involved he will use his dribbling ability to pass the first defending line where he will then be able to play a line-breaking ball out of a midfield position. If the opposition have blocked the passing lanes to the strikers, the CCB will use his overview to switch the point of the game. He will then make a long-range pass out wide to one of the wing-backs who usually have a lot of space in front of them.
When one striker has the ball, the other will run forward centrally to open up spaces with midfielders exploiting the spaces providing passing and layoff options.
Attacking play style
We also look to width to create chances. We attack in a 3-3-4 formation with both wingbacks joining to become a front 4. At least one wingback looks to push high and isolate his opposite man. The inside midfielder will then push outwards to create overloads in wide areas, assisted by a striker dropping off - the other striker and midfielder are then able to make runs against the opposition CBs also making deeper runs into the box.
Defensive play style
Defensively we become a 5-3-2 when under periods of sustained pressure. We will create a compact defensive shape of 5 defenders and 3 midfielders very close to the backline. The forwards work defensively to help regain possession by reducing space for the opponents.
We look to press man for man higher up the pitch and try to shoo the opposition into wide areas by allowing the opposition fullbacks some space leaving them as the easiest pass options. This allows us to congest the middle making us hard to play through. When engaging the press out wide, there is often space behind the opposition wingbacks into which we can attack. Particularly effective against teams playing 433/4231 as we can go man for man across the pitch killing their possession play.
Defensive transitions
First and foremost get all men back into the defensive shape, return very very quickly into this shape and add more numbers than opponents have attackers. Make space tight. Most important are the two wingbacks as they have to drop back into the defensive line quickly very often during the game. A formidable and organized defence keeping things tight at the back, allowing an extremely solid foundation from which to attack.
Offensive transitions
We need to also be great on the counter. When the ball is won, the strikers look for out balls. On the break they are joined by a CM and one of the wingbacks.
Subs.
65 mins - Naby on Gundogan off. Fresh legs.
70 mins losing/drawing - Son on Kessie off. Struggling to break them down so we need to stretch them. 3-4-3 Son left salah right Lewa central
75 mins losing/drawing - Silva on Matip off. Get behind their defence. 442
75 mins winning - Modric for Kessie. Calm things a bit.
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