This is like asking "How long is a piece of string?" as well as assuming he's not a "Pay to win" player either.
The factors are many and multiple for this game and really it does depends on your team skills etc. I've beaten teams with similar levels to this last season [I was Level 8 and I beat teams up to Level 13]. It also depends if they're a managed team (present in the game to counter what you do in real time when you change tactics etc.

There are two types of this formation listed, and you don't say what one the opposition are using. The listings suggest the following formations [see below] you should play to get the best results.
But these also depend on a number of factors that people never ever seem to take in to consideration.
Namely your players skill levels in comparison (I refer to your screenshot) Players ages, morale, bonuses etc etc.
Also I found that critical factors are player speed and fitness and strength. Are they fast enough, fit enough and strong enough? To me these are important, especially in games like these.


Suggested formations to counter his are shown below.
Him 4-1-2-1-2 Narrow Diamond
You 4-5-1 V-Style

Him 4-1-2-1-2 Wide Diamond
You 3-5-2 Flat

Given the limited information you've supplied, I'd favour the following with the formations listed above, to counter his.

Attack
Team Mentality: Hard Defending
Focus Passing: Mixed
Passing Style: Mixed
Force Counter Attacks: On

Defence
Pressing Style: Low
Tackling Style: Hard
Marking Style: Zonal
Play Offside: No

Bonuses.
Concentrate on using Defensive and Condition Bonuses during the game to help you out. You'll probably need a minimum of 6% on each to ensure you have enough to use in the game.

Also beware of bookings, I've found that if the AI "decides" to play "dirty" and start flashing cards, especially in the early part of the game then beware of your players getting booked as this can mess up your tactics big time. you may need to change the Tackling Style to "Nornal" or "Easy" dependent on the number of your players that get booked. Player Aggression also plays a big role here. The higher they are the more prone they are to being booked.
Fortunately, for me at least, my players can play in numerous positions so If I have to make changes I can hopefully cover them.

Change things as you see fit during the game, and if needed, you could focus passing down both flanks, also as Hard Defending means a lack of players up top then you could use Long Balls on Passing Style as well.
Arrows up on your Striker are important and I'm assuming you have fairly fast players, ie faster than his hopefully, but given his players star ratings then I doubt it, as drawing his team on to yours by Low Pressing should help and long balls up to your striker too, assuming mixed doesn't do it for you.
Arrows down on your Defenders, especially if playing No Offside Trap, and hopefully you can deal with him, or at least make it hard(er) for him in the match.

I hope these suggestions help you out, if not for this game then for other games you play.


Assuming you've not seen these then the formation guides are listed here and could help you out.

From this forum >>>> http://forum.topeleven.com/formation...ation-use.html

and also this one elsewhere >>> Counter Formation – Top Eleven | Top Eleven

What is missing unfortunately, are tactics, bonuses etc. These are key to helping you play matches, along with player fitness/strength to see the match out.
It would be nice if these could be listed with formations etc, but then you'd have a veritable "bible" to read through for every game.
Another thing that could help you out would be to track back through your opponents recent matches, assuming you can do this, to see what formations he uses, or sticks to, and also what was played against him. Also take a look at his position in his league, sometimes a good guide to how he is doing in that, as well as a pointer to if the team is being managed or not.



Below are details of tactics I used when playing against a 4-1-4-1 [yes, I know it's not the same formation] and these worked for me, despite people telling me to the contrary, but there is other information there, as I've said, that could help you out when playing your game(s) in the future.

Details on how I played in these games etc are given in this link here

>>>> http://forum.topeleven.com/formation...2-n-1-1-a.html <<<<

Screenshots with details and match stats etc. I won, and also won the final against a Level 10 player but I never got around to posting those results. But now I'm on this forum, I'll update it. Better late than never..
I'm not saying this will help you out with your game but if you take a look I've added info on what I did during my games. Tactical changes, bonuses used, subs made etc and when I played them. These are dependent on different game factors though.


I'd be interested to know the outcome of the game, assuming you've not played it already.
[On my day off and it's early Monday morning here in the UK]