4-5-1 V-style

[pcmacdaniel]

4-5-1V was my base formation last season and I ended up winning a treble with it. It's a very difficult formation to play against, as a universal counter does not exist, however there are a few things that it does have problems against.

1. DML and DMR. 4-5-1v plays heavily through the flanks, often with speedy wingers in the open pitch on the counter-attack. If the opponents AML and AMR are fast, the most important thing to do is find a way to contain that speed. DML and DMR have speed listed as a gray stat, so it negates that speed advantage, forcing the 4-5-1v manager to play a match that will be probably be decided with physicality (strength) instead of pace (speed). Formations like a 3n-2w-3n-2 or 3n-2w-2n-2w-1 can have success defensively against the 4-5-1v for this reason.

2. If playing with a DL and DR, if your wingbacks are faster, man-to-man marking can work, and the AML/AMR speed shouldn't be a huge problem. If slower, I would recommend playing a zone defensively, which should help contain his wingers, since if they beat one man, they'll just get picked up by someone else in the zone, but this will leave you vulnerable to good strikers that are able to find holes in the zone. I had this be a major problem in association like a month back, I was a 15% underdog, and his striker picked me apart. I went zone defense, and held the AML and AMR to a combined 1 goal (.5/match), but the striker scored 3 and I lost 4-5 agg (2-2; 2-3: Assoc lost 15-18).

3. 4-5-1v is an effective counter-attacking formation so I would recommend setting orders and arrows in a manner, which doesn't increase the risk of the opponent launching a deadly counter attack.

4. I abandon the 4-5-1v against 3n central midfields as well. I'm not sure if they actually counter the "V" but seeing 3n in the middle tends to unsettle me.

The last thing is match preparation. If tactics are correct, but match preparation is poor (training bonuses, win bonus, morale, condition), it's still very possible to lose.