i use that formation quite a lot. it lacks aggressiveness against heavy defensively formation such as 4 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 2...

i am not joking :S my opponent got a draw from me with that strategy... (and i was the 'favorite')

if i dont fight against such defensive formations i would use

team mentality: defense
focus passing : down both flanks
passing style: short
force counterattacks: on

pressing style: low (i change it depending of attackers quality)
tackling style: easy (idk why but my team is really aggressive... always end up with 1 or 2 yellow cards if i have it at normal...)
marking style: zonal (idk when to change it)
play offside trap: off

it gave me some good results... (reach league 1st, champion league quarter finals and cup finals) but it is not working as good as it was doing all my opponents are now using 4(d) - 2(dm) or 4 - 1 formations...