Top 10 FORMATIONS & TACTICS Guide:

[BeckStar]

I typically do a 3-1-3-1-2 DL,DC,DR- DMC - ML,MC,MR, AMC- ST,ST

I start off in Normal and depending on how the match goes i'll switch to a defensive/offensive strategy. Do you have any suggestions for me?

I like the 3-2-3-2 more, seems more balanced for Normal mentality to me ;D If it doesnt work then switch to 3-1-3-1-2, sub the DMC with an AMC and there you go

Almost same as yours, used that on a B team.. works fine.

[Jeroen Klerk]

I like the 3-2-3-2 more, seems more balanced for Normal mentality to me ;D If it doesnt work then switch to 3-1-3-1-2, sub the DMC with an AMC and there you go

Almost same as yours, used that on a B team.. works fine.

So which tactics i use on the 3-2-3-2? And which tactic when i switch to 3-1-3-1-2?

[BeckStar]

So which tactics i use on the 3-2-3-2? And which tactic when i switch to 3-1-3-1-2?

We were talking about 3-2-3-2 as DR DC DL DMC DMC ML MC MR ST ST.. this would be Normal with mixed focus and mixed passing
zonal defense with counters on.
blue arrows on DMC-DMC and reds on ML MR
Switching to attacking you would have to sub 1 DMC with an AMC(red arrow) mixed or short passing would work good there.
DR DC DL DMC ML MC MR AMC ST ST..

The 3-2-3-2 that you probabbly meant is DC DC DC DML DMR MC MC MC ST ST ? That would be a defensive thru the middle with short passing and and zonal marking, force counter attacks on.
P.S: Those are more complex formations to understand and i wouldnt suggest you to use them in the begining.
Simply go with 4-4-2/4-5-1Vstyle or a 4-1-2-1-2 Diamond.

[Jeroen Klerk]

We were talking about 3-2-3-2 as DR DC DL DMC DMC ML MC MR ST ST.. this would be Normal with mixed focus and mixed passing
zonal defense with counters on.
blue arrows on DMC-DMC and reds on ML MR
Switching to attacking you would have to sub 1 DMC with an AMC(red arrow) mixed or short passing would work good there.
DR DC DL DMC ML MC MR AMC ST ST..

The 3-2-3-2 that you probabbly meant is DC DC DC DML DMR MC MC MC ST ST ? That would be a defensive thru the middle with short passing and and zonal marking, force counter attacks on.
P.S: Those are more complex formations to understand and i wouldnt suggest you to use them in the begining.
Simply go with 4-4-2/4-5-1Vstyle or a 4-1-2-1-2 Diamond.

I play now for 1.5 years. Suddenly since this season i almost lose ever match. I ended 12th !!! I like the game but now when im losing a lot i dont think its fun anymore. So i hope you can help me make me champ again?

[Adam T. Brown]

Sorry for coming to this thread late, Beck - nice one. What are your thoughts on man to man? I see you generally prefer man to man with these formations you've shared (6 to 4). I'm in Season 9 (edited: forgot to count this new season, had said 8) so I still have A LOT to learn but I've been favoring man to man the past two seasons, almost 100% of the time. I dominate my league and champions league but struggle much more in the Cup (edit, added comment: Season 8 I competed in level 11 Cup and lost in the quarterfinals). On the surface, it would seem to suggest that I need to use zonal against these stronger opponents to see if I get better results. Zonal vs man to man is at the top of my mind currently. How do you choose one over another? I couldn't see a pattern in your suggested orders for these tactics. I personally think the man to man keeps me more competitive in Cup than I would otherwise be had I instead used zonal. I think the Cup opponents are more mature managers that are just better able to stick to their own base formation and can see and adjust to my arrows/tactics rather than simply choosing counter tactics based on my formation alone like similar levels and lower will deploy against me. But I'm a newbie compared to you and many others on the forum that I respect and look up to. Would appreciate your thoughts (and thoughts for anyone else too, of course!) - Thanks!

[BeckStar]

Sorry for coming to this thread late, Beck - nice one. What are your thoughts on man to man? I see you generally prefer man to man with these formations you've shared (6 to 4). I'm in Season 9 (edited: forgot to count this new season, had said 8) so I still have A LOT to learn but I've been favoring man to man the past two seasons, almost 100% of the time. I dominate my league and champions league but struggle much more in the Cup (edit, added comment: Season 8 I competed in level 11 Cup and lost in the quarterfinals). On the surface, it would seem to suggest that I need to use zonal against these stronger opponents to see if I get better results. Zonal vs man to man is at the top of my mind currently. How do you choose one over another? I couldn't see a pattern in your suggested orders for these tactics. I personally think the man to man keeps me more competitive in Cup than I would otherwise be had I instead used zonal. I think the Cup opponents are more mature managers that are just better able to stick to their own base formation and can see and adjust to my arrows/tactics rather than simply choosing counter tactics based on my formation alone like similar levels and lower will deploy against me. But I'm a newbie compared to you and many others on the forum that I respect and look up to. Would appreciate your thoughts (and thoughts for anyone else too, of course!) - Thanks!

Hey Adam, that's great question and im sure not many have the knowledge about the game to give you a corect answer.
In general Man to man gets you higher tackle number and that's good most of the times.
Stopping their attack right away.. this would make your defense better but also make players lose more condition.
However against stronger teams i would be careful.. since instead of tackle this could generate more fouls.. and that's dangerouse.
Going zonal is safer, going Man to man is risky.

If you've got players in the right position to cover opponent's attack then go with Man to man
for example: He is playing 4-4-2 Diamond (dmc mc mc amc) and you've got 4-5-1 V style, you could use Man to man and put blue arrow on DC DC and DMC to cover his attackers better.

p.s:I'm at work right now so i can't come up with more examples and explaining but i'll do that in few hours
I'll check the top formations and try to explain every setting and the reason why it should be set this way.