Let's Talk About ... Formations

[SpHSpH]

Is there a "correct" / "ideal" / "preferred" way for one formation to match up against another formation?

I am building my team sheets - and I would like to have a number of formations that I get comfortable playing with - and I would like some reasoning as to decide which formation to use in which situation.

It is possible to "see" the formation of your opponent (career mode against the CPU) before the match begins (you first choose "sim match" ... this will show you the formation of your opponent ... then you can just back out of "sim match" and play the match for real anyway) - I usually reason this out as "scouting my opponent" for my career mode realism.

Should I try to match exactly ... 4-2-3-1 vs. 4-2-3-1 ... or should I try to counter with something that matches up differently? I realize that there is no "perfect" answer - just curious what peoples' opinions are on this one.

Some formations are more attacking, others are more balanced, others are more defensive ... what are your favorites for each of these ideas? I might want to go more attacking at home / more defensive on the road (again - career mode realism).

[Josam27o7]

Quote: Originally Posted by SpHSpH

Is there a "correct" / "ideal" / "preferred" way for one formation to match up against another formation? I am building my team sheets - and I would like to have a number of formations that I get comfortable playing with - and I would like some reasoning as to decide which formation to use in which situation. It is possible to "see" the formation of your opponent (career mode against the CPU) before the match begins (you first choose "sim match" ... this will show you the formation of your opponent ... then you can just back out of "sim match" and play the match for real anyway) - I usually reason this out as "scouting my opponent" for my career mode realism. Should I try to match exactly ... 4-2-3-1 vs. 4-2-3-1 ... or should I try to counter with something that matches up differently? I realize that there is no "perfect" answer - just curious what peoples' opinions are on this one. Some formations are more attacking, others are more balanced, others are more defensive ... what are your favorites for each of these ideas? I might want to go more attacking at home / more defensive on the road (again - career mode realism).

Honestly, never hear about countering formations. Teams put the best formation that suits their squad within a more offensive or defensive formation depending on how you want to approach your opponent/match.

[kabamaru]

I agree with Josam in a to a certain point.
Of course you can just choose the formation you need and suits you most and ALSO accompany them with different tactics.

But again what sense would it make to play with 3 central defenders against one striker for example?

Having said that EA should adress some overpowered formations or just eliminate them

I don't recall ANY team playing 4-1-2-1-2 wide with RM and LM in REAL football. The narrow formation is quite common but the wide? and in Fifa Online it is one of the most common formations used.

Of course all these are possible due to the effectiveness off high pressure.