As always with a new EA FC release, we’re going to be completely clueless when it comes to understanding the gameplay mechanics and game speed. If you’re struggling with defending in the latest game then do not worry; we all are. The online experience so far during the Early Access period is pace and dribbling is king. You’re going to find yourself exploited down the wings conceding cut back goals like the good old FIFA 12 days. But not to worry! Here are all the best formations and custom tactics to get you going.
4-2-3-1
The 4-2-3-1 formation almost every year is a staple in the gameplay meta. It is consistent with its 2 holding midfielders, expansive through the middle with 3 attacking midfielders. As mentioned in the introduction, pace and dribbling are key here. You need your wide CAM players to be pacey to exploit the back lines. I had a lot of success doing this with Son and Diaby from the Premier League. The centralised CAM can be someone a little more technical, perhaps not as pacey, but with good dribbling and shooting. They’re going to be in on the goals and assists in particular with this setup. I currently use Player of the Month Maddison here in this role, you could use a Bruno Fernandes or De Bruyne here. For a cheap option I’d recommend Odegaard or Szoboszlai.
Moving on to the defensive portion of the formation, the two holding CDMs should be pacey and strong. So far, I’ve found these positions to be the hardest to manage and play with, they do not feel as active in-game as were used to with previous titles. For these positions I would recommend Tonali and Caicedo, or Joelinton for a cheaper option. For your full-backs, you’re going to need a lot of pace to deal with the pacey wingers with good dribbling. I would suggest Udogie from Spurs and Kyle Walker. Pedro Porro is a decent replacement here. At CB I cannot recommend anyone more highly than Saliba, he has been a rock in all of my teams. I’ve have decent success too with Aké, Akanji and Romero.
Here’s how you want to line up with the 4-2-3-1
Moving onto goalkeepers. Currently, most of the decent goalkeepers have broken high price ranges, in particular, Alisson and Ederson. However, I have a lot of success using a tried and tested staple in previous titles, Nick Pope. He has been great almost every game so far I have played him. I have also liked Lloris and Onana.
4-2-3-1 Custom Tactics
Now that you have your formation and players, it is time for the hard part: Getting them to play well. Custom Tactics are by far the single most important aspect when it comes to making your team play the way you want them to. Here we will go through the base team setup and then the individual player tactics.
As with all new EA FC titles, it’s best to keep it simple in the early game until the initial patches come and the gameplay becomes more settled. For now, were going to be running our setup as follows:
- Defensive Style: BALANCED
- Width: 45
- Depth: 55
- Build Up Play: BALANCED
- Chance Creation: DIRECT PASSING
- Width: 48
- Players in the Box: 6/10
- Corners: 2/5
- Free Kicks: 2/5
Here’s how your 4-2-3-1 should be looking in-game
This is how your tactics should be looking in game. Feel free to edit your balanced playstyle to this or simply input this into any of the other gameplan slots, assuming you’re running a different formation for players and chemistry.
We’re keeping it safe and compact and sticking with the trusty Direct Passing option heavily popular in FIFA 23. Feel free to take this as a baseline for your own team. If you feel like being more adventurous, try 7/10 for the Players in the Box. I wouldn’t suggest taking the depth any higher and playing aggressive as the pace and dribbling mechanics are simply too overpowered currently to support this playstyle.
4-2-3-1 Player Instructions
For the 4-2-3-1 formation, it is so important to set specific player instructions to get the most out of your team. Here’s how were lining the team up:
- Striker: Stay central, get in behind
- Attacking Midfielders (LAM and RAM): Come back on Defence, get into the box for crosses, Stay Wide
- Attacking Midfielders (CAM): Come back on Defence, get into the box for crosses, Stick to Position
- Central Defensive Midfielders: Stay back while attacking, Balanced, Cover Center
- Full-backs: Stay Back, Overlap.
- Centre-backs: Default instructions.
These instructions will help your team maintain a compact structure while also bolstering the defence as it is very difficult to defend now. You can adjust these instructions based on your playstyle, but I would not recommend changing too much. The most I would maybe suggest is Step-up on your fullbacks but I wouldn’t play too aggressively. Furthermore, I would suggest trying a box-to-box CDM on Get Forward rather than stay back for a little more support in the attacking third.
De Bruyne’s H/H work rates make him desirable for the box-to-box role
The purpose of this team, set-up and tactics is to maintain strength in numbers and balance. In early FC gameplay, it is easy to be overzealous trying about playing the best and attractive football, but being pragmatic is often the best solution in the long run. This is a pragmatic set up that should solidify your team and help you get to grips with the new mechanics and play style. Next up, we’ll have a look at the 4-2-2-2
4-2-2-2
The 4-2-2-2 formation gained a lot of traction in the last few FIFA titles becoming somewhat of a meta staple. The main difference here with the 4-2-2-2 is the additional striker in place of the centralised CAM in the 4-2-3-1. I suggest beginning with the 4-2-3-1 and converting to the 4-2-2-2 if you are finding it difficult to score goals with the one striker option. The progression here is simple as you only need to change one player from the previous setup.
If were sticking with the Premier League regarding players there are a few good options for the role. The best relatively cheap options are Nunez, Beto and Danjuma. I have had a lot of fun using Hero Berbatov and surprisingly Crouch. Heading and crossing feel better this year so don’t be afraid to try the bulkier strikers. Experiment and see what works for you in this position. Moving on to the Custom Tactics.
4-2-2-2 Custom Tactics
With the 4-2-2-2, not much is changing from the 4-2-3-1, but there are some subtle difference to adjust for the missing player centrally. Here’s how you should be lining up on the tactics page:
- Defensive Style: BALANCED
- Width: 45
- Depth: 50
- Build Up Play: BALANCED
- Chance Creation: DIRECT PASSING
- Width: 45
- Players in the Box: 5/10
- Corners: 2/5
- Free Kicks: 2/5
Here’s how your tactics should look in-game
The subtle changes here, like decreasing players in the box to 5/10, is simply to bolster the team when it comes to defending the counter attack. Similarly, the reductions to both width options reflect a further solidification of the central defensive unit. The key here is to keep it secure now that you have one less midfield option to track back. However, it would be beneficial for one of your strikers to be HIGH/HIGH work rates and good stamina to also track back on defence. This will be reflected in the upcoming player instructions.
4-2-2-2 Player Instructions
For the 4-2-2-2 formation, were keeping it similar again to the 4-2-3-1 but focussing more on the central striker roles. Here is how to line up your squad:
- Striker (Left): Stay central, Get in Behind
- Striker (Right): Stay central, Get in Behind, Come Back on Defence
- Attacking Midfielders (LAM and RAM): Come back on Defence, Get into the Box for Crosses, Stay Wide
- Central Defensive Midfielders: Stay Back While Attacking, Balanced.
- Full-backs: Stay Back, Overlap.
- Centre-backs: Default instructions.
Using Jota here for the Come Back on Defence set up in the 4-2-2-2
Regarding the mentioned striker coming back on defence, make sure this player has good stamina, and ideally HIGH/HIGH work rates. Darwin Nunez is perfect for the role, however, if you prefer the smaller, agile players I would suggest Jota or Jesus. Everything else here remains almost identical to the 4-2-3-1 and for good reason: it’s solid and dependable. Again, were not looking to be over adventurous, but this formation is a more top heavy than the 4-2-3-1. You will find more attacking options in the box whilst your wide CAMs do most of the heavy lifting. Getting the ball to your CAMs as quickly as possible and playing the wings is the best way to progress here. Regarding the CDMs, I suggest keeping them both on Stay Back here. However, if you’re enjoying the set up and feel that moving one slightly more attacking would help, give it a try and experiment.
