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Custom Tactics for 4-2-2-2

After back to back weekends of the 4-2-2-2, countless switches and swaps with Player Instructions and Tactics, I finally feel like I maybe… just maybe, have this right.  Since the most recent patch, I have just not felt like my trusted 4-4-2 has any place in the current state of the game.  Just when I started thinking I have found the right mix, I find myself once again staring down the barrel of a 3+ goal defeat and wondering how I can feel outnumbered in both attack and defense.  The 4-2-2-2 has offered a return to a lot of what I liked about the 4-4-2 but with the security of a slightly more compact and defensive style.  In the end, it has been a learning curve getting up to speed with the intricacies of the 4-2-2-2, but I see a return to consistent Elite finishes on the horizon with this one.

 

Why 4-2-2-2?

Because it is not 3-5-2? But in all seriousness, it is all about balance for me with this game at the moment.  I refuse to play a Drop Back Danny style of boring Football where I sit and watch my opponent dance around the box while my AI defends. While at the same time it just feels like if your formation is overly attacking then you are playing right into the satanic hands of drop back depth merchants.  With the 4-2-2-2 I feel like you are able to claim some of the best of both worlds; feeling confident in defensive cover, while getting dangerous numbers forward in attack.  This took some balancing… but I am getting more and more confident that this is the way moving forward.

 

Tactics
 

 

 

Play Style

The Balanced attacking build up is a good word to sum up how this formation will play in-game.  Weekend after weekend it feels like more and more FUT Managers are moving to the “if you can’t beat em, join em mentality” and dropping further and further into their own box.  The amount of CDM “chase them down” controllers I am playing is bordering on ludicrous. However, with the 4-2-2-2 the positioning of the CAMs and CDMs in the umbrella around the box provides channels to play into while your strikers fight for space from the AI minions.  Overall, I almost always feel like a passing lane is open in this formation, which is key to avoiding the press from opponents. 

 

Width 

As previously stated this formation offers a more compact style than the 4-4-2 and the tactics intended to keep it that way. The 5 WIDTH in defense will keep the CAMs tracking back almost as narrow as the 18 yard box, while the CDMs on COVER CENTER ensures that there is plenty of help in the middle of the pitch.  Similarly, in attack, the 3 WIDTH is meant to interact with the GET IN THE BOX instructions to ensure that your opponent faces a bombardment of players to mark.

 

Depth

Maybe I need to get off my soapbox a bit as I myself have concluded that my previous 7 depth just will not cut it given the current state of the game.  4 DEPTH is still enough to keep from your CB dropping all the way to the top of the 18-yard box, while still providing opportunities for creating pressure in your opponents half while they are on the ball.  I will admit that I miss the more swashbuckling style of the 7 depth, but I also can’t deny that I am burnt less on the counter attack now than in the past.

 

Player Instructions

With two strikers it offers options for variety, but I like a combination of:
ST #1: Pace, Right/Left Footed → Bal. Width - Get In Behind - Normal Int. - Basic
ST #2: Size, Right/Left Footed (opposite ST #1) → Bal. Width - Get In Behind - Normal Int. - Stay Forward
 
CAM: Pace, Solid Dribbling, 4+ Weak Foot → Basic - Get In Box - Stick Position - Normal or Aggressive Int.
CAM: Pace, Solid Dribbling, 4+ Weak Foot → Basic - Get In Box - Stick Position - Normal or Aggressive Int.

CDM #1: Magician, Ball Player → Bal. Defence - Balanced Attack - Normal Int. - Cover Center
CDM #2: Destroyer, Defensive Specialist → Bal. Defence - Stay Back Attack - Normal Int. - Cover Center

LB: Left Footed → Stay Back Attack - Normal Int. - Mixed Attack
RB: Right Footed → Stay Back Attack - Normal Int. - Mixed Attack

CBs: → Stay Back Attacking - Normal Int.

GK: Come Crosses - Balanced

 

Conclusion

The 4-2-2-2 is slowly becoming what it was for me at the start of FIFA 19… a balanced option with stability in defense and potency in attack.  I am still currently tinkering with one ST on STAY FORWARD... with the CAMs Interception instructions on NORMAL or AGGRESSIVE… the “Attacking CDM” on STAY BACK WHILE ATTACKING... and the DEPTH at 4 - 5.  The more I add ingredients, the closer I feel like I am coming to the final dish to serve up losses to my opponents consistently across game modes.  Let me know if you give these a try how it goes, and also if you have enjoyed previous tactics reviews I would love to know how they are working post-patch as well.  Hoping you are safe and doing well.  Cheers for reading

 

 

4-2-2-2 Custom Tactics Video:

 

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