Wolves are in

I might be able to get an Arsenal side together

Liverpool in

Stoke

In

Put me down

Spurs are in

yeah the geordies are in

Leicester as well obv

Chelsea
Leicester
Aston Villa
Stoke
Hull City

Newcastle
Liverpool
Arsenal
Spurs
Wolves

Round 1
Hull City v Leicester
Aston Villa v Chelsea

Round 2
Hull City v Aston Villa
Leicester v Stoke City

Round 3
Chelsea v Leicester
Stoke City v Hull City

Round 4
Aston Villa v Stoke City
Chelsea v Hull City

Round 5
Stoke City v Chelsea
Leicester v Aston Villa

Round 1
Newcastle v Wolves
Liverpool v Arsenal

Round 2
Spurs v Liverpool
Arsenal v Wolves

Round 3
Arsenal v Newcastle
Wolves v Spurs

Round 4
Wolves v Liverpool
Newcastle v Spurs

Round 5
Spurs v Arsenal
Liverpool v Newcastle

Arsenal U21's

................*Pickford*............
Maffeo.....Lyanco..Romagnoli (C)...Targett
.................Benassi....Pellegrini
Gelson………….R.Lopes................*Talisca*
........................*Calleri*.................

Subs: Macey, Henry, Hagi, Leko, Kenedy, Barlow, Maxi Romero.


3 over 21’s: Pickford, Talisca, Calleri

Nice blend to this side, I want a nice fluid 4-2-3-1/4-3-3, fast paced one touched football today – our blend of Tiki-Talia.

Liverpool I think have a strong academy as well and I expect LSTD to go all out to win some silverware. So with that in mind I’ve gone just about as strong as possible but only really Romagnoli is a regular for the seniors.

Pickford seems to be a real prospect and will be one of the better keepers in this comp so should get the junior golden gloves, a very good shot-stopper, quick off his line, kid could go far.

Maffeo and Targett will look to get up and down the flank as often as possible giving us more width and providing us with more passing triangles as we look to keep the ball on the ground.

Lyanco – not gonna lie hes an unknown to me but seems highly rated, at 6ft2 and a move to Torino to look forward to should form a good partnership at the back with the Captain Romagnoli, left foot right foot combo, it’s what it’s all about..I think.

Benassi and Pellegrini will both play as twin box to box mids today, as we look to move the ball around crisply, both are decent on the ball and are capable of putting a foot in – should give our three amigos a solid platform to build on.

The three Am’s are comfortable across the front line, so will be looking at rotation and fluidity amongst them, pure pace and directness should force LSTD to keep his FB’s tucked in or risk being destroyed out wide.

Calleri has had a difficult season at WHU but has bags of ability and has a proven track record of goals at this level, should lead the line well enough


Subs 60 mins:
Kenedy > Talisca
Hagi > Rony Lopes
Maxi Romero > Calleri

---------------------- Lafont -----------------------

Henrichs -- D.Rugani -- A.Bastoni -- S'segnon

--------- Kessie ---- T.Maia ---- Davies ---------

Betrand ----------- Mbappe ----------- Lookman

Bedeau, Akkaynak, A.Green, Lincoln, P.Neto, G.Hirst, Isak

Looking to play like the seniors to give them a chance of moving up when and if needed, we play a fluent 433 in attack with the wingers covering the opposition fullbacks when they come forward.

Lafont in goal is an excellent shot stopper, reads the game well and will come off his line quickly to meet forwards to close down their shoot angles. Will come out for crosses and punch clear what he cant catch., Will release the ball eartly for a quick counter if he can otherwise just play it to the defenders to start from the back.

Our back four possess speed, energy and are all athreat, the fullbacks attack one at a time, both great going forward, especially Sessegnon, get up and help the wingers, get to there outside which allows them to drive into the box to help Mbappe, once round and away look to fire in crosses for those in there. Defend as a four, keep the line and push there wingers wide. Stand tall.

Rugani and Bastoni have plenty height and power so wont be bullied, Rugani will pick up the CF with Bastoni sitting spare, Rugani will push him back not allowing him into the danger area, be onto him quickly. Bastoni sits spare butr will look to clear all the high balls coming in and mark any CB coming up for corners etc.

Our midfield 3 will be tough to break down, all good tacklers but also good with the ball at feet, Thiago Maia central will be our main DM toady as he will pick uup the AM and just sit in front of our CBs giving them that extra protection, this allows Kessie and Davies more freedom to drive forward into the box. They will look to get it wide to Traore and Lookman or which ever full back is up, pass and move, quick one touch and always go looking for a pass.

Our front three are very dangerous, Traore and Lookman wide will use pace and skill to get them beyond there markers, they will at times have help from deep as they look to have a real go. Look inside to pass and sprint ahead to receive it back and that is them hopefully in behind the defence. Always look for Mbappe who is without doubt one of the teenagers on form just now, he is powerful and skilful and certainly knows where the back of the net is. The front three will be a threat and I want them always with there heads up driving at goal.

Captain - Rugani
Pens - Mbappe


Subs -
Half Time - Lincoln > Lookman, Bedeau > Bastoni

Losing -
65 Mins - Pedro Neto for Maia he goes to a No.10 role, Kessie the DM, Andre Green for Traore

Winning/Drawing -
65 Mins - Akkaynak > Maia, 75 Mins - Isak for Mbappe

--------------------Svilar
---Christensen--Baumgartl--Bensebaini
Arnold-----Tielemans----Ndidi-------Grimaldo
-------Williams*—--E.Unal-----Lozano

Subs: Latorre, Kalaica, Sensi, Kovalenko, Zivkovic, Abraham, Ontiveros

Captain: Youri Tielemans
Free Kicks: Youri Tielemans/Alejandro Grimaldo
Corners: Youri Tielemans/Hirving Lozano
Penalties: Enes Unal

We look to set up in the first teams main formation, the fluid 3-4-3 that can become a 5-4-1 in defence and a 3-2-5 in attack.

Off the ball we look to be organised and hard to break down with every playing his role. Starting from the front Unal must put pressure on the CBs and DMs, look to make it hard for the opposition to play out from the back with their own speed and direction, instead forcing them into the areas we want them, which is in the narrow channels between WBs and CMs. In order to do this, Unal stops the ball into the DM at all times, whilst Williams and Lozano drop to make a midfield 4, these two focuses on cutting the ball out to the FBs, cut this passing lane in order to stop them attacking our flanks, Alexander-Arnold and Grimaldo then drop in to make it a back 5, sticking to the wingers, making sure they aren’t an easy option and narrowing in to our CBs if the wingers come in to look for the ball, knowing that our wingers will track the FBs if needed. That then allows us to organise the rest of the team to block out the middle third and squeeze the channels between the middle third and the flanks. If the opponent then look to hit the channel on our right we use Tielemans and Christensen to double team in this space, CM pressing the man on the ball, CB cutting the closest passing lane but also acting as a shield for if the CM is beaten. When they attack our left channel, Ndidi and Bensebaini take up these roles. This leaves Baumgartl to fully focus on cutting out the centre forward, going man to man, with the free CB on the opposite side we are defending close by to help him out. The spare CM then sits in the middle, behind his partner, acting more disciplined and being in position to react to any danger that may arise. When they attack down our right, the left sided players are able to narrow to play and make it really tight and congested, and vice versa. At times we may be left vulnerable at counters, in order to counter this we use the high work rate of Ndidi, he will be given freedom when we initially lose the ball to go and engage the opposition with his high work rate and scary physical presence, looking to win the ball back quickly or slow play down so the team can find its shape.

We must be ready to deal with wide attacks too though if they do get their wingers and FBs into the game. We can rotate into a 4-4-2 defensive shape when this happens, with wide CB on the side of attack coming across to become a FB, both Christensen and Bensebaini well capable in these roles. This means we can go 2 v 2 down the flank, but we have the advantage of having two strong defensive players (e.g. Grimaldo and Bensebaini vs their width), whilst the WB on the opposite side drops in as a FB and the false wingers can become wingers, both narrowing to the CB and CM on their side to make sure we have a compact shape. One of the CFs then is able to drop in and cover the DM, dont make him and option for a pass, and free the CMs up to cover any gaps that the opposition AM/CMs want to use, it makes things very congested and hard to break through again.

As stated when we attack we can become a 3-2-5, starting attacks from the back. Christensen and Bensebaini stretch out to the flanks, this helps to give cover against counters but also stretches out the oppositions press and creates more room in the centre, whilst allowing the WBs to push further on and become another option for balls out. Baumgartl uses his good range of passing to take advantage of space, he must look to find quick balls into the midfield and forwards, whilst Christensen can also step forward during periods of possession and become an extra midfielder to provide an overload, essentially overlapping Tielemans. Ndidi will be the deeper of the two CMs, looking to receive the ball from the defenders and quickly find the space to start attacks with his lovely range of passing, as well as taking advantage of his excellent long range shooting. This allows Tielemans a bit more freedom, he can drop deep to receive and start attacks or push further on and look to provide killer passes, being both deep lying playmaker and number 10 as well as the Frank Lampard type, essentially having a free role in possession such is his unlimited array of talents. Arnold and Grimaldo look to push really high, occupy the FBs and stretch the game, always providing an option to go wide and get a ball in, whilst the WB on the opposite side of attack should always be looking to make an extra number in the box at crosses. Williams and Lozano are in the free spaces, they go and attack where they like, both possession trickery to beat Fb and CB alike, both with the vision to get balls in behind the defence and both with the speed to run in behind themselves, basicaly we want them going and doubling and even tripling up on opposition vulnerabilities. Unal leads the line, his promotion from academy to first team is already confirmed for next season, we see a lot of Cavani in him and we want to go and use his all round skill set to cause a lot of trouble today, holding the ball up, bringing others in, and fighting to get us goals.


Subs:

If Winning: Sensi for Lozano 70, 3-5-2, look to control possession and use movement of Tielemans and Ndidi forward through midfield with Sensi being the holder. Kovalenko for Ndidi 75’. Abraham for Williams 80’.

If Drawing: Zivkovic and Abraham for Lozano and Unal 70’, fresh graft from Zivkovic and Tammy comes on, acts as a poacher against a tiring defence. Kovalenko for Tielemans 75’, looks to feed the forwards quickly.

If Losing: Abraham for Baumgartl 60, more offensive minded 4-2-4 which can become a 4-5-1 off the ball with Tammy dropping in behind Unal. Zivkovic for Lozano 65’. Ontiveros for Unal 75’, Williams plays through the middle.

ASTON VILLA 4-3-3 U21

Captain: Marco Reus
Penalties: Marco Reus
Corners: Luka Modric
Freekicks: Marco Reus
Crossing Freekick: Luka Modric

—————————— 13. Oblak
2. Toure — 4. Chambers — 5. Bielik — 3. Karsdorp
————————— 6. Dendoncker
—————— 8. Xhaka — 10. Kovacic
7. Bernardo————————————————— 11. Castillejo
——————————— 9. Simeone

SUBS: Lunin, Amian, Winks, Garcia, Bruma, Chiesa, Mina


We’ll Gegenpress the opposition like Liverpool in real life and win the ball as close to their goal as possible or move the ball up the pitch towards the opposition’s goal quickly. My 4-3-3 will overload his midfield and pin back his wing backs. We’ll use the quickness of our one touch, short passing game and using the pace & dribbling ability of the attacking players. However when the opposition get close to our box, we will revert to a defensive block to limit their chances. We defend and attack as a collective unit, limiting the space between the lines in which the opposition plays in.

When in attack we will get forward in numbers, using the footballing intelligence & movement of our attacking midfielders & striker to create passing angles and overloads in the opposition’s area of the pitch both out wide and in central zones, looking to drag the opposition’s players out of position and exploiting the space they leave open. When the opposition is using a deep defensive block to shut out our team we will use our fullbacks to create numbers out wide to stretch the opposition (this will be assisted by our CDM splitting the CBs wider allowing the FBs to move up the pitch) simultaneously using our wide-forward to cut inside to create overloads in the central areas giving us a number advantage. When creating chances from the wide areas with the FBs or WFs, we will send crosses in to feed the other forwards. Making runs behind the defence and beyond the striker is not prohibited by our attacking and central midfielders (minus CDM). There is a lot freedom in the movement of our attacking players. No player is restricted to a specific zone on the field or specific task. All four attackers (Kovacic, Bernardo, Castillejo, Simeone) will either be provider or finisher with Xhaka providing the support needed and Dendoncker anchoring the midfield and supporting the centre backs. We want to make our style of play effective & deadly when in long spells of possession. Shooting from outside the box is encouraged. Our players will also gegenpress constantly from the front when we lose possession of the ball.

Offensive & Defensive Transitions:

This is the player's movements & reactions when moving between defence and attack, importantly the movement of the ball as this is arguably the most important aspect of our game. Winning the ball back when your opposition is disorganized is the perfect moment. We will aim for rapid movement up the pitch, with progressive passing to exploit the space left by the opposition. Whether it is from our defensive third of the pitch or whether we have won the ball back in our attacking third of the pitch we will exploit the disorganization of the opposition. We expect most of our attacking play will be as a result of our aggressive high press so we will use the following triggers for pressing the opponent:

1. The ball is played to a player facing his own goal

2. The ball is played to a player against the sidelines (using the sideline as an extra man in our favour)

3. A difficult bouncing ball is played to a player facing his own goal.

When any of these triggers happen, the players closest to the ball will press quickly and another 2 or 3 players will hold off slightly adding depth to the press and closing down their easy option pass. Once we win possession of the ball, we break in numbers again exploiting the opposition with either the pace of our attack. We also understand that we won't always get it right when pressing the opposition so we will employ a 10-second rule on pressing from the front after which, if we did not win back possession, we will revert to our defensive block. If we don’t win the ball after our initial phase of pressing it's imperative that the players work their way back into our defensive zone of the pitch and close the space that the opposition will look to play in. Close the space quickly and look to frustrate the opposition with intelligent positioning and hard tackling before winning the ball back and breaking forward at rapid speed. We will compact the central zones and force the opposition wide which limits the chances of breaking through our midfield. Long diagonal balls and quick releases from deep are encouraged when the opportunity arises. Our forwards have the pace to run onto through-balls.

We go into our defensive block if we cannot win the ball through our pressing. As a team we will defend deep in our half and close the space in the middle of the pitch. When forcing the opposition closer to the touchlines, we will use the touch line as an extra-man and press them so that we can win possession and result in us outnumbering them. If the play is on the left of the field the team will move towards the left and squeeze the space and vice versa on the right. We will try to force our opponents to play hopeful crosses into our box where we have towering CBs who are great at dealing with crosses. If a cross is coming from their right our LB will also move into the box to help deal with crosses and vice versa if the cross is coming from the left. The midfielders will be around the box pressing the opponent should they try to play it central. Our wide forwards will help the midfield in closing the space in the centre and then proceed to help the fullback after we have moved the opponent towards the touchline. The wide-forwards are the real work horses in the team and I have 2 very good, hard-working wide-forwards. Our striker will also drop into our half to help the midfield press the opposition’s defence. Also the reasoning behind dropping the striker deep is to draw the opponent’s defence away from their goal creating ample space for us to counter attack.

Substitutions:

If winning after 80 mins bring on Winks for Kovacic. More physical presence in midfield, and gives greater defensive cover.

If drawing or losing after 65 mins bring on Chiesa for Dendoncker. Fresh creativity and legs. Xhaka will drop back to DM to control the game while Bernardo and Kovacic will push up into the 10 role from behind Simeone, Chiesa on the right.

If drawing or losing after 75 mins bring on Mina for Castillejo. Kovacic drops back into centre mid. Mina with more goal threat, plays up front with Simeone, Bernardo on the left.

-----------------Moreira
Dier*----Lemos----Gomez--Wendell*
---------Tousart-----Bazoer
Oztunali-----Tolisso---------Brandt
------------------Kane*
Subs
Crosta, Olivera, Badal, Berge, Stendera, Burke, Wolf


Tactical Overview
For the first 15 minutes of each half we are going to try and blitz the opposition, pressing them all over the pitch and using the pace in attack to try and catch them cold, then then settling down into a 3 quarter press allowing the opposition CB's and Keeper to have the ball as much as they want whilst still pressing the other areas of the pitch.





Full Backs

Defensively the objective is to sit back and tuck in slightly, looking to stop balls being played between them and the centre backs, with the secondary advantage of discouraging the wide men from cutting inside, forcing them to cross, which gives us a better chance of getting the ball back quickly and launching an attack of our own.

 Their objective when attacking will be to keep making runs past the winger on both the inside and outside, giving the opposition full back that split second of indecision on who they go with. They will only occasionally put floated crosses in, preferring to either play shorter passes to the wingers or players who have come out from the middle of the pitch to keep possession and let the pressure build up in the final third or run to the byline and put in fast and low crosses relying on both the faster reactions and control of our attackers and the pressure of the situation on their centre backs to hastily clear the ball without being in full control of the situation.

Centre Backs

Lemos is the defensive leader and will be the one to control where the defensive line sets itself up on the pitch, if a team sets up to counter against us, we will always have at least 3 men back with either one of the full backs or the DM dropping in to make it a back 3, Gomez will compete with the striker for the aerial balls played into him, with Lemos concentrating on winning the 2nd ball. When the ball is on the floor, Lemos will be the defender who looks to meet the striker, looking to stifle his space and rush his decisions, with Manolas making the covering runs. When on the ball, if the opposition are giving them space to come out with the ball, then they should look to take it forward, if not, keep it simple and play it to a man in space and retain possession with the occasional long ball to the front 3 thrown in to use their pace and keep the opposition from setting up against one style of play.

Centre Mids


The midfield 3 will be utilising their high energy, all action styles to get themselves around the middle of the pitch, being key figures in the pressing game and always making themselves available for a pass. When we are in the final third to keep recycling the ball and shift the opposition defensive players that little bit more which could be the difference in getting a player behind them. They also all have an eye for a pass so will look to take advantage of the front 3 all flitting around and play them in with through balls and quick one touch play. When defending, they are looking to press the middle third of the pitch, pressing the opposition CMs/AMs as they are on the ball to rush their decisions and win the ball back.

Wingers


When they are off the ball, the emphasis for both wingers will be to drift around combining with the other attackers to get little areas of space before using their pace to make runs between the CB and FB and get in behind them. When they are on the ball the emphasis will be more on cutting inside with the occasional long shot to test the keeper, and only occasionally putting in crosses, getting involved in a fast intricate style of passing with the centre mids and Kane, looking to create the passing triangles which will just take players out of the game. They should also look to run at players as they will be cautious not to give away a set piece due to the ability of our set piece takers. When the opposite winger has the ball, the winger without the ball should look to find space between the CB and FB to add an extra body in the box. When defending, they should be blocking the passing lines to the full backs as well as keeping track of them when they go forward.
















Striker


When attacking, he will look to constantly drift around the defenders looking to get himself a bit of space enough for him to get the ball and pass it along to another attacker or face up the defenders and take them on. When running onto a ball, He will also be looking to use his reactions to get ahead of the defender and then use his strength to cut in front of the defender, causing them to either stop their forward momentum completely, or make the foul.
When defending, he will be working with the wingers to cut off the passing lines for their CB's, forcing them or the keeper to launch it long.

Set Pieces


Corners - Oztunali takes the corners, most of the time looking to have the ball at an attackable height around 8-10 yards out inbetween the posts, the FB's stay back to prevent counters, the CB's and Kane work in a group to make little blocks and cross-runs to lose a marker so 1 or 2 can get a clearer run at the ball, Bazoer and Tolisso flit around away from the main attacking group looking to pounce on mistimed touches and flicks around the area. Hojberg looks to limit the opposition keeper from moving too far off his line, looking to take a defender with him creating less space for the keeper and one less man in the main action area. Milinkovic takes a position just outside the box to pick up weak clearances and occasionally providing the short option to try and draw 2 defenders out of the box.





Free Kicks - Kane takes Direct FK's



For Indirect FK's, same instructions as Corners





Penalties - Kane is the designated taker.





Subs



If Winning


70 mins - Burke for Oztunali - The wingers tuck back, but look to get out quickly and counter if the opposition over-commit for a route back into the game.


If Drawing
70 Mins - Berge for Tousart - Bring a bit more urgency into attacks, show the opposition we are going for the win.

If Losing



70 Mins - Burke and Wolf for Tousart and Wendell - switch to a 3-5-2 with emphasis on the wings backs acting as wingers and we go all out attacking for a way to get back into the game.

Overview of our 4-3-3 formation


Bijlow
Klostermann, Fry, van Drongelen, Jorge
Ascacibar, Dahoud
Amiri
Neres, Vente, Hansson

Subs; de Jong, Jensen, Kadioglu, Hoogma

Our system has four defenders; two centre-halves and two full-backs. The midfield will be deployed with two holding midfielders at the base of a central midfield triangle that includes one advanced central midfielder.

Up top, we have two wide forwards and a centre-forward who leads the attack through the middle.
When our team has the ball, the two full-backs will be detailed to push into the opponents’ half to supply width in attacks.

In midfield Ascacibar and Dahoud will act as our anchor-men sitting in front of the centre-backs, freeing Amiri to push forward and support play through the middle.

In the forward positions, our wide forwards Neres and Hansson will converge centrally from the flanks and look to attack the inside channels or affect the game in between the opposition defenders and midfielders.

Vente our centre forward in this system will work as the furthest striker, playing off the shoulder of the last opposition central defender, from where he can feed on the service from the full-backs and through-balls from midfielders.

When defending, we’ll conform to a 4-5-1 formation with the two wide forwards dropping into midfield to track back with the opposition full-backs.

Our central midfielders will have the collective duty of stopping the opposition’s central midfielders from creating chances and taking shots in front of the defence, while the back-four acts as the last line of defence in front of the keeper.

Most teams play with only one or two strikers up top so three strikers will form a potent front-line with our centre forward stretching the opponents’ defensive line as the furthest striker while our wide forwards exploit the space that is created from the movement of the target man.

I would expect our wide forwards to pose the biggest threat to our opposition with their movement because they can run the channels, drop into pockets of space in between the lines or run in behind the opponent’s full-backs.

It will take a lot of co-ordination and defensive discipline from our opposition’s central defenders, full-backs and central midfielders to contain these mobile wide forwards.

Subs: Kadioglu on for Amiri, Hoogma on for van Drongelen on 65 mins

Newcastle 2 v 0 Wolves
Kane, (Brandt, 4)
Brandt (Burke, 80)
MOTM - Brandt

Liverpool 2 v 1 Arsenal

A well contested match, Liverpool very well organised and didn't allow to many attacks from Arsenal who themselves were well organised just a lack of quality up front and not enough to penetrate the opposition defence.

Unal x 2 (Grimaldo,17, Tielemans, 48)
Lynaco Benassi, 56)
MOTM - Enes Unal

Hull City 2-0 Leicester
Neres(Dahoud) 14
Dahoud(Amiri) 59

MOTM Dahoud.

Aston Villa 3-2 Chelsea
Bernardo(Kovacic) 23, Simeone(Toure) 67, Chiesa(Castillejo) 90; Mbappe(Traore) 13, Mbappe(Henrichs) 52

MOTM: Bernardo Silva

This seems a little unfair given that in an Under 21 competition the home side featured as many 24 year olds as it did 21 year olds, but thats Ludy for you...Anyway Chelsea put up a good performance against a team who's average age is 22.7 years old...Mbappe and Bertrand were constant threats, particularly with Ludy just throwing Karsdorp in at a position he's never played. Villa though with their galicticos midfield had that extra quality that gives them a somewhat void win i'd say.

Hull City 2-0 Leicester
Neres(Dahoud) 14
Dahoud(Amiri) 59

MOTM Dahoud.

Aston Villa 3-2 Chelsea
Bernardo(Kovacic) 23, Simeone(Toure) 67, Chiesa(Castillejo) 90; Mbappe(Traore) 13, Mbappe(Henrichs) 52

MOTM: Bernardo Silva

This seems a little unfair given that in an Under 21 competition the home side featured as many 24 year olds as it did 21 year olds, but thats Ludy for you...Anyway Chelsea put up a good performance against a team who's average age is 22.7 years old...Mbappe and Bertrand were constant threats, particularly with Ludy just throwing Karsdorp in at a position he's never played. Villa though with their galicticos midfield had that extra quality that gives them a somewhat void win i'd say.

-------------------Carevic--------------------
------Oxford---Milenkovic---Vickers------
Ronael----Fornals----Golovin----Tierney
-----Roberts-----Moussa-----Haddadi-----

Souttar, Cook, A.Gomes, Brereton, Kownacki, R.Nunez

Experimenting today with a new formation, attacking yet defensive too switching from 343 to 541 when needed

It will be hard work adapting to this but we will give it a go with the youngsters and hopefully the senior team are here to watch!!

This is a young team really, but a lot with first team experience so hopefully they will be ok.
The back 3 and Carevic must be commanding and concentrate, Milnekiovic in the centre must thrust himself at every high ball and clear the ball, he also marks any big defenders that will be a threat at corners or free kicks. Vickers and Oxford will man mark the striker and the second most attacking player from midfield, but they must not allow themselves to be dragged about out of position, if the striker goes to one side then one or the other will pick him up leaving the other side to do the rest.

Ronael and Tierney have a hard shift ahead, as they run up and down the pitch, when defending they are fullbacks, when attacking they are wingers supporting Roberts and Haddadi allowing them to have a two on one situation or the wingers will play a pass wide for our fullbacks to get onto to smash round a cross to Dembele and whoever else has made there way into the box. They must track their wingers too, it is hard going but if they conserve their energy well they will manage.

Fornals will be the sitting midfielder allowing Golovin to move up and create the chances, both creative, yet they know how to tackle so do not allow Liverpool to dictate in the middle of the pitch, yes they have bigger names but the tow I have picked today are also very talented. They don't have to be spectacular, just simple, basic passing to set up the players in front. Fornals always just sits to give reinforcements to our back three.

Roberts, Moussa and Haddadi will hopefully pose a threat, I want the wingers to drag the defenders away from position allowing us to expose them with our pace and power, allow Moussa to do what he does best and dominate in the box with Tierney, Ronael, Roberts and Haddadi we will force them back and away from our danger area and hopefully get into positions where we can look to go for goal. Moussa is a perfect central striker, pace, power, good in the air, will be a menace hopefully

Captain today is Tierney
Penalties will be Moussa Dembele
Free Kicks, Golovin

Substitutes

Lewis Cook for Fornals, Kownacki for Haddadi on 65 Minutes

Brereton for Roberts, Angel Gomes for Golovin on 75 minutes

R.Nunez for Moussa on 80 minutes

-----------------Moreira
Dier*----Lemos----Gomez--Gerhardt*
---------Tousart-----Stendera
Oztunali-----Tolisso---------Brandt
------------------Kane*
Subs
Crosta, Olivera, Badal, Ounas, Bazoer, Burke, Wolf


Tactical Overview
For the first 15 minutes of each half we are going to try and blitz the opposition, pressing them all over the pitch and using the pace in attack to try and catch them cold, then then settling down into a 3 quarter press allowing the opposition CB's and Keeper to have the ball as much as they want whilst still pressing the other areas of the pitch.





Full Backs

Defensively the objective is to sit back and tuck in slightly, looking to stop balls being played between them and the centre backs, with the secondary advantage of discouraging the wide men from cutting inside, forcing them to cross, which gives us a better chance of getting the ball back quickly and launching an attack of our own.

 Their objective when attacking will be to keep making runs past the winger on both the inside and outside, giving the opposition full back that split second of indecision on who they go with. They will only occasionally put floated crosses in, preferring to either play shorter passes to the wingers or players who have come out from the middle of the pitch to keep possession and let the pressure build up in the final third or run to the byline and put in fast and low crosses relying on both the faster reactions and control of our attackers and the pressure of the situation on their centre backs to hastily clear the ball without being in full control of the situation.

Centre Backs

Lemos is the defensive leader and will be the one to control where the defensive line sets itself up on the pitch, if a team sets up to counter against us, we will always have at least 3 men back with either one of the full backs or the DM dropping in to make it a back 3, Gomez will compete with the striker for the aerial balls played into him, with Lemos concentrating on winning the 2nd ball. When the ball is on the floor, Lemos will be the defender who looks to meet the striker, looking to stifle his space and rush his decisions, with Manolas making the covering runs. When on the ball, if the opposition are giving them space to come out with the ball, then they should look to take it forward, if not, keep it simple and play it to a man in space and retain possession with the occasional long ball to the front 3 thrown in to use their pace and keep the opposition from setting up against one style of play.

Centre Mids


The midfield 3 will be utilising their high energy, all action styles to get themselves around the middle of the pitch, being key figures in the pressing game and always making themselves available for a pass. When we are in the final third to keep recycling the ball and shift the opposition defensive players that little bit more which could be the difference in getting a player behind them. They also all have an eye for a pass so will look to take advantage of the front 3 all flitting around and play them in with through balls and quick one touch play. When defending, they are looking to press the middle third of the pitch, pressing the opposition CMs/AMs as they are on the ball to rush their decisions and win the ball back.

Wingers


When they are off the ball, the emphasis for both wingers will be to drift around combining with the other attackers to get little areas of space before using their pace to make runs between the CB and FB and get in behind them. When they are on the ball the emphasis will be more on cutting inside with the occasional long shot to test the keeper, and only occasionally putting in crosses, getting involved in a fast intricate style of passing with the centre mids and Kane, looking to create the passing triangles which will just take players out of the game. They should also look to run at players as they will be cautious not to give away a set piece due to the ability of our set piece takers. When the opposite winger has the ball, the winger without the ball should look to find space between the CB and FB to add an extra body in the box. When defending, they should be blocking the passing lines to the full backs as well as keeping track of them when they go forward.
















Striker


When attacking, he will look to constantly drift around the defenders looking to get himself a bit of space enough for him to get the ball and pass it along to another attacker or face up the defenders and take them on. When running onto a ball, He will also be looking to use his reactions to get ahead of the defender and then use his strength to cut in front of the defender, causing them to either stop their forward momentum completely, or make the foul.
When defending, he will be working with the wingers to cut off the passing lines for their CB's, forcing them or the keeper to launch it long.

Set Pieces


Corners - Oztunali takes the corners, most of the time looking to have the ball at an attackable height around 8-10 yards out inbetween the posts, the FB's stay back to prevent counters, the CB's and Kane work in a group to make little blocks and cross-runs to lose a marker so 1 or 2 can get a clearer run at the ball, Stendera and Tolisso flit around away from the main attacking group looking to pounce on mistimed touches and flicks around the area. Hojberg looks to limit the opposition keeper from moving too far off his line, looking to take a defender with him creating less space for the keeper and one less man in the main action area. Milinkovic takes a position just outside the box to pick up weak clearances and occasionally providing the short option to try and draw 2 defenders out of the box.





Free Kicks - Kane takes Direct FK's



For Indirect FK's, same instructions as Corners





Penalties - Kane is the designated taker.





Subs



If Winning


70 mins - Bazoer for Tolisso - The wingers tuck back, but look to get out quickly and counter if the opposition over-commit for a route back into the game.

If Drawing
70 Mins - Bazoer for Tousart - Bring a bit more urgency into attacks, show the opposition we are going for the win.

If Losing



70 Mins - Ounas and Wolf for Tousart and Gerhardt - switch to a 3-5-2 with emphasis on the wings backs acting as wingers and we go all out attacking for a way to get back into the game.

———————————Svilar
———Christensen—Baumgartl—Bensebaini
Arnold————-—Sensi—Tielemans——Grimaldo
————Zivkovic———Unal——Ontiveros

Subs: Latorre, Adarabioyo, Benes, Baker, J.Boga, C.Musonda, T.Abraham

Captain: Youri Tielemans
Free Kicks: Youri Tielemans/Alejandro Grimaldo
Corners: Youri Tielemans/Hirving Lozano
Penalties: Enes Unal

We look to set up in the first teams main formation, the fluid 3-4-3 that can become a 5-4-1 in defence and a 3-2-5 in attack.

Off the ball we look to be organised and hard to break down with every playing his role. Starting from the front Unal must put pressure on the CBs and DMs, look to make it hard for the opposition to play out from the back with their own speed and direction, instead forcing them into the areas we want them, which is in the narrow channels between WBs and CMs. In order to do this, Unal stops the ball into the DM at all times, whilst Zivkovic and Ontiveros drop to make a midfield 4, these two focuses on cutting the ball out to the FBs, cut this passing lane in order to stop them attacking our flanks, Alexander-Arnold and Grimaldo then drop in to make it a back 5, sticking to the wingers, making sure they aren’t an easy option and narrowing in to our CBs if the wingers come in to look for the ball, knowing that our wingers will track the FBs if needed. That then allows us to organise the rest of the team to block out the middle third and squeeze the channels between the middle third and the flanks. If the opponent then look to hit the channel on our right we use Sensi and Christensen to double team in this space, CM pressing the man on the ball, CB cutting the closest passing lane but also acting as a shield for if the CM is beaten. When they attack our left channel, Sensi and Bensebaini take up these roles. This leaves Baumgartl to fully focus on cutting out the centre forward, going man to man, with the free CB on the opposite side we are defending close by to help him out. The spare CM then sits in the middle, behind his partner, acting more disciplined and being in position to react to any danger that may arise. When they attack down our right, the left sided players are able to narrow to play and make it really tight and congested, and vice versa. At times we may be left vulnerable at counters, in order to counter this we use the high work rate of Sensi, he will be given freedom when we initially lose the ball to go and engage the opposition with his high work rate and scary physical presence, looking to win the ball back quickly or slow play down so the team can find its shape.

We must be ready to deal with wide attacks too though if they do get their wingers and FBs into the game. We can rotate into a 4-4-2 defensive shape when this happens, with wide CB on the side of attack coming across to become a FB, both Christensen and Bensebaini well capable in these roles. This means we can go 2 v 2 down the flank, but we have the advantage of having two strong defensive players (e.g. Grimaldo and Bensebaini vs their width), whilst the WB on the opposite side drops in as a FB and the false wingers can become wingers, both narrowing to the CB and CM on their side to make sure we have a compact shape. One of the CFs then is able to drop in and cover the DM, dont make him and option for a pass, and free the CMs up to cover any gaps that the opposition AM/CMs want to use, it makes things very congested and hard to break through again.

As stated when we attack we can become a 3-2-5, starting attacks from the back. Christensen and Bensebaini stretch out to the flanks, this helps to give cover against counters but also stretches out the oppositions press and creates more room in the centre, whilst allowing the WBs to push further on and become another option for balls out. Baumgartl uses his good range of passing to take advantage of space, he must look to find quick balls into the midfield and forwards, whilst Christensen can also step forward during periods of possession and become an extra midfielder to provide an overload, essentially overlapping Sensi. Sensi will be the deeper of the two CMs, looking to receive the ball from the defenders and quickly find the space to start attacks with his lovely range of passing. This allows Tielemans a bit more freedom, he can drop deep to receive and start attacks or push further on and look to provide killer passes, being both deep lying playmaker and number 10 as well as the Frank Lampard type, essentially having a free role in possession such is his unlimited array of talents. Arnold and Grimaldo look to push really high, occupy the FBs and stretch the game, always providing an option to go wide and get a ball in, whilst the WB on the opposite side of attack should always be looking to make an extra number in the box at crosses. Zivkovic and Ontiveros are in the free spaces, they go and attack where they like, both possession trickery to beat Fb and CB alike, both with the vision to get balls in behind the defence and both with the speed to run in behind themselves, basically we want them going and doubling and even tripling up on opposition vulnerabilities. Unal leads the line, his promotion from academy to first team is already confirmed for next season, we see a lot of Cavani in him and we want to go and use his all round skill set to cause a lot of trouble today, holding the ball up, bringing others in, and fighting to get us goals.


Subs:

If Winning: Baker for Zivkovic 65’. 3-5-2. J.Boga for Ontiveros 70’, adds more fluidity to attacks. Adarabioyo for Baumgartl 75’.

If Drawing: Baker for Sensi 65’, more forward thinking CM. Musonda for Baumgartl 75’, switch to 4-3-3 with Charly given a free role in midfield to go and double up on opponents. T.Abraham for Ontiveros 80’, goal poacher on as we seek a winner.

If Losing: Abraham for Baumgartl 60, 4-2-4. Baker for Sensi 65’. Charly for Zivkovic 70’, added flair to the attack.

Attacking 4-3-3

We have an experienced side with only our keeper not a first team player in one of the top leagues.

Setting up in the same fashion as the first team. In defence we have attacking fbs and two strong ball playing cbs. In midfield, Bakayoko as the dm, Ceballos a box to box cm, and Asesnio as our attacking plamaker.

In attack we have 3 internationals full of goals, both wingers will stay wide in the first two thirds of the park but have freedom to come inside and support Belotti as much as possible in the final third. Full of pace they will look to get running at the opposition with the ball, and off the ball.

---------------- J.Pereira
Ordiozola - Vallejo - Skriniar - Barreca
--------- Bakayoko --- Ceballos
----------------- Asensio
Gnabry -------------------------- Correa
----------------- Belotti*

Subs. Marquinhos*, Kurzawa*, O.Pineda, JWP, Oyarzabal, D.Jota

Defensively

We look to control the opposition by pressing the space with a narrow rigid defensive unit, only allowing them to play in areas we want them to. When we lose the ball the closest player presses the ball, the second closest presses the obvious passing channel.

As they’re doing this everyone else bar Belotti and one of Gnabry/Correa gets behind the ball.
Our shape will resemble a 4-4-1-1, narrowing to the side of play. The 1 behind Belotti being the winger opposite play.

In this tight rigid formation, ensuring there are no gaps in the formation. Bakayoko will be key, reading the play in between the defence and midfield, reading any dangers to get across.

Bakayoko and Ceballos have a great mix of power and energy to help the back four.

Attack

We look to attack at pace. We will vary our play, mixing it up by attacking down the wings and through the central areas. We have great pace out wide, at fb and on the wings. We'll look to have the attacking fb overlap, working with the winger to get crosses in to Belotti.

In midfield Ceballos and Asensio are both great dribblers of the ball, and we want them to be linking up playing small passes, one twos to work our way up the park.

Vallejo is also more than capable of playing accurate long balls and so we can look to set our wingers on the counter, or play direct to Belotti in order to mix up our play.

We have a front trio with a lot of goals in them. In the final third we let them play their natural game.

Subs.

If losing or drawing after 60 mins bring on Marquinhos for Skriniar, Kurzawa for Barreca and JWP for Ceballos.
If winning after 60 mins bring on JWP for Correa. Asensio left.

ASTON VILLA 4-3-3 U21

Captain: Granit Xhaka
Penalties: Giovanni Simeone
Corners: Granit Xhaka
Freekicks: Bernardo Silva
Crossing Freekick: Granit Xhaka

—————————— 13. Oblak
2. Toure — 4. Chambers — 5. Bielik — 3. Karsdorp
————————— 6. Dendoncker
—————— 8. Xhaka — 10. Kovacic
7. Bernardo————————————————— 11. Castillejo
——————————— 9. Simeone

SUBS: Lunin, Amian, Winks, Garcia, Bruma, Chiesa, Mina


We’ll Gegenpress the opposition like Liverpool in real life and win the ball as close to their goal as possible or move the ball up the pitch towards the opposition’s goal quickly. My 4-3-3 will overload his midfield and pin back his wing backs. We’ll use the quickness of our one touch, short passing game and using the pace & dribbling ability of the attacking players. However when the opposition get close to our box, we will revert to a defensive block to limit their chances. We defend and attack as a collective unit, limiting the space between the lines in which the opposition plays in.

When in attack we will get forward in numbers, using the footballing intelligence & movement of our attacking midfielders & striker to create passing angles and overloads in the opposition’s area of the pitch both out wide and in central zones, looking to drag the opposition’s players out of position and exploiting the space they leave open. When the opposition is using a deep defensive block to shut out our team we will use our fullbacks to create numbers out wide to stretch the opposition (this will be assisted by our CDM splitting the CBs wider allowing the FBs to move up the pitch) simultaneously using our wide-forward to cut inside to create overloads in the central areas giving us a number advantage. When creating chances from the wide areas with the FBs or WFs, we will send crosses in to feed the other forwards. Making runs behind the defence and beyond the striker is not prohibited by our attacking and central midfielders (minus CDM). There is a lot freedom in the movement of our attacking players. No player is restricted to a specific zone on the field or specific task. All four attackers (Kovacic, Bernardo, Castillejo, Simeone) will either be provider or finisher with Xhaka providing the support needed and Dendoncker anchoring the midfield and supporting the centre backs. We want to make our style of play effective & deadly when in long spells of possession. Shooting from outside the box is encouraged. Our players will also gegenpress constantly from the front when we lose possession of the ball.

Offensive & Defensive Transitions:

This is the player's movements & reactions when moving between defence and attack, importantly the movement of the ball as this is arguably the most important aspect of our game. Winning the ball back when your opposition is disorganized is the perfect moment. We will aim for rapid movement up the pitch, with progressive passing to exploit the space left by the opposition. Whether it is from our defensive third of the pitch or whether we have won the ball back in our attacking third of the pitch we will exploit the disorganization of the opposition. We expect most of our attacking play will be as a result of our aggressive high press so we will use the following triggers for pressing the opponent:

1. The ball is played to a player facing his own goal

2. The ball is played to a player against the sidelines (using the sideline as an extra man in our favour)

3. A difficult bouncing ball is played to a player facing his own goal.

When any of these triggers happen, the players closest to the ball will press quickly and another 2 or 3 players will hold off slightly adding depth to the press and closing down their easy option pass. Once we win possession of the ball, we break in numbers again exploiting the opposition with either the pace of our attack. We also understand that we won't always get it right when pressing the opposition so we will employ a 10-second rule on pressing from the front after which, if we did not win back possession, we will revert to our defensive block. If we don’t win the ball after our initial phase of pressing it's imperative that the players work their way back into our defensive zone of the pitch and close the space that the opposition will look to play in. Close the space quickly and look to frustrate the opposition with intelligent positioning and hard tackling before winning the ball back and breaking forward at rapid speed. We will compact the central zones and force the opposition wide which limits the chances of breaking through our midfield. Long diagonal balls and quick releases from deep are encouraged when the opportunity arises. Our forwards have the pace to run onto through-balls.

We go into our defensive block if we cannot win the ball through our pressing. As a team we will defend deep in our half and close the space in the middle of the pitch. When forcing the opposition closer to the touchlines, we will use the touch line as an extra-man and press them so that we can win possession and result in us outnumbering them. If the play is on the left of the field the team will move towards the left and squeeze the space and vice versa on the right. We will try to force our opponents to play hopeful crosses into our box where we have towering CBs who are great at dealing with crosses. If a cross is coming from their right our LB will also move into the box to help deal with crosses and vice versa if the cross is coming from the left. The midfielders will be around the box pressing the opponent should they try to play it central. Our wide forwards will help the midfield in closing the space in the centre and then proceed to help the fullback after we have moved the opponent towards the touchline. The wide-forwards are the real work horses in the team and I have 2 very good, hard-working wide-forwards. Our striker will also drop into our half to help the midfield press the opposition’s defence. Also the reasoning behind dropping the striker deep is to draw the opponent’s defence away from their goal creating ample space for us to counter attack.

Substitutions:

If winning after 80 mins bring on Winks for Kovacic. More physical presence in midfield, and gives greater defensive cover.

If drawing or losing after 65 mins bring on Chiesa for Dendoncker. Fresh creativity and legs. Xhaka will drop back to DM to control the game while Bernardo and Kovacic will push up into the 10 role from behind Simeone, Chiesa on the right.

If drawing or losing after 75 mins bring on Mina for Castillejo. Kovacic drops back into centre mid. Mina with more goal threat, plays up front with Simeone, Bernardo on the left.