Leicester City v STOKE CITY

Line Up:

Scuffet
Pereira Elvedi Mere Martin
Boschilia Diawara Lopez Lemar
Keita Rashford

Substitutions: Dragoswki; Diop; Chilwell; Jankto; Koziello; Malcom; Iwobi

Captain: Elvedi
Penalties: Keita
Free Kicks: Lemar
Corners: Lemar

Game plan:

We've decided to go with a side where all but one of the players in the team today will not be U21 at the beginning of next season. However, this does not mean that there is little experience in the side as the likes of Rashford, Lopes, Lemar and Diawara have all had stellar seasons in the top divisions of their respective nations. We're testing out the 4-2-2 formation today and we will be looking to emulate the system that contributed so much to Arsenal's incredible unbeaten league campaign.

Scuffet: A great shot stopper and good at one on ones, we are confident with him behind the defence. He will remain vocal throughout to guide with defensive structure.

Pereira: His pace and athleticism will be a great help on the defensive end. He is not to let him man get past him either on the inside or outside. He will block any crosses at their source. Going forward, he will overlap Boschilia to stretch the defence and allow Boschilia room to operate.

Elvedi: A cultured centre back. He will keep a calm head in high pressure situations, and his good ball control and range of passing means that he will be able to bring the ball out and start quick counters. He is also strong and good in the air, and will look to closely mark the opposition centre forward. He mustn't allow his man to get goal side and win any headers.

Mere: The smaller of the two centre backs, he will allow Elvedi to challenge for headers against the centre forward while he will be there to mop up. A brave and extremely tenacious defender, he will not be afraid to put his body on the line to stop a shot on goal, and his ability to be in the right place at the right time is a nightmare for defenders.

Martin: A large and physically capable left back, he will look to bully his opposite man and make him wary of going one-on-one. In attack, he has a great turn of pace and some silky skills which will allow him to alleviate some of the pressure from Lemar's shoulders.

Boschilia: He will be expected to put his great work ethic to use in tracking back and helping the midfield when we are on the back foot. Going forward, he will look to cut in and drive at the defence a la Robben, with a view to luring the defence out of shape to put a ball in behind.

Diawara: Our rock in the middle of the pitch, Diawara will look to hold in the centre and break up any play from Leicester's midfield. Going forward, he will stay deep but will look to spread the play around and stretch the opposition.

Lopes: Tenacious and hard working in defence, he will close down anyone that has the ball in the centre (except Stoke players). Going forward, he will look to carry the ball through the middle and link between the defence and the attack. Also has a great long range shot.

Lemar: One of the stars of the team, Lemar will be our creative pivot, with his ability to hug the line and produce great crosses, his brilliance from set pieces, or his talent at cutting inside and playing defence splitting through balls. In defence, he will mirror the runs of the Leicester right back.

Keita: He will be the strike partner looking to drop deeper and act as a go between with the midfield and attack. He is good in the air, so can be used as a target man, and his dribbling and passing are very effective, so he can drive at the defence and play through Rashford. Up front, he also has a very impressive scoring rate.

Rashford: Same as always for Rashford. Harass the defence when we don't have the ball, look for the ball in behind to get one on one with the keeper when we do have it.


Substitutions:

All essentially like for like subs today.

60 minutes: Malcom for Boschilia

70 minutes: Koziello for Lopes

80 minutes: Iwobi for Keita

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

Spurs 1 - 1 Liverpool

Having had a game already and Spurs new formation, Liverpool dominated early on, however they found a solid back 3/5 in good form and they kept them out, Unal was kept well out of the game for the vast majority of the first half. Second half Spurs came more into as they found there feet and the tussle between the midfield between Sensi/Tielemans and Golovin and Fornals became quite a battle. Roberts became confident v Grimaldo and fired in a fine cross for Dembele to nod home. Subs were made and Spurs became disjointed and a little light weight in midfield for a while thus allowing Liverpool to take advantage and it was Abraham who got the equaliser much like the Spurs goal, a cross in by Ontiveros allowed him to power home with his head. A good game, which Liverppol dominated but Spurs came into it and posed a big threat with Roberts and Dembele

MOTM - Milinkovic - Held the Spurs defence together and Unal well out todays game

Arsenal 0 - 0 Wolves

Hull City 1-2 Aston Villa
Dahoud 61; Castillejo(Silva) 38, Simeone(Silva) 72

MOTM: Bernardo Silva

Again continuing with the same experienced formation Villa powered past another opponent, the two wide men causing all sorts of problems with a solid base in midfield not really allowing much of a chance to Hull.

Stoke City 1-1 Leicester City
Rashford(Lemar) 64; Belotti(Asensio) 52

MOTM: Simeone Scuffet.

A big game between two sides who look to be taking this competition very seriously. Whilst Leicester had the numbers that saw them controlling most of the possession, Stoke provided a massive counter threat with the pace that they possessed frankly frightening and almost impossible to deal with at times. A combination of wasteful finishing and good goalkeeping kept this game level, a result that leaves group A wide open, but the way these two teams are lining up you'd fancy them to be Hulls biggest threat for 2nd place.

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

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

--------- Kessie ---- Muriga ---- Davies ---------

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

Bedeau, T.Maia, A.Green, Lincoln, P.Neto, Keita, Pellegri

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, A.Muriga 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., When they have the ball however we make a solid midfield trio which will be difficutlt to get by.

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 - Tom Davies
Pens - Mbappe/Keita
Free Kicks - Traore
Corners - Wingers

Subs -
Losing -
60 Mins - Keita for Lookman, Mbappe to LW, Keita to CF and Pedro Neto for Muriga and go to AM, Kessie to DM 4231
80 Mins - Bedeau for Henrichs, Pellegri for Sessegnon, Bedeau to CB, Pellegri up top 3412

Winning -
65 Mins - T.Maia for Muriga, straight swap, Keita for Lookman, swap with Mbappe
75 Mins - P.Neto for Bertrand

Drawing
60 Mins - Keita for Lookman switch with Mbappe, Neto for Muriga 4231, Andre Green fro Bertrand

Murgia that should read not Muriga

-------------------Carevic--------------------
------Oxford---Milenkovic---Vickers------
Ronael----Fornals-----L.Cook----Tierney
-----Kelechi-----Moussa------Berardi-----

Souttar, Golovin, A.Gomes, Brereton, Kelechi, A.Silva, Hadaddi


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 L.Cook to move up and create the chances, both creative, yet they know how to tackle so do not allow the other team 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 Berardi 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 Berardi 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 Lewis Cook

Substitutes

Roberts for Kelechi and A.Silva for Moussa on 60 minutes

Angel Gomes for Cook on 75 minutes

Attacking Possession based 4-3-3

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 providing the poewr as the dm, Oliver our deep playmaker, and Asesnio as our attacking midfielder.

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 --- Oliver Torres
----------------- Asensio
Gnabry -------------------------- Correa
----------------- Belotti*

Subs. Marquinhos*, Ceballos, O.Pineda, Oyarzabal, D.Jota, Solanke

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..

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 Torres is the creative presence that comes deep to dictate our play and rhythm, Asensio in attack
is great dribbler 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 Jota for Gnabry. Stronger defence to allow the attack push for goals, and fresh creativity in midfield.

If winning after 60 mins bring on Ceballos for Correa. Asensio left.

comment by Brooksey (U2087)
posted 1 week, 4 days ago
Arsenal U21's

................*Pickford*............
Maffeo.....Lyanco..Romagnoli (C)...Targett
.................Benassi....Pellegrini
inaki……….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

----------------------------------------------------------------------

STOKE CITY v Hull City

Line Up:

Dragowski
Pereira Diop Gnagnon Shaw
Lopez Diawara Jankto
Martins Rashford Lemar

Substitutes: Woodman; Castro; Elvedi; Mandragora; Malcom; Boschilia; Simeone

Captain: Diawara
Penalties: Rashford
Set pieces: Lemar

Game Plan:

OFF THE BALL:

The key to our game will be organisation. When the team is out of possession, they press ferociously, as a unit, to win it back. However, if they manage to keep the ball in the face of the pressure for 10 seconds, we must be quick to transition in to a deeper formation to cover gaps in our back line and to start the pressing game again. By pressing in 10 second spurts before reforming deeper and waiting to move forward again, we can conserve our energy and make sure that we can keep pressing for the whole 90 minutes.

Once back into position, they look for triggers to start their pressing. Like, the ball towards the right-back is a trigger of the left winger to begin the pressing. The left-winger’s pressing is a trigger for the attacking midfielder and the rest of the team of what is their role in this pressing.

The positioning of our players in this pressing game is important - we want every player to know exactly where he needs to be and what his role is.

We want to keep our players as close to theirs throughout the game as possible. We don't want to give them time to relax on the ball and think about where the next pass is going and force them to play with their backs to goal. We want to crowd the pitch, effectively splitting the playing surface in to halves and quadrants, and dictate where they can pass the ball and when.

If the ball gets out to the full back, we make it a 3-on-1 scenario, with the closest player challenging for the ball and the 2nd and 3rd closest players looking to close off the passing lanes. The only option for the full back is backwards. In addition, our entire formation shifts across to plug any gaps in the line and effectively cut off a third of the pitch, making the switch impossible.

If the ball hits the midfield, their attempt will be to get the ball to the forward players are quickly as possible. The first way to stop this is to keep their back to goal, they can’t see the forwards that way. If we are pressing them with their back to goal, we will very rarely get turned (provided the other players close down the passing lanes) and this results usually in a turnover.

ON THE BALL:

Should Hull look to press high up the pitch, we will drop back and look to use our brilliant movement off the ball and short, sharp passing to play around their press.
If, however, they decide to sit deep and look to squeeze the life out of the game then we will look to probe along the pitch, moving the ball from side to side while our attacking players look to move around and find a bit of space, waiting to find a chink in their armour.

Our attacking 5 is full of technically brilliant players who are good on the ball, have a good eye for a pass and can all score in equal measure. Thanks to this, we are comfortable in allowing these 4 to roam around the pitch, not playing in their original positions but looking to give and go, receiving the ball in tight spaces and moving it on, constantly creating room for their teammates and keeping Hull on their toes.

Substitutions:

60 minutes: Mandragora on for Lopez

70 minutes: Malcom on for Gelson Martins

80 minutes: G.Simeone on for Rashford

Arsenal 1 - 2 Newcastle
Benassi(Inaki)
Kane x 2 (Brandt, Tolisso)

A tight game to start but that little extra quality it the Newcastle ranks saw them through this game

MOTM - Kane

Wolves 0 - 2 Spurs
Moussa Dembele(Cook)
Berardi(Tierney)

MOTM - Lewis Cook

Chelsea 2-2 Leicester
Mbappe(Keita) 61, Keita(Mbappe) 74; Belotti(Asensio) 34, Belotti(Asensio) 70

MOTM: Balde Keita.

A good game against two sides who's senior teams fought for the title last year, Leicester had the better of the game for large parts but found a Chelsea midfield that defended their lines superbly well. There were times though that Asensio wiggled his way through and managed to feed Belotti who looked in fine form. For Chelsea the game kicked fully into life with the introduction of Keita, his pace late on alongside Mbappe gave Chelsea the tools to snatch a point that leaves Group A wide open.


Stoke City 2-1 Hull City
Rashford(Lemar) 13; Martins(Lopez) 58; Shaw(OG) 30.

Another well contested game but this time Stoke simply had too much, their pace up front is crazy and they have a lot of power. Nicely rounded team.

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

Henrichs -- D.Rugani -- W.Hoedt -- S'segnon

--------- Kessie ---- Grassi ---- Davies ---------

Sterling ------------ Keita ------------- Mbappe

Bastoni, T.Maia, Bertrand, Lookman, Y.Herrera, Pellegri, D.Alli

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 a threat, 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 Keita, 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 Hoedt have plenty height and power so wont be bullied, Rugani will pick up the CF with Hoedt sitting spare, Rugani will push him back not allowing him into the danger area, be onto him quickly. Hoedt sits spare but 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, A.Grassi central will be our main DM today 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 Sterling and Mbappe or which ever full back is up, pass and move, quick one touch and always go looking for a pass., When they have the ball however we make a solid midfield trio which will be difficutlt to get by.

Our front three are very dangerous, Sterling and Mbappe 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 Keita, he is powerful, quick 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 - Tom Davies
Pens - Keita/Mbappe
Free Kicks - Wingers
Corners - Wingers

Subs -
Losing -
60 Mins - Alli for Grassi and to No.10, Kessie takes up the man marking role
70 Mins - Bertrand for Keita, he goes to RW, Sterling to LW, Mbappe up ront
80 Mins - Henrichs to CB, and Pellegri for Sessegnon and we go 3412

Winning -
60 Mins - T.Maia for Grassi, same job fresh legs
70 Mins - Pellegri for Keita a bit of height and strong player
80 Mins - Yangel Herrera for Davies again similar type player but bring new energy

Drawing -
70 Mins - T.Maia for Grassi, D.Alli for Davies(gives extra drive from CM pushing into a No.10 role)
75 Mins - Sterling to RW, Bertrand for Keita and go to RW, Mbappe up top

-------------------Carevic-------------------
Mensah----Oxford----Vickers----Tierney
-------------L.Cook----Fornals-------------
Berardi----------Barkley-----------Coman
-------------------Moussa--------------------

Ronael, Milenkovic, Golovin, Haddadi, Roberts, A.Gomes, A.Silva

Carevic tall and strong and will control his area and dominate

Mensah at right back and Tierney at left back both are very forward driven players who like to attack, so as we must be on the front foot for a good percentage of the game they will do this and support Berardi and Coman. Oxford and Vickers have to hold the defence tight so partner again at centre back,Vickers will go ahead with the centre forward allowing Oxford to use his intelligence to roam the defence picking up other attackers. We must keep it tight at the back to thwart any danger they possess when coming forward, it is strong back four who will defend resolutely, however attacking they are all a threat, Tierney and Mensah in open play when they attack, and Oxford and Vickers from corners, whilst these two go into the opposition box to attack corners, Tierney and Mensah stay back.

Fornals in the DM role, he is very effective in the tackle and will look to get into the correct positions when he needs to be to stop there attacking midfielder, do not allow him time or space to support the CF or indeed shorten the time he has to pass the ball around him. He and Cook in the centre of the pitch, look to dominate the game, both Fornals and Cook can move up the field to assist Moussa and Barkley but they must be careful, we cannot be exposed against a very good side so Cook more than Fornals will get forward, Cook will look to get the ball forward to our more attacking men, In Berardi and Coman we have two very quick wingers, when we attack I want it to be done very quickly. Down the right I want Mensah and Berardi towork in tandom,, using each other to get the space required to get Berardi to the bye line, give and go. he is very quick and skillful so will be a handful for there Left back. When the right hand attacks Tierney stays back, Coman moves into the box to support Moussa and the same on the other side when the left hand side attacks, Berardi gets into the box, Mensah stays back, so when we are going forward we always have at least two ready to pounce on the cross balls, Cook or Barkley on the edge and depending what side two players down the wing looking to get these cross balls in. As said previously Berardi and Coman are hard working wingers so will look to help out our fullbacks in what will be a very difficult game, they must get back and support Mensah and Tierney.

Barkley comes into the role just in between midfield and striker, he can turn a game very quickly with a brilliant pass.Along with Moussa the two should really be a threat to there defence. Look to turn players when he has his back to goal and play in other quick players and Moussa himself. His passing and movement are essential to how we attack as he is a very important player and will see a lot of the ball. Have given him a free role and permission to shoot when he can. Look to get Berardi and Coman into the game and watch for them cutting inside and use them!

Defending this must be a stringent 4-1-4-1 system that will stop them coming through, Barkley will drop in beside Cook with Fornals in the hole between defence and midfield, they must work hard as they have some fantastic players who must not be allowed to play.

Moussa is the prefect No.9, strong, a bit of pace and most of all he can score goals, can hold of the CB marking him and drive into the area. Or indeed, he can hold the ball up looking for the support coming his way in from Berardi, Coman, Barkley also the fullbacks. Always on the last man ready to get into dangerous areas. He is fantastic in the air so must always look to beat the centre back to the ball, always has his head up looking to go for goal. We have a huge aeriel threat from set pieces with the two CBs there to cause problems.

Captain is Lewis Cook
Penalties taken by Moussa
Set pieces by Barkley

Substitues

70 Minutes

If we are losing Andre Silva will come on for Barkley, Golovin for Cook, Roberts for Coman and we will play 4-4-2 and on 80 minutes, Haddadi will come on for Moussa

If we are winning on 70 minutes Golovin will come on for Barkley, and Silva for Moussa

If we are drawing
A.Silva for Moussa, Roberts for Berardi, Haddadi for Coman and Angel Gomes for Cook

-----------------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
———Upamecano—Baumgartl—Bensebaini
Arnold————-—Benes——Balanta————Grimaldo
————Gabriel———Abraham———Lozano
Subs: Kalaica, Ndidi, Kovalenko, Zivkovic, Ontiveros, Berenguer, Conechny

Captain: Ramy Bensebaini
Free Kicks: Alejandro Grimaldo/Hirving Lozano
Corners: Laszlo Benes/Hirving Lozano
Penalties: Gabriel Barbosa

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 Abraham 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 Gabriel and Lozano drop to make a midfield 4, these two focus 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 Benes and Upamecano 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, Balanta 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 Balanta, 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. Upamecano 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 Upamecano can also step forward during periods of possession and become an extra midfielder to provide an overload, essentially overlapping Balanta. Balanta 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 Benes 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. Gabriel 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, basically we want them going and doubling and even tripling up on opposition vulnerabilities. Abraham leads the line, we know he provides goals so we just want him to fucs on running defenders about with his movement and finding spaces in the box to finish attacks.


Subs:

If Winning: Ndidi for Lozano 70’, drops into the midfield, makes it a 3-5-2. Kalaica for Baumgartl 75’. Conechny for Gabriel 80’.

If Drawing: Zivkovic for Abraham 65’, Gabigol through the middle. Kovalenko for Benes 75’. Berenguer for Lozano 80’.

If Losing: Zivkovic for Baumgartl 60’, 4-2-3-1, Zivkovic goes RW, Gabigol behind Abraham. Kovalenko for Abraham 70’, swaps with Gabigol. Berenguer for Arnold 75’, played RB before, likes to make underlapping runs, gets beyond Zivkovic down the sides of the CBs.

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

Wolves 0 - 2 Liverpool
Abraham x 2 (Lozano, Gabriel)
MOTM - Abraham - A real handful today

Newcastle 2 - 2 Spurs

A great game for everyone, some fantastic offensive play by both teams who wanted to win this game, Newcastle out the blocks quickly and Kane was on the end of a Brandt cross on 12 mins to go ahead, the game was fairly even and both teams had chances, but when Spurs got a corner, Coman crossed in and Vickers up from the back headed home the equalizer on 33.

Second half much alike, Newcastle starting strongly and again Kane was on the score sheet after a through ball from Tolisso broke the defence and Kane rounded the young keeper Carevic. End to end stuff tho but as Spurs went more aggressive the more chances they had and it was Andre Silva and fellow sub Golovin who combined for the equaliser again on 80 mins for the game to end 2-2

Kane x 2 (Brandt, Tolisso)
Vickers(Coman), A.Silva(Golovin)
MOTM - Kane

Aston Villa 0-0 Stoke City


Chelsea 2-1 Hull City
Sterling(Kessie), Keita(Sterling); Neres(Amiri)
MOTM: Sterling

A tight game, a win here for Chelsea knocks Hull out and gives Chelsea a crucial final game against Stoke. The front 3 of Chelsea's was the difference today.

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

Henrichs ---- Caldara ---- W.Hoedt ---- S'segnon

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

Sterling ------------- B.Keita ------------- Mbappe

Bastoni, Grassi, Mount, Podence, Lookman, D.Alli, Pellegri

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 a threat, 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 Keita, 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.

Caldara and Hoedt have plenty height and power so wont be bullied, Caldara will pick up the CF with Hoedt sitting spare, Caldara will push him back not allowing him into the danger area, be onto him quickly. Hoedt sits spare but 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, T.Maia central will be our main DM today 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 Sterling and Mbappe or which ever full back is up, pass and move, quick one touch and always go looking for a pass., When they have the ball however we make a solid midfield trio which will be difficutlt to get by.

Our front three are very dangerous, Sterling and Mbappe 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 Keita, he is powerful, quick 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 - Davies
Pens - Keita/Mbappe
Free Kicks - Wingers
Corners - Wingers

Subs -
Losing

65 Mins - Alli for T.Maia and into a No.10 role
75 Mins - Lookman for Keita, Mbappe to CF, Lookman to LW
80 Mins - Podence for Sterling

Winning -
70 Mins - Grassi for T.Maia same role fresh energy
80 Mins - Pellegri for Keita

Drawing -
70 Mins - D.Alli for T.Maia 4231
80 Mins - Lookman for Keita and Mbappe CF, Lookman LW, Mount for Davies see if he can create anything last ten

comment by Marty McFud (U19588)
posted 2 days, 10 hours ago
-------------------Carevic-------------------
Mensah----Oxford----Vickers----Tierney
-------------L.Cook----Fornals-------------
Berardi----------Barkley-----------Coman
-------------------Moussa--------------------

Ronael, Milenkovic, Golovin, Haddadi, Roberts, A.Gomes, A.Silva

Carevic tall and strong and will control his area and dominate

Mensah at right back and Tierney at left back both are very forward driven players who like to attack, so as we must be on the front foot for a good percentage of the game they will do this and support Berardi and Coman. Oxford and Vickers have to hold the defence tight so partner again at centre back,Vickers will go ahead with the centre forward allowing Oxford to use his intelligence to roam the defence picking up other attackers. We must keep it tight at the back to thwart any danger they possess when coming forward, it is strong back four who will defend resolutely, however attacking they are all a threat, Tierney and Mensah in open play when they attack, and Oxford and Vickers from corners, whilst these two go into the opposition box to attack corners, Tierney and Mensah stay back.

Fornals in the DM role, he is very effective in the tackle and will look to get into the correct positions when he needs to be to stop there attacking midfielder, do not allow him time or space to support the CF or indeed shorten the time he has to pass the ball around him. He and Cook in the centre of the pitch, look to dominate the game, both Fornals and Cook can move up the field to assist Moussa and Barkley but they must be careful, we cannot be exposed against a very good side so Cook more than Fornals will get forward, Cook will look to get the ball forward to our more attacking men, In Berardi and Coman we have two very quick wingers, when we attack I want it to be done very quickly. Down the right I want Mensah and Berardi towork in tandom,, using each other to get the space required to get Berardi to the bye line, give and go. he is very quick and skillful so will be a handful for there Left back. When the right hand attacks Tierney stays back, Coman moves into the box to support Moussa and the same on the other side when the left hand side attacks, Berardi gets into the box, Mensah stays back, so when we are going forward we always have at least two ready to pounce on the cross balls, Cook or Barkley on the edge and depending what side two players down the wing looking to get these cross balls in. As said previously Berardi and Coman are hard working wingers so will look to help out our fullbacks in what will be a very difficult game, they must get back and support Mensah and Tierney.

Barkley comes into the role just in between midfield and striker, he can turn a game very quickly with a brilliant pass.Along with Moussa the two should really be a threat to there defence. Look to turn players when he has his back to goal and play in other quick players and Moussa himself. His passing and movement are essential to how we attack as he is a very important player and will see a lot of the ball. Have given him a free role and permission to shoot when he can. Look to get Berardi and Coman into the game and watch for them cutting inside and use them!

Defending this must be a stringent 4-1-4-1 system that will stop them coming through, Barkley will drop in beside Cook with Fornals in the hole between defence and midfield, they must work hard as they have some fantastic players who must not be allowed to play.

Moussa is the prefect No.9, strong, a bit of pace and most of all he can score goals, can hold of the CB marking him and drive into the area. Or indeed, he can hold the ball up looking for the support coming his way in from Berardi, Coman, Barkley also the fullbacks. Always on the last man ready to get into dangerous areas. He is fantastic in the air so must always look to beat the centre back to the ball, always has his head up looking to go for goal. We have a huge aeriel threat from set pieces with the two CBs there to cause problems.

Captain is Lewis Cook
Penalties taken by Moussa
Set pieces by Barkley

Substitues

70 Minutes

If we are losing Andre Silva will come on for Barkley, Golovin for Cook, Roberts for Coman and we will play 4-4-2 and on 80 minutes, Haddadi will come on for Moussa

If we are winning on 70 minutes Golovin will come on for Barkley, and Silva for Moussa

If we are drawing
A.Silva for Moussa, Roberts for Berardi, Haddadi for Coman and Angel Gomes for Cook
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Svilar
Christensen Upamecano Bensebaini
Conti* Keita Ndidi Tielemans Grimaldo
Gabriel Batshuayi*

Subs: Latorre, Baumgartl, Sensi, Benes, Lozano, Zivkovic, Unal


Aim to keep the ball in our possession, we have an excellent midfield to ensure this, if we lose it we drop back into our half, keep compact and stifle the opposition, setting up to allow rotations between 3-3-4/5-3-2/4-4-2.

When we lose the ball, we fall back into our own half and quickly shut up all the space the opposition has to work in, allowing us to focus primarily on defending the middle of the field, keeping it very tight. The CFs must be quick to drop in, shutting off the passing lanes to the DM, one either side of him, following him everywhere in the oppositions build up whilst the CM on the side of build up steps forward and closes the man on the ball down straight away, helping the forwards force the opposition attack out to the wide areas, whilst the other CM drops in with Ndidi and the WBs get back into their defensive positions. We then enter into a phase of triangulation with the aim of making sure the middle ground is always shut off. If we do succeed in forcing them wide, this phase of triangulation focuses on the positioning of the WB, the CM and the wide CB on the side of attack. If we look at this for attacks down the opposition left, essentially, the WB (Conti) becomes the active player engaging the opposition man on the ball, stepping out of the back 5 to get tight, with the CM (Keita) coming across to close the passing lanes to the central attacking players, with the forwards still blocking the ball to the DM and the WB (Grimaldo) on the opposite side dropping in to make it a back 4, allowing the defence to shuffle across, making the wide CB (Christensen) on the side of build up a FB, with both wide CBs suited to this role, it means we block the ball infield or back to the DM, and the CB that is now a FB is able to block the ball into the channels or half spaces, or get across quickly if the opposition FB overlaps and is played in behind our WB and if the WB is beaten and the CM/FB has to step out, the WB always drops back in so no gap is left. The triangle squeezes the opposition attack, with a back 4 formed behind it and the other two CMs shuffled across to keep the middle closed up. If Newcastle try and avoid this press with longer balls from defence into the wide areas, having our wide CBs spread out in possession negates this tactic.

When we defend the middle we use a back 5 but the concept of triangulation will still be used even in a 5-3-2. Behind the forwards there are triangles everywhere, the midfield 3 and the 3 CBs being the obvious, but also WB > wide CB > CM, CM > DM > wide CB, wide CB > CB > DM ect, so as soon as the ball is played between any of these groups, they quickly close in on the man on the ball, keep squeezing them, eventually they play the ball sideways or backwards or they lose it all together and we can break on them.

Attack in a 3-3-4. Wide CBs have to spread wide with the WBs pushing on too, Upamecano as the deepest of the CBs and Ndidi at the tip of what is a diamond, keeping the spaces between the players large so we are difficult to press, and allowing Upamecano/Ndidi the time on the ball to pick their passes into the forwards, or the wide CBs to find the WBs. Build ups will tend to move wide so we can stretch things out, so when we build up down the right, Conti joins in the midfield line and Keita goes ahead of him and joins the front 4, with Grimaldo pushed right up on the other side against their FB keeping the defence spread out, which allows Conti, Keita and Gabriel/Batshuayi to quickly circulate the ball in between the lines, whilst Tielemans gets into the half space, making sure we have numbers committed but not all grouped together, stretch things out and we become hard to defend against, so when one person drops from attack to midfield, another goes forward, say Keita drops in, Conti goes forward. It also makes us hard to counter, initial high press to slow things down so we can reorganise. We are set up from there with Keita and Tielemans rotating as mezzala’s depending on the side of build up to create overloads out wide and in the half spaces, so when the ball goes wide Bathsuayi/Gabriel comes across too and the CM on the side of build up as said already gets into the forward line and becomes an 8, looking to use their quick intricate passing to link with their WB and CF to either get the ball into a crossing position or to drag defenders out to cover half spaces then quickly play it in behind for the other CF who will be able to run into the space that is vacated by his partner pulling defenders towards him. Of course we don’t just have this one style of play, if that side of the field becomes crowded we have the quick switch out to the other WB who is pushed high and in position to take on his FB, or even get between FB and CB and into the channel. We can also bring the ball back infield and build up using the roaming runs of Keita and Tielemans, and the midfield dominance of Ndidi, with Gabriel dropping off to get involved, he draws a defender and allows Batshuayi and the CMs, who can get either side of the DM and look to break into the box where they won’t be tracked. Important thing is to keep the ball circulating, CMs always using their movement to find the spaces and forwards working on a tangent so one comes to get involved and the other spins behind, with Ndidi interested too along with the back 3, dominate the space behind the attack, Ndidi, must provide the links between defending and attacking, one with his deep passing and the other with his powerful running and control of the middle spaces.

Subs:

If Winning: Sensi for Tielemans 70’. Latorre for Grimaldo 75’. Unal for Gabriel 80’.

If Drawing: Sensi for Nidi 70’. Lozano and Zivkovic for Tielemans and Gabriel 75’, 3-4-3.

If Losing: Lozano for Upamecano 60’. Benes for Ndidi 65’, 4-4-2, Benes RAM. Unal for Gabriel 75’.

-----------------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.

Line Up:

Rico
Cancelo Elvedi Mere Shaw
Cyprien Diawara Paredes
Martins Rashford Lemar

Substitutes: Woodman; Castro; Diop; Lopez; Malcom; Boschilia; Simeone

Captain: Paredes
Penalties: Rashford
Set pieces: Lemar

Game Plan:

OFF THE BALL:

The key to our game will be organisation. When the team is out of possession, they press ferociously, as a unit, to win it back. However, if they manage to keep the ball in the face of the pressure for 10 seconds, we must be quick to transition in to a deeper formation to cover gaps in our back line and to start the pressing game again. By pressing in 10 second spurts before reforming deeper and waiting to move forward again, we can conserve our energy and make sure that we can keep pressing for the whole 90 minutes.

Once back into position, they look for triggers to start their pressing. Like, the ball towards the right-back is a trigger of the left winger to begin the pressing. The left-winger’s pressing is a trigger for the attacking midfielder and the rest of the team of what is their role in this pressing.

The positioning of our players in this pressing game is important - we want every player to know exactly where he needs to be and what his role is.

We want to keep our players as close to theirs throughout the game as possible. We don't want to give them time to relax on the ball and think about where the next pass is going and force them to play with their backs to goal. We want to crowd the pitch, effectively splitting the playing surface in to halves and quadrants, and dictate where they can pass the ball and when.

If the ball gets out to the full back, we make it a 3-on-1 scenario, with the closest player challenging for the ball and the 2nd and 3rd closest players looking to close off the passing lanes. The only option for the full back is backwards. In addition, our entire formation shifts across to plug any gaps in the line and effectively cut off a third of the pitch, making the switch impossible.

If the ball hits the midfield, their attempt will be to get the ball to the forward players are quickly as possible. The first way to stop this is to keep their back to goal, they can’t see the forwards that way. If we are pressing them with their back to goal, we will very rarely get turned (provided the other players close down the passing lanes) and this results usually in a turnover.

ON THE BALL:

Should Chelsea look to press high up the pitch, we will drop back and look to use our brilliant movement off the ball and short, sharp passing to play around their press.
If, however, they decide to sit deep and look to squeeze the life out of the game then we will look to probe along the pitch, moving the ball from side to side while our attacking players look to move around and find a bit of space, waiting to find a chink in their armour.

Our attacking 5 is full of technically brilliant players who are good on the ball, have a good eye for a pass and can all score in equal measure. Thanks to this, we are comfortable in allowing these 4 to roam around the pitch, not playing in their original positions but looking to give and go, receiving the ball in tight spaces and moving it on, constantly creating room for their teammates and keeping Chelsea on their toes.

Substitutions:

60 minutes: Boschilia for Martins

70 minutes: Simeone for Rashford

80 minutes: Lopez for Cyprien