Learning the new mechanics is probably the most important thing at the start of a new game, but afterwards you have to find the perfect formation that fits to your game style.
Today, we are going to introduce to you one of the possible meta formations in EA FC 24, which is 4321.
Introduction
4321 is a very style formation. You have three Central players who can show a promising dominance in the Midfield and a Central Striker who is supported by two side forwards. But the correct instructions you can create an incredible passing traffic. Of course, it would be better if you have enough FUT 24 Coins. Because this way you can prioritize some good players.
On the other side, there are a couple of strategies that you can use in the defense. You can domain in the same information and try to maintain the order in the center of the Midfield with three players or you can shape-shift into 442 and have an overall balance defense, both covering the wing inside.
We are going to cover that as soon as possible, but let’s start with the offensive part.
Also Read: How To Choose The Perfect Career Mode Save In FC 24? - 4 Steps
Attacking Instructions
For the build up play, I prefer ‘Balanced’ supported by the option ‘Direct Passing’. The default Width seems to be good, but you can change the option of ‘Players In The Box’ between 4 to 6 depending on how many players you want to attack with.
The attacking wingbacks are pretty important, so I let them stay on balanced instead of staying back.
Since you don’t have side Midfielders, those two are going to play a huge role. I put one of the Midfielders just in the middle to 'Stay Back While Attacking'. The striker will 'Stay Central'and side forwards to 'Get In Behind'.
How To Attack With 4321?
Let’s take a look at how we actually play with it. There are some priorities you need to have.
First, the passing options in the center. Since we had three Midfielders in this center, make sure to find the open one to organize your attack. Short passing is a viable option for them and you will get the attention towards the center with their contribution.
Secondly, the wing backs. We put them on balanced for a reason. They make runs towards forward occasionally and create huge opportunities in wider spaces. Sending three balls towards their running lanes, Boulevard handsomely, and you can use them as an extra attacking power.
Since they are going forward, they also become a huge element of switching sides. That could possibly allow you to get out of pressure and build up into the open space.
Using the flexibility it gives to me, I tend to start attacks from the center and watch the rounds of the wing backs turning the attacks towards the side.
Moving forward, I see two opportunities. You either go explore the goal line or you cut back passable towards the center and work your way towards the middle. This heavily depends on the defensive tendency of your opponent, but eventually you will figure it out.
Let’s see some examples. Passing them all center, I see that the opposition defense is overloading Midfield due to me having three players there. But my right wing back is already on the run on the wing. So passing the ball there creates space for me.
Going down the wing, I wait for my side forward to complete this run and send the ball towards this direction. Now, I have two options: either I will cut back and passable to my supporting Midfielder or I will explore the goal line.
Take a look at the positioning of the Defenders. If I pass the ball back to my Midfielder, I will put in between four opposition players, which is likely to end up with a possession loss.
With a selected player, he remains at a safe distance and doesn’t pressure me, so I take my chances and go for the run towards the goal line. As soon as I see that he’s trying to cut off the passing lane, I continue my journey down the line. Get close to the goal, which can also create a tiny but possible angle towards scoring.
Once he sees that as well, he tries to bring a selected Defender towards that angle. But that was the moment I was waiting for. Double X pass finished off by a clean touch.
On the other hand, if the opponent commits the running lane earlier, you can always take advantage out of it. Take a look at his body language. If he’s sprinting towards the line, that is your chance. You can easily cut back with the Controlled Sprint by holding onto the R1 & RB button. Turn the ball’s direction and passable to an open scene mate who ends up scoring the goal.
Defending With 4321
Switching off to defense now, like mentioned, we have two plans here.
First, let’s take a look at the defensive instructions while remaining at the same formation. I tried this information out with a Balanced style, a Depth between 60 and 65, and a Width between 30 and 35. These are personal preferences. But I must say: the more depth you have, the more you can pressure up high on the pitch.
Your side forwards are set to come back on defense to provide extra defensive support. Your central CM is set to ‘Cover Center’, but the other two are on default, which is to Cover Wing. This helps you cover the potential counter-attacking opportunities from the opponents when you push your wing backs out of their position for an attack.
Your side CMs are going to be a bit spread towards side and you can fill the gaps easily. Once your team settles back to defense, your side forwards will come back and you will have all of your CMs in the center creating a brick wall. With this, you close off your goal against unnecessary threats and you can easily switch from defense to offense and create deadly counter attacks.
Shapeshift Into 442 While Defending
The second plan is a bit more confusing, but I’m going to explain it to you step by step with the instructions.
The main idea is to switch off the 442 while defending. Here’s my example. While switching off the 442, I want Bellingham and Valverde to become the main CMs. That is why they both get the Cover Center to instruction. My left CM needs to shift towards the wing so he remains a Cover Wing. That means my left forward doesn’t need to come back and has to stay as one of the two Strikers, so he gets ‘Stay Central’ and ‘Stay Forward’.
On the other hand, the right forward has to become the right Midfielder in the defense, so he gets the instruction ‘Come Back On Defense’. So in the end, this is the exact thing that happens on the paper.
You can definitely see this shift happening on the pitch as well. Like mentioned, switching to a 442 without actually switching formations is very reliable if you want an overall better balance in your defense. Using this transition, I was able to break tons of wing attacks from the opponents. Make sure to use your Midfielders and the Attackers who are coming back before your actual Defenders. That makes a huge difference if you don’t break your defensive shape while transitioning from 4321 to 442.
Remember, this is only one of the tactics. Keep trying out other formations and tactics until you find the best one that fits to you. Of course, in addition to learning to choose the right formation, you also need the support of a large amount of FC 24 Coins. Only this way you can win more games more easily!
