Players like Cardoza, Llorente, Zigic, Ibrahimovic, or Crouch are often guys I stay away from because the slow down my gameplay. I generally like to have a pacy striker that also has good strength up top. The only thing I would be aware of with this formation is that there is only one true striker and depending on who you have players can really get isolated up top. It really plays to their strengths and if you have creative Center Midfielders in the middle of the park you can just play lobbed through balls over the opposing defenses head all game. If you have speedy wingers and full-backs in your side this is the formation for you. The second most popular formation is the ever-present 4-3-3.
This is most likely due to the fact that it incorporates 2 wingers and 2 strikers into the system, I highly suggest this formation to new gamers because it provides defensive cover as well as attacking prowess.
The most common one used in FIFA is a 4-4-2(or other variations like 4-1-2-1-2, or 4-2-2-2). So knowing which players are where and what their strengths are is an extremely important concept that you have to master if you hope to have a chance when facing the computer on a higher level difficulty setting.Īfter you have taken look at your squad and the opposing squad it is now time to choose a formation. It's certainly something I would not want seeing as Crouch has 7 inches on my center back and would easily out-muscle and out-jump him for the ball. Whereas If I wouldn't have set up that mark I could have a situation where Koscielny - who is only 6 foot - would try to challenge a 6'7 striker for a ball in the air. For example, If I was playing with Arsenal and I was setting up my side to face Stoke City I would set my 6'6 center back (Mertesacker) to mark Stoke's 6'7 Crouch. You can also tell certain players to mark other players. For instance, if I was facing Barcelona and saw that Messi was playing at LW and I was Inter Milan I would put a fast RB (Maicon) on Messi's side so I could counter-act Messi's pace. Take a look at their formation and players and make your decision based off that.
That's where being smart with who you decide to start and bench will come into play.Īnother thing I suggest you do before a match - especially if you're in an offline mode like career mode - is to take a look at the other team. Both teams have a whole host of strikers. But let's say you play with Manchester City or Barcelona.
The same can be said about central midfielders(CM's) and center backs (CB's). For instance, if you have chosen a team that has 2 or 3 top class strikers then you would want to choose a formation that plays to their strengths.
Knowing where the strengths are within a team is extremely important and can be the deciding factor of winning or losing a game. I will explain that all and much more in a minute as I break down some of the most popular formations in the game of FIFA and how you the gamer can use them to the fullest.īefore you even looking at the formations screen I highly suggest you take a deep look at your squad. But which formations are the best and which one's work best at which times? Well, in most cases you have to know which team you're facing to choose a formation to counteract that particular formation. From Barcelona's 4-3-3 to Napoli's 3-4-3 FIFA 12 has a lot of different options to choose from. And I believe it tends to be the same in real life. Most gamers that play FIFA 12 have realized that every team has that one formation that works best.