Make FC fun again - 433(3) edition
On my quest to make a unique yet enjoyable formation 🙌
Ever since they introduced Wide Half, I wanted to make use of it but never really could. Now I finally found something that kinda makes sense and kinda works.
I’m using the 4-3-3 (3) with two CDMs. First Picture shows my first set up, that i recommend to get a feel for the formation, 2nd shows my current testing set up (that i like better) and third shows how i plan on upgrading my team to get rid of Pascal Fraud.
TL;DR: 4-3-3 (3) with both CDMs as Wide Half and inverted fullbacks. Fast CBs and CDMs are essential, and your fullbacks should ideally have good shooting and stamina because they’ll get a surprising amount of chances. Keep the Depth fairly low, I settled on 50. Inside Forward Roaming works really well out wide. Striker role seems pretty flexible depending on the player. Balanced is my current Build-Up Style, with Counter being great when you want more movement and quicker runs.
Last year I really liked attacking fullbacks. Playing around with a couple of roles, I actually really enjoyed the movement of the inverted fullbacks this time around, which I didn’t last year.
In this formation you’ll actually get loads of scoring opportunities with your RB/LB, so players with good shooting (and stamina) are key.
For the CDMs, as they are covering for the FBs, they need high pace. Geyoro and Karchaoui are probably the best you can get (for a reasonable price).
CBs need to be fast, no debate. Don’t put Depth too high either. You won’t be able to manually defend anymore, which you have to do quite a lot because sometimes the two CBs will be the only players left. I tried 90, 80, 61 and 50 and liked the latter the most tbh.
As for your front 3, Inside Forward Roaming is really nice.
Just a personal skill issue, but somehow I’m perfectly fine with having a right-footed player on the left, but I can’t for the life of me work equally as well with a left-footed player on the right. So I’d actually prefer a right-footed player there, ideally with gamechanger.
For the striker, I’ve been testing basically every role and can’t really tell you which is best. I’d say pick what suits you/your striker.
I started with False 9 Attack with Messi and Lavelle, which worked out. Now with Anyomi I actually really like Target Forward Wide (believe it or not) or Balanced. Poacher Support was also great. Any version of Advanced Forward is decent too. I think I liked Support the most.
For Build-Up Style it’s actually hard to tell. All of them work, but all have their upsides and downsides.
I’d say start with Counter so you’ll notice quickly what you can get from this tactic. Short Passing is also viable and decent for possession, but it lacks some movement and runs for me. I’m not the best with these curved runs, player locks or those yellow-arrow run things that you can trigger yourself. L1 and R1 is all I do lmao.
Right now I’ve landed on Balanced, but I’ll switch to Counter when I need more and quicker movement.
Lastly, the CM.
I really think Box-to-Box would be great here, but not if you use Groß like me. I put DLP Build-Up on him and that suits him better. It also gives you more defensive stability.
Ideally, you should get an agile, good passer there. I like Senß from the Season Pass off the bench. Stanway should be great too, which probably shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Another note on the CDMs: Wide Half Defend is obviously better defensively, but I prefer Build-Up as they can still be your primary ball carriers.
That’s also why I like having Karchaoui on the right and Geyoro on the left right now. If you move inwards, they dribble away from the opposing goal with their strong foot, which makes it easier to keep the ball.
If you put them on Defend, I think having a left-footed player on the left and a right-footed player on the right is better.
You’ll concede more goals with this, obviously. This is definitely not some high-meta formation. I’m in Div 4 rn and still getting more used to passing and defending with it.
I’ve never really been someone who pushes for the best possible results anyway. I’m trying to have fun, and using weird/unique formations is probably the best way to do that for me, even if it means losing more games. The wins are so much sweeter that way tho.
If anyone even cares enough to try it out, let me know what you think - just don't give up after one game if it doesn't work out 😂🙌