4-2-3-1 formation

You know the formation, the computer uses it alot, it has a bank of four at the back 2 deep sitting central midfielder's and then 3 more advanced midfielder's, 1 on each wing then one guy behind a lone striker, does anyone use this and what kind of formation is it?

Looking at it on a very basic level it looks like a slightly tweaked 4-4-2, if you assume the guy behind the main striker is essentially a forward in a withdrawn role. But what I can't get is is this a very attack minded formation with the 3 advanced midfielders or a very defensive one with the two deep sitting midfielders?

I can't get my head around it, how do you approach it, both playing against it and employing it yourself?

i always use 4-2-3-1 in my saves

it's neither defensive or offensive. it's more neutral and versatile. it packs the midfield with more players so you can keep possession better. your AMC (the guy behind the main striker) doesn't necessarily have to be a withdrawn forward. he can just be a playmaker that jinks passes to your striker and wingers (think fabregas for arsenal or sneijder for inter, neither can be considered withdrawn forwards)

when i use it myself, i usually use fluid/control/disclipined. fluid/attack/expressive works just as well also. you need a REALLY good AMC to play a 4-2-3-1 because he's the main outlet of creativity. everything pretty much goes through him. if you're playing against a team with a good DMC, they can shut you out completely

playing against it, 4-3-1-2 or 4-1-2-1-2 diamond would be the best formation. you need a DMC to man-mark the AMC. i've used centerbacks as DMC's against CPU's playing 4-2-3-1 and that works for me

I use it, GK DL DC DC DR CM CM AML AMC AMR ST. I set my wingers to man-mark the opposition full-backs as you can be a little vulnerable down the flanks, and your AMC is your key player as advanced playmaker/trequartista. To defend against it you need a DMC to get tight on the AMC as he will naturally occupy space between the lines in a flat 442. The AML/AMR can be treated no differently than a MR/ML as they obviously attack your full-backs, but in AI formations they will rarely get back to support the full-backs, so you should have plenty of room if you 'exploit the flanks'. A diamond 41212, 4132 or matching 4231 is probably your best bet.

I personally don't like it because I can't get consistent results, but maybe I'm just doing something wrong. Too often I have trouble controlling the midfield because the AMC plays too far forward. It does help though to put your fullbacks on wing back/attack, to get them up the pitch and provide wide options in the central midfield.

I personally don't like it because I can't get consistent results, but maybe I'm just doing something wrong. Too often I have trouble controlling the midfield because the AMC plays too far forward. It does help though to put your fullbacks on wing back/attack, to get them up the pitch and provide wide options in the central midfield.

depends how you want your AMC to play. i like my AMC to play far forward and sometimes interchange with my ST. so i have my striker set as deeplyingforward/support and my AMC to attackingmidfielder/attack. and i set my team philosophy to fluid

if you want your AMC to act more like a classic 10, play him as an attackingplaymaker/support or a trequartista. attackingmidfielders/insideforwards make runs from deep. attackingplaymakers/trequartistas don't. setting your team philosophy to rigid also helps