Positional Fluidity/Rotating Positions
A bigger pattern in current football tactics that we observe in the EPL is represented by the scenario we described in the previous point, which involves an inverted winger slicing inside and outside backcrossing to maintain the team’s width. That refers to positional fluidity or rotating positions.
The primary premise is that players can switch between and take on roles and positions that are distinct from those that one might “normally” anticipate for their position.
When a team switches to offense, look for changes in positioning, such as a center back sinking deep between center backs or a winger cutting inside, to spot this. Even an attacking fullback, like Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool, may make the move by moving both inside and forward. Every team has different specifics, but a common objective is to produce overloads and positional superiority and make use of them in the final third.
Because they frequently utilize Bernardo Silva as a “false 9” and employ Phil Foden as a winger, Manchester City has displayed extreme mobility up top. Because they constantly switch positions and do not stay in specific places, one analysis described the side as being very challenging to deal with. By initially unbalancing and then breaching fortifications, City has successfully caused them to collapse. With Gabriel Jesus playing on the wing the season before the last one, it even performed better. It was intriguing to observe how Guardiola altered his approach after the Brazilian left for Arsenal and big attacker Erling Haaland signed. Well, “Pep” was successful, as evidenced by the Champions League victory.
Counter-Pressing
This strategy, known as “Gegenpressing” where it originated in Germany, is undoubtedly not a novel one in the English Premier League where some of the top managers, including Jürgen Klopp, have used it for years with tremendous success. When you surrender the ball, you should try to recover it as quickly as you can rather than switching to a defensive stance.
In 2021–22, high-work-rate sides like Leeds United commonly employ this tactic. Leeds needs both space and a disoriented opponent, each of which is attainable if you are able to quickly recover the ball, in order to take on teams with vertical passes into the center. In order to effectively pincer press opponents, Leeds frequently uses numerous pressing players that come from various sides of the ball. Counter-pressing is a collective effort, thus this is crucial. This eliminates passing possibilities and forces the man in possession to make a choice, which Leeds will hope is frequently the incorrect one.
Ask yourself if the team is pressing right away or is waiting for certain signs as you observe this and other presses. And for just how long can the group continue playing effectively given how much it depletes player endurance and stamina until they either lose effectiveness, give up, or need to make substitutes for new legs?
The Superiority of the 4-3-3
The “4-3-3” formation was the most widely used shape in 2022–2023, especially among elite clubs like Manchester City and Liverpool, so this trend is probably going to continue.
The “4-2-3-1” is one of many alternative formations that will be widely used, though. We can go at Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel (while he was at the command of the club) and his employing of the defensive three in the “3-4-2-1” system and its variations as one manager who has made an additional formation a significant part of their identity. It is a solid place to start with two defensive midfielders who can support the back line and wingbacks who may move back to form a back five when in the defensive phase. Predicting that more teams will utilize three at the back and wingbacks this season would not be a bad guess.
A reversion to more conventional structures is another potential outcome. It is crucial to keep in mind that tactical trends occur in cycles, which means there will always be adjustments and responses to novel concepts. As a result, we occasionally observe teams reverting to earlier tactics, but with altered context and justification. According to one football observer, defensive blocks will become more tightly packed as space opens up both beneath defensive lines and in broad areas of the field, leading to more direct play and a return to patterns like the traditional “4-4-2”. He went on to emphasize the advantages of having two center strikers who can go in behind as well as the counterattacking power against “4-3-3” sides that rely on possession.