12 October 2026
Tactics Win the Game
Most Used Tactic / Formation of the Week: Long Ball Counter Still Dominant, Quick Counter Claims the Top Spot
The leaderboard stays highly competitive this week. Long Ball Counter continues to occupy the majority of the Top 5, with José Mourinho featuring twice. Fluid Formation (separate Attack & Defence shapes) appears only sparingly at the very top, while Thomas Tuchel’s pure Quick Counter delivers the highest Collective Strength of the week. Squad synergy, manager proficiency, and clean transitions remain the decisive factors.
Top 5 Pro Tactics of the Week
Here are the five standout tactics from the current Top Division 1 / high-rank pro players:
1. JawishX33
Manager: Thomas Tuchel
Formation / Playstyle: 4-2-2-2 Quick Counter
Collective Strength: 3315
2. FuTefacil10
Manager: José Mourinho
Attack: 4-2-2-2 Long Ball Counter
Defence: 4-2-2-2 Long Ball Counter
Collective Strength: 3296
3. Abod_iraqi
Manager: José Mourinho
Formation / Playstyle: 4-2-1-3 Long Ball Counter
Collective Strength: 3293
4. CoyoteOriginal7
Manager: D. Deschamps
Formation / Playstyle: 4-2-1-3 Long Ball Counter
Collective Strength: 3309
5. efb_omARB
Manager: R. Rodríguez
Formation / Playstyle: 4-2-1-3 Possession Game
Collective Strength: 2068
Most Used Managers in Top 5
- Long Ball Counter: José Mourinho (×2), D. Deschamps
- Quick Counter: Thomas Tuchel
- Possession Game: R. Rodríguez
Most Used Player Cards of the Week
(Continuing trends + ongoing adaptation to Fluid Formation and dual Playing Styles)
- Eden Hazard
- Lilian Thuram
- Paolo Maldini
- Lionel Messi
- Peter Schmeichel
Honorable mentions: Virgil van Dijk, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, Kylian Mbappé, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Roberto Carlos, Roy Makaay.
Meta Summary
JawishX33’s Thomas Tuchel 4-2-2-2 Quick Counter currently sits at the top of the Collective Strength chart in the Top 5 with 3315. Long Ball Counter still occupies three of the five spots (two under Mourinho), confirming it remains the most reliable high-level system. Collective Strength above 3300 continues to be the clear elite benchmark this week (four of the five entries clear that mark).
Fluid Formation Analysis (Attack & Defence shapes among the Top 5)
Only one of the five players (FuTefacil10) explicitly lists separate Attack and Defence formations — and even then both phases use the identical 4-2-2-2 Long Ball Counter shape. The other four entries list a single formation/playstyle, indicating either pure single-shape setups or Fluid Formation with matching Attack & Defence shapes that are simply not differentiated in the displayed data.
Patterns observed this week:
- Same-shape Fluid Formation (Attack = Defence) is the only variant shown in the Top 5.
- Different-shape Fluid Formation (attacking shape ≠ defensive shape) does not appear among these five.
- 4-2-2-2 and 4-2-1-3 remain the two dominant base shapes.
- Quick Counter claims the highest CS with a single-shape 4-2-2-2.
- Long Ball Counter continues to be the safest and most repeated choice across multiple managers.
Flexibility remains crucial. Players who understand how their squad transitions between phases under the Fluid Formation system continue to outperform pure copy-paste setups, even when the final shapes look identical on paper.
Bonus: Fluid Formation (Attack & Defence)
As of the v6.0.0 update, you can set separate formations for when you are attacking and when you are defending.
- Attacking formation: Players push higher, create overloads, and focus on build-up or direct runs.
- Defensive formation: Players drop into a more compact block, prioritising recovery and solidity.
On console you effectively have access to four shapes (main tactic attack/defence + sub tactic attack/defence). On mobile it is two. The formation switches automatically based on possession. Auto-Pick has also been updated so it can fill both the attacking and defensive shapes with one click.
This change rewards managers who design realistic travel distances for players so the team can actually shift between the two shapes without leaving huge gaps. Many top players still use the same base shape for both phases, while others experiment with more aggressive attacking shapes that recover into a deeper or differently structured block.
Bonus: Player Cards Now Have Attack & Defence Skill Branches (Playing Styles)
On the individual footballer level, player cards have received a major overhaul. Playing Styles are now split into two separate branches:
- Attacking Playing Style – Controls movement, runs, support, and positioning when your team has the ball.
- Defensive Playing Style – Controls pressing, marking, recovery, and line behaviour when your team does not have the ball.
A single player can now have one style for attack and a completely different style for defence (or only one of the two). New defensive styles have been added, giving cards more specialised behaviour out of possession. For example, a forward can be a Goal Poacher when attacking and switch to Front Line Pressure when defending.
This means squad building is no longer just about the overall rating or the attacking playstyle. You must now check both the attacking and defensive styles (and position proficiency) to make sure the player fits the role you want in each phase of play — especially important with Fluid Formation.
Test these high-performing tactics (or adapt them with the new Fluid Formation and dual Playing Styles) for your next Division push!
Weekly Tactics Report every Friday.
Drop your current formation and favourite player in the comments!
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