Football Manager 2024: Best Formations To Try Out

In Football Manager 2024, players are given the freedom to build a play style that is unique to them and their preferences. This ranges from what kind of tactics, formations, and tempo the team will play at, along with how aggressively the team will play. While all the tactics are equally important, the main aspect to start with when constructing a new team is the formation. It is vital to establish a preferred formation and build from that.

There are thankfully many different formations to choose from in Football Manager 2024, some having more defensive-focused interpretations, others being more open and better for free-flowing and attacking football. Most formations are quite versatile, in the sense that managers can play attacking even with a 5-defender formation, for example. However, it is important to bear in mind that some formations will naturally not work as well when utilized with a play style that doesn’t correlate with the formation.

Updated April 7, 2024, by Henry Whiting: Formations in Football Manager 2024 are very fun to create, with players being given complete freedom to switch between formations as they please. Not all formations are good though, so players may want to try out these formations to improve their chances at winning games. It’s important to remember that not every team will suit every formation. Therefore, players should look to choose a formation that suits their squad the best, as opposed to forcing players to play in a formation that isn’t practical.

With football evolving by the day, more and more formation options are becoming available, such as Pep Guardiola’s inverted full-back formation that is being adopted by many teams in the Premier League in 2024. Managers can really get experimental and customize their formation to be ideal for their style of play. As the game changes, this article has been updated with more modern formations to keep Football Manager 2024 fresh.

1 5-2-3

Wide-Play Focused Formation Utilizing Attacking Defenders

• Great For Attacking Wing-Backs
• Allows Wingers To Cut Inside Often
• Leaves Midfield Slightly Weak

This formation is great when executed well, although it can be quite one-dimensional and create a situation where the squad is stuck in that formation with little room for adaptability. Despite this, the 5-2-3 is quite a fun formation to go with. The 3 center backs can be quite fluid and given the freedom to play in unique ways, with the opportunity for a center-back to join the midfield or even attack at times. The wing-backs similarly get freedom in terms of being allowed to push forward up the pitch, although this means the wing-backs need high work rates and bundles of stamina to be able to get back on defense, along with being able to bomb forward and overlap/underlap the winger.

The center midfield pairing must be a strong one for 5-2-3 to work, as they will need to be able to get up and down the pitch and be able to deal with midfield overloads, as many teams will have 3 midfielders, creating a difficult situation for the midfield pair in a 5-2-3. Managers can combat this by having the wingers tuck inside and playing in support roles, as opposed to being all-out attacking wingers. Managers should look to set up their team in tandem with the players’ traits. Having a star striker who thrives as a Deep-Lying Forward would be best, as they will need to drop slightly deeper to get the ball in this formation. However, a False Nine or Trequartista would also work if the wingers are deployed as Inside Forwards, or Inverted Wingers, where they will often shoot and look to score goals from the wings.

2 4-3-2-1 Narrow

Favors Attacking Midfielders

• Plays With Two Attacking Midfielders In Free-Roam Roles
• Defensive Midfielder Holds, Allowing Midfield Players To Attack More
• Striker Can Drift To Wide Positions

Managers may look to build their team around their most creative player in Football Manager 2024, and more often than not, the most creative players for any team will be the attacking midfielders. This is where the 4-3-2-1 formation thrives, as it features two attacking midfielders who can be deployed in a wide variety of ways. Managers can choose to have one attacking midfielder to dribble and take on players, whilst having the other attacking midfielder play more in a pass-first role. Alternatively, managers could select the Trequartista role for one of their attacking midfielders, which instructs the player to move into the wide channels to not only create chances to cross the ball, but also opens up more space for the other attacking midfielder to get into attacking positions.

A big plus to the 4-3-2-1 formation in Football Manager 2024 is the holding defensive midfielder who will serve as a base for all attacks and provide a solid defensive wall for situations where the other midfielders have pushed forward. This holding midfielder will likely perform best in an Anchor role, which is essentially a quarterback-style role that will shuttle across the middle of the midfield to stop the opposition, while also allowing the defensive midfielder to spray passes around from the deeper parts of the midfield.

3 4-4-2

Classic And Solid Formation

• Old-School Formation
• Very Strong And Solid Across All Areas
• Not Very Dynamic

Often linked to the classic English style of football that looks less at being too spectacular with tactics and is more about having a solid unit of players that work hard, 4-4-2 is very effective against the more flamboyant formations of the current footballing era. Having 2 strikers instantly gives an interesting attacking dynamic that can be interpreted in various ways. Managers can opt for the more traditional “big-man little-man” striker duo, with a tall and powerful striker combined with a smaller, pace-focused striker. Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch are a great example of this, with a tall striker who can feed on early crosses from the wingers, and a small striker who can use their pace and chance-creation to hit the defense off guard.

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The midfield and defense will likely be very rigid in a 4-4-2, with the wingers having the traditional winger roles of beating their defender and looking to cross the ball or pull the ball back for a shot. The 2 center midfielders should both be capable of getting up and down the pitch or having one workhorse midfielder who does lots of work defensively, partnered with a more technically gifted midfielder who can play a dangerous pass and create from deep.

The defensive line in a 4-4-2 is very important, as they must be strong in defense while also being able to play out from the back and offer support to the wingers and midfielders. The 4-4-2 is less freeing for the defenders, as they will be most of the time looking to defend before anything else.

4 Holding 4-3-3

Versatile Formation That Can Be Used In Many Different Ways

• The Most Popular Formation In Modern Football
• Very Dynamic And Free-Flowing
• Holding Defensive Midfielder Stable But Less Attacking

One of the formations which has been used for many years at the highest levels of world football, 4-3-3 is a safe bet for choosing a well-balanced formation. 4-3-3 in Football Manager 2024 works well with a solid defensive midfielder as the Anchor of a midfield 3 of a slightly more defensive-minded variation of a 4-3-3. This 4-3-3 needs a creative midfielder as one of the 2 center midfielders of the 3 in the middle, as the Anchor in defensive midfield frees one of the 2 center midfielders to join the attack and help the slightly isolated striker. The 4-3-3 formation can also be adapted in an attacking sense, with an attacking midfielder supposed to be a defensive midfielder.

Managers can even have one center midfielder as an Advanced Playmaker or Mezzala role, encouraging that midfielder to get further up the pitch with fewer defensive duties, creating a very attacking midfield composition. The final center midfielder should be a more balanced player though, especially if players opt for an attacking 4-3-3, in a role such as Center Midfielder (Defend), Ball-Winning Midfielder, or Carrilero.

On the wings, players can choose what kind of player they want depending on their chosen play style and their striker. For example, having a False Nine Striker with wingers who look to cross in high balls for a striker to head isn’t the right move. This is the same for the defensive back line, as some defenders are better at passing or joining the attack, whereas some defenders will thrive in more simple defending roles. So, these roles are dependent on the player’s preference, unless the manager wants to play a very specific style of play that requires, for example, two center-backs who are great at passing the ball.

5 4-1-2-1-2

Narrow Formation Utilizing Creative Midfielders

• Diamond Midfield Is Very Balanced
• Two Strikers Can Be Utilized In Many Different Ways
• Lack Of Width

The 4-1-2-1-2 formation is a great option when managers are stuck with an abundance of high-quality center midfield players. This formation suits teams that have strikers who are different in terms of their play style, with the lack of wingers meaning the strikers can drift out wide and allow the attacking midfielder to play as a shadow striker, which in turn creates space for the other striker. Managers can also look to push the wing-backs forward and instruct the midfielders to cover, or have the midfielders themselves play in more of a free-roam style to make up for the missing wingers. The 4-1-2-1-2 formation is a versatile formation that can work for many different tactical layouts, making it an interesting and fun formation to try out.

This formation is also a generally strong formation, as many teams play with wingers, so managers who choose a 4-1-2-1-2 formation will be able to overload the midfield easily and expose the midfielders in winger-based formations. The two-striker element similarly adds a counter to many modern day teams, as most teams these days opt for a lone striker and inverted wingers. However, a two-striker formation means the opposing center backs must be able to handle players in one-on-one situations in narrow situations on the pitch, which is not common in modern football as it is usually the wing-backs finding themselves isolated.

6 4-2-3-1

Very Balanced And Popular Formation

• Most Teams Will Be Able to Work In This Formation
• Suits Players Of All Different Styles
• Can Be Customized To Make Defensive Or Attacking Tactics Equally Available

In Football Manager 2024, managers will often look for a formation that ticks all the boxes and a formation that most players will fit into without bother or stress. 4-2-3-1 is likely the formation that offers these attributes the most, as it can not only work with many different styles of players but can also be rather fluid at times. For example, players can have an attacking midfielder who looks to pass first, a player similar to a prime Christian Eriksen or Ivan Rackitic-type player. However, players could instead choose to go for a shadow striker, an attacking midfielder who plays close to the striker, offering a scoring option that causes havoc for opposition defenders.

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The 4-2-3-1 formation in Football Manager 2024 also allows for wingers to play in a variety of different ways, with the attacking midfielder being able to step out wide and allow the winger to attack more, or for the winger to play a more traditional role of crossing the ball early and almost playing like a second attacking midfielder.

The two defensive midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 will likely be a creative defensive midfielder who can dribble and pass, alongside a pure defensive midfielder whose attributes are more focused on work rate, intercepting a pass, and strength. The center backs and wing-backs can be customized to suit the managers’ chosen style of play, whether it be a possession-based play style that focuses on quick passing, or a counter-attacking style that focuses on springing quick attacks. Many different styles work very well in a 4-2-3-1.

Football Manager 2024

Released

November 6, 2024

Genre(s)

Management , Simulation , Sports