Diamond formation in FC 27: how to play the 4-1-2-1-2 (2)

One CDM, two CMs, one CAM and two strikers in front. Think of it as a chain of support: everyone has someone close enough to receive.

• The upside: lots of players inside, short combinations and two strikers to threaten in behind.
• The downside: no wingers. You have to create width on purpose, and the flank is empty when you lose the ball.

Starting point: Balanced build-up and depth (line height) at 60. If you're losing, or your opponent isn't threatening in behind, push it to 70 to play closer to their goal.

• CDM: protects the edge of the box in front of the centre-backs (Zone 14) and is the brains from deep. Intercept and Pinged Pass, to break lines from the back.
• CMs: two box-to-box midfielders who help out wide, because they're closest to the full-backs, and get into the box and back. Stats over PlayStyles: pace of 85 or more and 70 or more everywhere else.
• CAM: a playmaker who moves between the lines, turns quickly and links with the front two. Technical and Incisive, plus an agile body type.
• Strikers: pace first, finishing second. Low Driven, Finesse or Gamechanger for the trivela, and Rapid or Quick Step, or at least one of the two. Passing is better in FC 27 even without PlayStyles, so don't chase passing PlayStyles up front like last year.

The CAM is the obvious target, which is exactly why he's usually the wrong first pass. Build from whoever is free: a centre-back, the CDM, a CM or a full-back. Full-backs are the only width you have, and against a team that packs the middle they're often the only way out. Two habits:

• Work in triangles. Three players close together, moving the ball between them as you climb the pitch.
• Vary the source. If the same pass keeps getting cut out, don't try it harder. Change who plays it or the angle, and the lane that was shut a second ago is often open.

A typical sequence: a CM receives and drags his marker, the CAM drops in ahead of him, and one striker stays high to pin the centre-backs. Lane to the CAM open? Take it. Closed? Play it back and go again. Decide before the ball arrives: if you know your next pass, play quickly; if you're being closed down, control it, protect it and restart. R1 brings a team-mate towards you, L1 sends a striker away, both with a reason.

The forward pass into the CAM is the diamond's signature move, and where most of your turnovers come from. Whether it's on depends on who is in front of him.

• Opponent with a holding midfielder (a diamond like yours, or a 4-3-3 with a CDM): his job is to sit in the lane to your CAM and wait for the pinged pass. Don't feed him, however tempting it looks. Move it through the CMs and full-backs until he's dragged elsewhere.
• Opponent without one (the 4-4-1-1, everywhere in FC 26 and FC 27): their two CMs pair off with yours and nobody is assigned to your CAM. He ends up free between the lines, especially right after you win the ball. Go direct, with the CAM and both strikers together.

Close to goal you have three players in the middle, the two strikers and the CAM, and the trick is to stagger them. One striker drops towards the ball, the other stays on the last defender's shoulder, and the CAM comes late from behind. Three heights, three problems for two centre-backs. Then read the defence:

• A centre-back who jumps out to press the dropping striker leaves a hole behind him. The other striker or the CAM runs into it, and the pass goes there.
• A defence that sits and refuses to engage is offering you ground. Don't thread a one-two through six bodies. Carry the ball forward until someone has to come out. The closer you get to the box, the more realistic a shot or a pass in behind becomes.

The CAM's run between the centre-backs works when both strikers hold them in place and the lane is open. If the middle is sealed, swing it wide or go back through a CM. A few passes on the flank shift their block and open the inside again.

Attacking with so many players inside means leaving cover. Don't push both full-backs up at once. The CDM can join from deep, but he still protects the space in front of the back line until the CMs get back. The flanks are where a diamond gets hurt. Defending the wings and adapting the diamond to each opponent is the second part, “Adapting the diamond to your opponent in FC 27”, in the Basic plan.