Formations: 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 3-5-2, 4-1-4-1

Formation is the spine of your tactical setup. The tactics board offers five shapes — 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 3-5-2 and 4-1-4-1 — each laying out a specific set of eleven slots. The engine also carries a formation-versus-formation factor: every shape is measured against the opponent's and multiplied into that team's force, worth between 0.96 and 1.04 among these five — up to ±4%, roughly the size of one well-paired tactical dial.

4-4-2

GK; LB, CB, CB, RB; LM, CM, CM, RM; ST, ST. Two banks of four and two strikers. Wide midfielders hold the flanks, the central pair share the middle, and the two front men work as a partnership. Engine note: strongest against 3-5-2 (×1.02), weakest against 4-3-3 (×0.96). One of the two shapes where a width dial above 5 pays.

4-3-3

GK; LB, CB, CB, RB; CM, CDM, CM; LW, ST, RW. A holding player between two more advanced midfielders, with two wingers either side of a lone striker.Engine note: strongest against 4-4-2 (×1.04), weakest against 3-5-2 (×0.97). The one shape where a width dial below 5 pays — the wingers already hold the width, so a narrow setting overloads the centre.

4-2-3-1

GK; LB, CB, CB, RB; CDM, CDM; LW, CAM, RW; ST. A double pivot, a three behind a lone striker and the No. 10 in the middle of that three.Engine note: strongest against 4-4-2 (×1.02), weakest against 4-3-3 (×0.99) — a flat, forgiving shape with no extremes either way.

3-5-2

GK; CB, CB, CB; LWB, CM, CDM, CM, RWB; ST, ST. Three centre-backs and two wing-backs who provide all the width, with a midfield three behind two strikers.Engine note: strongest against 4-1-4-1 (×1.04), weakest against 4-4-2 (×0.98). The other shape where a width dial above 5 pays — you have the wing-backs to use it.

4-1-4-1

GK; LB, CB, CB, RB; CDM; LM, CM, CM, RM; ST. A single screening midfielder in front of the back four, a midfield bank of four, and one striker leading the line. Engine note: strongest against 4-4-2 (×1.01), weakest against 3-5-2 (×0.96) — the two banks can be outnumbered in the middle.

Reading the matchup numbers

The factors are force multipliers applied to a team's overall strength for the match — measured per team, so both sides carry their own number into the same fixture. They are not destiny: ±4% is the kind of edge that decides a tight match, not a walkover. Over a season it adds up, though, which is why the shape you can staff properly beats the shape that wins a table — and why the dials matter as much as the shape, since the width pairing hangs directly off which of these five you pick.