If you want to win the league, you’re best off employing one of these formations.
Employing the best Football Manager 2024 tactics and formations will help elevate your team up the league tables and into the history books.
Whether you’re looking to emulate a particular style of the world’s best managers like Pep Guardiola (we’re loving big Ange instead) or want to force your squad into playing your way, we’ve done the research to help you decide what formations and tactics to use.
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It’s worth noting that this isn’t an exact science, and your crop of players might be best suited to different tactical approaches and formations.
There’s a lot of differentiators at play in FM, and you can always chop and change your managerial approach on the fly if something isn’t working.
With all of that in mind, read on below for what we think are the best FM24 tactics and formations to choose in this year’s management sim.
Gegenpress 4-3-3
The counter-pressing gegenpress is as useful and relevant in FM24 as it was in FM23.
You’ll want to use this tactic if you’re aiming to try and win the ball back off of the opposition as soon as you lose it. It also works in that classic 4-2-3-1 formation!
Set the mentality to Positive and remember to play a Defensive Midfielder in a support role to get the most out of attacking and defending. A good pressing forward should help you press from the front and win the ball back more easily, too.
Check out YouTuber JoshDaly’s video below on how to best set up a 4-3-3 formation:
Wing Play 3-4-3
If you have excellent wingers and wing backs and are aiming to make the most of them, you’ll want to try your managerial hand at the Wing Play tactic.
Both 3-4-3 and 5-2-3 formations work here, but you’ll need to make sure you have the correct players to make it work and not just crumble under any pressure like the ill-fated Spurs under Antonio Conte.
To make 3-4-3 or 5-2-3 Wing Play work, you need to stock your team with physical players in defence, midfield and up front. A strong lone striker that can convert crosses into the box is essential.
Counter Attack 4-4-2
If you’re going to be under a lot of pressure from the biggest teams, you’ll want to instruct your players to sit back and wait for chances.
4-4-2 counter attacking football isn’t the prettiest, but it can be very effective.
Have yourself some quick wingers that are capable of getting up and down the pitch, a solid defensive midfielder and box-to-box pivot and clinical strikers and this formation should work a charm.
You won’t win awards for style, but you might win some trophies along the way.
Vertical Tiki-Taka 4-2-1-3
If you’re after goals and attacking with three forwards, we strongly recommend you use the Vertical Tiki-Taka tactic with a slightly wacky 4-2-1-3 or 4-1-1-1-3 (DM) formation.
Compared to standard Tiki-Taka, the Vertical version is narrower and lets you get the most out of False 9s and CFs. Strikers that can pass well are vital.
Make sure you have full backs with a lot of stamina, though, as they will be providing practically all of your width in this formation.
Another key bit of advice is to have a great shot-stopping goalkeeper, as you will concede chances. You might even concede a lot of chances. Stick that mentality on Attacking or Positive and let chaos reign.
Things to remember
Tactics aren’t an exact science in FM24 and you can tinker with your formation, individual player roles and much, much more to get the most out of your team.
The more you play the game, the more you’ll pick up on what works and what doesn’t.
Remember to keep an eye on your players and those you sign for attributes that suit your preferred play style and you should do fine. A pressing forward, for example, will need good stamina stats to keep pressing the opposition.
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