With a constant revolving door in northern Germany this summer, Viktor Skrypnyk has his work cut out for him implementing his style of play on new signings while enhancing their understanding of teammates.
The biggest question for Skrypnyk is whether he reverts to his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation which he used religiously last season, following the departure of striker Franco Di Santo. Alternatively, he can stick to the 4-1-3-2 formation that has been working so well throughout preseason. While the two formations may sound and look similar on paper, the roles of each player varies between the two and greatly impacts the style of play used, especially in the defensive midfield roles. So, let’s take a look at how each of the formations works and which players Skrypnyk will most likely entrust to start the season with.
When employing last season’s 4-2-3-1, Skrypnyk relies on his two defensive midfielders to not only control the tempo of a match with passes to the attacking third but insists his players drop further down the pitch when possession is conceded. The positioning of the defensive midfielders in transition from defence to attack is complemented by both full-backs breaking forward into space and leaving attacking midfielders with plenty of space. When moving forward with the ball, the central attacking midfielder’s role is too send the play to either flank to find one of the wide players in space, who can drive to the by-line in hope of picking out the target man.
It seems Skrypnyk will only stick with his 4-1-3-2 if he manages to bring in another accomplished striker to compliment Anthony Ujah. The most drastic changes to individual roles in using this formation are to the striker and defensive midfield positions. While the strikers essentially become two of the most important cogs in the formation, the defensive midfielder loses almost all of his responsibilities as he simply acts as a sweeper for the three more advanced players in the midfield. The two strikers, however, are entrusted to drop deeper to pick up the ball while pushing a high attacking line, never allowing the opposition to sit easily on the ball. The three attacking midfielders are used to complement the two strikers by providing space for the to burst into, while also offering different options for the two front men should they become boxed in by a two-man marking system. The role of the back four is similar to the 4-2-3-1. However, full-backs are not required to push up the pitch as the two wider attacking men are able to drop deeper; most of the grunt work is done by the strikers.
The only foreseeable variation between lineups is who Skrypnyk believes can better perform roles in the attacking midfield area. However, there may be some debate as to who the man should be to sit in the defensive midfield hole should Skrypnyk opt to play with only one.
4-2-3-1: Wiedwald (GK); Selassie, Lukimaya, Vestergaard, Garcia; Fritz, Kroos; Hajrovic, Oztunali, Junjuzovic; Ujah.
4-1-3-2: Wiedwald (GK); Selassie, Lukimaya, Vestergaard, Garcia; Fritz, Kroos; Bartels, Junjuzovic, Bargfrede; Ujah.
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The most changed area of the pitch is the attacking midfield area in which Skrypnyk has his three men play different roles in each formation. While Hajrovic and Oztunali have of pace to burn, the 4-1-3-2 formation places more emphasis on the attacking midfielders to be able to find a pass and create space in which Bartels and Bargfrede are seasoned heads.
Throughout the season, Skrypnyk will not stick to one set of tactics and we will most likely see him change things mid-game many a time, but these two formations will be his bread and butter.
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