English Premier League

Premier League vs. La Liga: Tactics and Style of Play Compared

It’s no secret that watching the best professional players in the world can help you improve your own game. But is there a clear-cut best league to choose?

The two top candidates that tend to surface as answers to this question are the English Premier League and Spain’s La Liga. In this article we will compare these two leagues, focusing specifically on their tactics and most common styles of play. Depending on your own playing situation, one may be more relevant than the other, or watching both may complement each other nicely and allow you to compare two different visions of the game.

Many comparisons of these two leagues focus on finances. It’s true that the English Premier League generates significantly more revenue, and clubs spend significantly more on players. But for our purposes, we’re more interested in how those factors actually play out on the pitch. And we’re also not focused on analyzing which league has more success in Europe or which has more or less parity.

Instead, what differences can we identify when watching a typical game in the league? What attributes do players tend to have? How do tactical approaches differ?

In general for La Liga, technical prowess is the most highly valued element of the game. Players are extremely skilled at passing and dribbling which results in supreme possession-based offenses. They typically enjoy more time on the ball and engage in slower, more gradual build ups. Just think of the popular term “tiki taka” to refer to an abundance of quick, short passes and smart offensive movement in order to strategically unlock defenses.

In contrast, the attributes prioritized in English Premier League tactics are speed and athleticism. Many teams are in possession, of course, but the play overall tends to be more fast paced, direct, and end to end in its action. Traditionally the game is rougher and more physical too, which often makes it more difficult for new players to adjust to the league after playing elsewhere.

Some analysts have described the styles by comparing them to other forms of entertainment: “La Liga is like classical music, which needs high precision and a lot of technique, whereas the EPL is like heavy metal music which might not have the technique but is more exciting to most people.”

Others have argued that cultural differences explain these tendencies, namely the slower pace of life associated with Spain which leads fans to appreciate and expect more gradual build-up play.

But in practice, of course, it is much more complicated than this. These are general trends that do have a historical basis but what you see on a game by game basis does not always neatly correspond to them.

Today’s global market for elite players and managers leads every top-flight league in the world to become a fusion of different national styles and traditions. The very best clubs in Europe often have more in common with each other than the traditions of their own country.

For example, the dominant force in the EPL today, Manchester City, are managed by Pep Guardiola who famously led Barcelona to massive success years earlier with an unquestionably Spanish style, so it’s no doubt these influences are a part of City’s identity too. And other big clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid have taken on identities and styles of play that often differ from the “standard” traditions of England or Spain.

As general rules of thumb, however, taking into account all of the teams in the league, the basic tactics of each league are still certainly discernable. You can also look to the second divisions (LaLiga 2, English Championship) to see the traditional styles of those countries more clearly without so much of the cosmopolitan influences among Europe’s elite teams.

Looking to learn more about these and other traditional tactical styles? Take a look at our recommendations for books about soccer tactics.

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EPL Tactical Trends in 2022-23: What to Watch For

By Parker & Walsh Leave a Comment

One of the best ways to get better at soccer is to learn from the pros, and with the recent boom in soccer streaming services there are more ways than ever to watch the best leagues from around the world on any device.

The English Premier League has always been one of the most popular, due to its storied traditions, rabid fanbases, and ambitious clubs keen on constantly putting together the best players from around the globe.

But as an aspiring player yourself, what should you be watching for to make sure you aren’t just entertained, but also educated? Following the movements and actions of a single player (ideally who plays your position), throughout the game is always a good idea, and has direct relevance to your own play.

Another important principle is to remember to “take your eye off the ball.” Although it’s tempting to follow whoever has the ball in their possession at that moment, shifting your focus elsewhere helps you identify

But to become the best player you can be, it is also useful to consider your own role in the larger context of the team and its general strategy. Here the Premier League

In this article we will look at some tactical trends from last year, how they may shape Premier League teams’ approach this year, and

Inverted Wingers as Goalscorers

Which players tend to be the primary goalscorer is another question that reveals a lot about a team. Are they banging in crosses to a physical number 9 striker? Playing through-balls to forwards or wingers? Do they defend and aim to steal a set piece goal from their big center backs?

One tactical trend in the Premier League in recent years has been the False 9 who drops deep to draw defenders out of position and initiate attacks. Because of this the space often opens up for wingers to make diagonal runs through or cut in themselves.

An added twist that we also have seen frequently is the inverted winger, which means that a left-footed winger lines up on the right wing and vice versa. This gives them an advantage in cutting inside and either crossing, dribbling or even shooting the ball. (As a bonus look out for the outside back on the same side to overlap when the inverted winger runs inside.)

For many Premier League clubs, these inverted wingers are expected to carry the bulk of the goalscoring load.

Last EPL season we saw two inverted wingers battle for the Golden Boot, Mohamed Salah of Liverpool and Heung-min Son for Tottenham. Look to see if this trend continues this campaign.

Rotating Positions / Positional Fluidity

The scenario we laid out in the last point, an inverted winger cutting inside and an outside back overlapping to maintain the team’s width, represents a larger theme as well in modern football tactics that we see in the EPL. That is of rotating positions or positional fluidity.

The basic idea is that players can interchange and take on different positions and roles from what one would “normally” expect from their position.

To identify this, look for shifts in positioning when a team transitions into attack, like a center back dropping deep in between center backs, or a winger coming inside. It could even be an attacking fullback not just pushing forward but also coming inside, like Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The details vary by team, but often the goal is to create overloads and positional advantages and exploit them in the final third.

Manchester City recently have exhibited extreme fluidity up top due to their use of a False 9, often Bernardo Silva, and using Gabriel Jesus as a winger. One analysis called the side “extremely difficult to deal with due to them forever swapping roles and not staying in fixed areas. City have successfully destabilized defenses by firstly unbalancing them and then penetrating them.” Now with Gabriel Jesus gone to Arsenal and big striker Erling Haaland signed, it will be interesting to see how Guardiola shifts his tactics.

Another team to look out for for positional fluidity is Leeds United. A Leeds reporter explained some patterns in article about their preseason: “Although Marsch likes a 4-2-3-1, this is by no means fixed positionally, and in all three matches, Leeds rotated positions. This was notable in central midfield (namely new boy Marc Roca), with a player dropping either between or beside the two central defenders and acting as the quarterback. Roca dropped between right centre-back and right-back, and Crysencio Summerville, playing on the right wing, moved into the vacated central midfield space; Roca then broke the Palace press with a vertical pass to Summerville, who received on the half-turn and drove forward.”

Another example to look out for could be a center back who carries the ball forward and launches attacks, an especially effective strategy to counter the ever-popular high press: “Antonio Rudiger often did this extremely well for Chelsea but is now off to Real Madrid, and Erik Ten Hag also sometimes used Frenkie de Jong this way at Ajax, so it will be interesting to see if these or other clubs continue to utilize the strategy.

Counterpressing

This concept, known as “Gegenpressing” where it emerged in Germany, is certainly not a new idea in the EPL where it has been used to great success for years by some of the best managers including Jurgen Klopp. The idea is when you lose the ball to attempt to win it straight back as quickly as possible instead of falling back into your defensive shape.

High-work rate teams like Leeds will likely use this strategy frequently, as explained in the previously referenced article: “For Leeds to attack teams with vertical passes through the middle, they need space and a disorganised opponent, both of which are possible if you can quickly recover the ball. Critically, counter-pressing is a team activity, and Leeds often try to pincer press opponents by having multiple pressing players come from different sides of the ball. This cuts off passing options and hassles the player in possession into making a decision — and Leeds will hope it’s often the wrong one.”

As you watch this and other presses, ask yourself if the team is immediately pressing or waiting for specific cues. And since it is such a drain on player fitness and stamina, how long can the team do this effectively before they either become ineffective, give it up, or make substitutions for fresh legs?

Dominance of the 4-3-3?

The most popular formation in 2021-22 was the 4-3-3, especially among the top clubs like Liverpool and Manchester City, so it’s likely to see this trend continue.

However, there are plenty of others that will see wide usage too, such as the 4-2-3-1. One manager who have made another formation a big part of their identity, we can look to Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel and his use of the back three in the 3-4-2-1 formation and its variations. With wingbacks who can drop back to make a back five when in the defensive phase, and two defensive midfielders to anchor the back line, it’s a strong base to start from. It wouldn’t be a bad bet to predict that more teams will use three at the back and wingbacks this year.

Another possible scenario is a return to more classic formations. It’s important to remember that tactical trends happen in cycles; that is, with constant tweaking and reactions to new ideas. Because of this we sometimes see teams return to older strategies, albeit with different context and reasoning than originally. One soccer analyst has theorized that “as defensive blocks become increasingly compact and more space appears both in behind defensive lines and in wide areas of the pitch, we’re likely to see sides adopt a more direct approach and return to formations like the classic 4-4-2.” He continued by touting the counterattacking potential against possession-based 4-3-3 sides, the potential for overloads on the wings, and the benefits of two central strikers who can run in behind.

All of these concepts, of course, are just a sampling of the wide tactical variety we are about to see over a long Premier League season with 20 very different teams.

To learn more about these and similar soccer strategies (as well as how they developed over the years) take a look at our recommended soccer tactics books.

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Best Soccer Books for Learning Tactics and Advanced Strategy

By Parker & Walsh Leave a Comment

By Andrew Walsh

In recent years there’s been an explosion of interest in the tactical side of soccer.

The tactics of the world’s top managers are regularly broken down at a level rarely seen in generations past. Countless blogs have sprung up on the internet breaking down the formations and tactics for all of each week’s top games as well as the more obscure ones. And coaches of all levels are incorporating exciting new ideas and strategies into their game plans.

But in order to gain a deeper understanding of soccer tactics, it’s best to go beyond the blogs that can vary considerably in clarity and quality, and dig into some foundational texts on soccer tactics.

These are our picks for the best tactics books available right now, in no particular order, and no matter whether you read your books in print or electronically or call the game soccer or football.

Our List of the Best Soccer Tactics Books

The Mixer by Michael Cox

With the Premier League high atop the popularity charts for professional soccer leagues both in the US and worldwide, this is a great book for understanding its tactical evolution. The game we watch today on NBCSN or Sky is practically unrecognizable from what you’d have seen around the league’s inception in 1992.

Cox’s well-researched and interesting book takes you from the days of “route one” football filled with long balls and big bruising forwards to the false nines, skillful defenders, and midfield wizards of today.

The book covers some of the business side of the game that fueled many of these changes, but for the most part focuses on the tactics. A great read for those who’ve marveled at some of the Premier League’s more exciting players over recent years and are interested in getting a better overall understanding of their contributions to one of the world’s greatest leagues.

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Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathan Wilson

Many would consider this list woefully incomplete without a mention of this voluminous tome. It’s considered by many to be the finest work on the subject of soccer tactics. Others, however, describe it as a dense slog bogged down by a dizzying amount of obscure coach and player references going back to the early decades of the 20th century.

I tend to think it’s somewhere in the middle of those two extremes, as there’s a great deal of useful history even if you might decide to skim through some parts. But in terms of understanding how we got to where we are today with soccer tactics, no other work even comes close.

You’ll travel back to the 1930s, jaunt through South America and Dutch Total Football in the 1970s, and eventually arrive at modern-day Barcelona and other current tactical leaders.

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Complete Guide to Coaching Soccer Systems and Tactics by Jacob Daniel

Jacob Daniel, a longstanding Director of Coaching for US Soccer, has laid out an excellent soccer resource covering tactical formations, attacking and defending principles, training exercises.

Some sections of the book are aimed primarily at coaches, but players and fans will still get a ton out of it as well due to the abundant diagrams, clear descriptions of tactical principles, and its overall comprehensive nature.

The book walks you through everything from the strengths and weaknesses of a 4-4-2 vs. a 4-3-3 to the principles of zonal and man-to-man marking, with helpful examples sprinkled in throughout.

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Zonal Marking: The Making of Modern European Football

We’ve already covered Cox’s book on the Premier League, and he’s also branched out for a wider-ranging tactics book covering the whole of Europe.

Think of this book as Inverting the Pyramid if it were focused just on the last 30 years in Europe. As such, it does not go into as much historical detail and to as many far-ranging footballing nations. But many fans will appreciate a focus on the events and players who they remember from their own lives, rather than earlier anecdotes that might seem like ancient history despite their value in shaping today’s tactics.

Zonal Marking the book grew out of Cox’s popular blog of the same name. If you’re looking for more writing from him, he no longer updates the blog but instead writes a regular tactical column for The Athletic (which does require a paid subscription).

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Soccer: Modern Tactics: Italy’s Top Coaches Analyze Game Formations Through 180 Situations

This books presents a rather unique structure as the author is joined by 10 top coaches from Italy including such legends as Carlo Ancelotti, Arigo Sacchi, and Marcello Lippi. This gives you much more than one perspective on the tactical concepts discussed, but all still within the specific tradition of the Italian school of thought.

Most formations are covered but it’s far form a book for beginners; it assumes considerable tactical knowledge and some of the diagrams and concepts are rather complex. It also has some rather direct translation and perhaps less than comprehensive editing, but as long as you are looking for information on soccer tactics and not riveting English language prose, you will be fine.

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Masters of Modern Soccer by Grant Wahl

Soccer journalist Grant Wahl has made a fantastic contribution to the genre with this work. It’s not a traditional tactics book from the perspective of a coach, but rather an intimate look at a select group of great players and coaches and how they approach the game.

The personal touches of the chapters–interviews combined with Wahl’s analysis–give this book a unique insight not often seen.

Wahl digs into their motivations, thought processes, and their actions on the field through the lens Players profiled include Christian Pulisic, Chicharito Hernandez, and Xavi Alonso. In addition to the players he also interviews Belgium coach Roberto Martínez and Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc.

I also recommend looking up Youtube videos of the closely-analyzed plays described in the text to better understand them.

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How to Watch Soccer by Ruud Gullit

This type of book by a former player or manager can be hit or miss: some spend most of their time gushing about their own accomplishments.

Here Gullit does share quite a bit of his personal history, but there’s a good deal of tactical rumination as well, and it’s valuable in the sense of being a personal account of strategy from a top professional player and later coach.

I found it to be much more useful than the others of the genre that I’ve read, at least.

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We think these books are the best choices for understanding soccer strategy and tactics (and they also make great soccer gift ideas). Have you read any of them? If so, what did you think? Would you add any others to this list?

What Soccer Teams Do I Support? From Off and On Euro Fan to MLS

By Parker & Walsh Leave a Comment

By Andrew Walsh

Nearly a decade ago, a soccer writer asked his readers which clubs they supported, foreign or domestic, and how they became a fan of those clubs. Since I just stumbled across that article now, I thought I’d write up a post of my own explaining my allegiances and how I developed them. In short, they are:

MLS: FC Cincinnati

National Team: United States

EFL: Sheffield Wednesday

Secondary/Follow: Liverpool

Now for the long story…

I first became fascinated by the English Premier League in 1998 when I was 11. At that time ESPN showed one match a week on Monday afternoons, and I’d have my mom tape it while I was at school so I could watch later. I remember excitedly asking her one afternoon if the game had more or less than five goals, and being disappointed to find out that there were in fact none at all. But as the season progressed, I got more into other aspects of the game–the dribbling, the passing, the hard tackles and physical play–not just the goals.

The most memorable game for me was a Merseyside Derby, with the two sides drawing 1-1 after Paul Ince cancelled out a Duncan Ferguson tally. Around this time I’d also gotten my hands on a Liverpool 1995-96 season review video, and I began to watch it again and again, marveling at the talents of Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and the rest (it wasn’t until many years later that I’d learn of their derogatory “Spice Boys” designation).

Every week I also taped ESPN’s Worldwide Soccer with Rob Stone and watched highlights from England, Mexico, MLS, and more. The other English team that caught my fancy was Sheffield Wednesday, then featuring the highly entertaining free-scoring Italian duo of Paolo Di Canio and Benito Carbone. This allegiance grew due to my acquisition of the John Harkes autobiography which chronicles his move to Sheffield Wednesday in the early 90s and becoming one of the first Americans to succeed in Europe. (Recent personal revelations have since changed my opinion of the rest of the book, although it’s still on my shelf.)

At that point I suppose I considered myself something of a joint fan of Liverpool and Wednesday, but due to the lack of coverage available my fandom mainly consisted of watching my Liverpool tape over and over along with the others in my quickly growing VHS collection. The concept of watching matches live was pretty foreign to me. Other fan behavior I remember includes writing the first chapter of what would surely have become the worst Liverpool book of all time.

Around this time I cheered for the US national team since I was fond of Harkes and a few other players, but I also remember actually crying after Brazil lost 3-0 in the 1998 World Cup Final. I was nominally interested in the recently-established MLS and favored DC United because my uncle lived in DC and my home state of Wisconsin lacked a team. My uncle was also lucky enough to get the Fox Sports World channel, and he mailed me several tapes of Serie A and Bundesliga games, as well as DC’s triumph over Vasco da Gama in the 1998 Copa Interamericana.

In the following years, my own youth soccer playing increased in intensity, but for some reason my pro fandom didn’t follow proportionally. It may have been that we didn’t get them on regular cable TV anymore, and I have few memories of watching European club matches over the next few seasons, or being excited about the US National Team aside from World Cups. At one point my mom tried to bribe me to join my middle school choir by offering to buy the European soccer channel, and I must have really hated singing then because I didn’t take her up on it.

Then during the later 2000s as Wednesday languished in the lower divisions, I for some reason came to cheer for them again, and certainly more so than Liverpool. I remember being labeled as a Wednesday fan while at college in Grinnell, Iowa, a curious choice in the eyes of my friends. I recall watching Marcus Tudgay score goals, and for some reason getting particularly excited about the signing of Madjid Bougherra. But I still didn’t have a way to watch their matches regularly, so during those years I also got back into the Premier League which I’d watch with my fellow soccer teammates. I also saw Liverpool in person for the first time, a preseason friendly against Olympiakos in Chicago.

In 2013 I moved to Dayton, Ohio, which finally put me in close proximity to an MLS team, the Columbus Crew. I went to a couple of games but didn’t become a real fan, perhaps because I didn’t feel too connected to Columbus (I day-tripped to Cincinnati more), and maybe because of some lingering DC United affinity. But all of that started to change in 2015 when a new team, FC Cincinnati, was announced to be joining the USL, and the appointment of John Harkes as manager brought it all together for me. I read some articles that first season but didn’t make it to a game. The following year, however, I got wrapped up in the club’s magical US Open Cup run. The first match I attended in person was FCC’s fourth round victory over in-state rival Columbus Crew, and I was 100% supporting the home side at Nippert Stadium. I returned for the upset over the Chicago Fire in the next round, then watched at home on my laptop as the run came to an end in the semifinals vs. the New York Red Bulls.

For the 2018 season, I went all-in on FC Cincy. I got wrapped up in the club’s MLS bid and devoured all of the news and rumors, all the while learning more about the players and the burgeoning culture of the club. I watched as many matches as I could, some on ESPN+, others with a just-formed Dayton-based supporters group at a local bar, and an increasing number in person at Nippert, including the club’s first ever playoff victory in a shootout over Nashville SC.

Around this time I also re-upped my commitment to English football, and became a much more active fan in general, wondering why I’d ever stopped voraciously consuming games every week. When it came to what overseas team I supported, I knew I’d never pick anyone outside of Wednesday or Liverpool, because even though those initial bonds were somewhat arbitrary when I was 11, they had solidified over 20 odd years and I could never, say, suddenly fall in love with a new team’s playing style or culture. So I started to follow Liverpool again, gathering with other fans at Dayton’s Yellow Cab Tavern, and traveling to Cincinnati a few times to join up with the larger Queen City Kop supporters group. But I also kept up with my Championship football, watching Wednesday on Youtube and ESPN+, soon ponying up for an iFollow subscription, and staying up on news from online Sheffield newspapers, podcasts, and of course the OwlsTalk forum.

Also during this time I started to encounter concepts that I’d never really considered as an American fan of European soccer: gloryhunting, plastic fans, Eurosnobbery. Essentially, choosing an overseas world power for their success and basking in a feeling of superiority, all the while scoffing at those who support smaller and local teams. I certainly believe that one can choose to support any team, anywhere, without having to justify their reasons. And most American fans of top European clubs are far from snobs, especially the ones I’ve encountered personally. But on the other hand, I did start to feel a little disillusioned with being a Big 6 fan from thousands of miles away without a real personal connection. As a dedicated fan of small-market American sports teams, calling one of the richest soccer clubs in the world “my team,” one that can (these days) simply go out and set world transfer fee records when it needs a positional upgrade, didn’t feel quite right. Other American fans of Liverpool, who might have had their passion grow exponentially over the years–through Istanbul, Gerrard, and even the tough(er) times of the early 2010s–undoubtedly feel quite differently. But my lack of consistency over the years left me with little in the way of real loyalty, and my Wednesday fandom kept calling louder.

There’s much more to English football than the glitz and glamour of the top of the Premier League, and it’s been a blast to watch a club with so much history grind out results week by week with the delight of promotion and the agony of relegation always beckoning. So although I’ll always follow Liverpool news and watch their matches with interest, my first English team to support is Sheffield Wednesday. It’s become something of a Saturday morning tradition to tune into iFollow to watch Rob O’Neill and John Pearson call the match. There’s even an active Owls Americas group that appears to be growing. And the day the club gets back into the top flight for the first time since 2000 will be a special one.

But none of these experiences comes close to the feeling of watching games in person among tens of thousands of like-minded fans, and working to grow the soccer culture of a local city. My experience attending FC Cincinnati games in person over the past two seasons, including the otherworldly MLS home opener; marching to Nippert Stadium from Mecklenburg Gardens; discussing the team in bars and with friends; and immersing myself in the team culture as it takes over our corner of SW Ohio, has irreversibly cemented them as my primary team. Plus, with MLS surging in popularity and on-field quality–with teams signing European stars and young Latin American talent alike as well as developing local youth in their academies–the league is now more exciting to watch than ever. And the dollars I spend on a ticket or a team shirt will get reinvested back into the club and ultimately serve to help US soccer become stronger.

To transition back to national teams, I finally became an official American Outlaws member in 2018, during a point at which the team couldn’t have been much lower. I dutifully returned to the same bar where I watched the World Cup qualifying disaster to watch all of the subsequent friendlies where our next generation has started to show signs of a better future. Aside from the US I like to keep tabs on the countries in my heritage, but I’d never say I support anyone else. Ditto for teams from the Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga, Liga MX, and others.

At the end of the day, I don’t intend to get bogged down with a rational consideration of what type of fan I ought to be; I’m going to enjoy soccer wherever and however I can, whether it’s Liverpool-Man U on TV or USL League Two’s Dayton Dutch Lions at Dayton Outpatient Center Stadium.

Premier League Tactics to Watch for in 2018-19

By Parker & Walsh Leave a Comment

It’s an exciting time of the year for soccer: the start of the new English Premier League season. Cheering for your favorite team or simply marveling at all the talent present in the league is undoubtedly an enjoyable experience, but you can also significantly improve your own game by watching games a bit more analytically.

This can be done on both an individual and a team level. The individual level means focusing on what great players do, like their movement off the ball, their first touch, and the way they attack space.

But this article will be concerned more with the team level: the larger-scale tactics that determine how games are played on a strategic basis. This not only gives you a more rewarding viewing experience; it can greatly improve how you approach your own games and understand your role within them. The following are a few things you can look out for this EPL campaign.

What is the team’s formation?

In soccer, all tactics stem from the formation, which determines player roles and how the team will attack and defend together. The pregame lineups will show you the formation, but it can be a valuable exercise to skip that and try to work it out yourself after kickoff. If you try to do this, it’s usually easier to see the distinct lines of players when they drop back to defend.

What differences can you see between 4-4-2, a 4-3-3, a 4-2-3-1? What weaknesses can you identify in a particular formation? For example, are the two center midfielders in a 4-4-2 struggling to keep possession against a three-man central midfield? Also, look to see if the team changes its formation at halftime if they are winning or losing. Why do you think they made those particular changes? (Also try not to be fooled by natural switching or overlapping within a system; this doesn’t mean that the team has actually changed its formation.)

How does the team pressure defensively? Do they press high or sit back?

Heavy defensive pressure is a staple for many top clubs today. Chelsea under new manager Maurizio Sarri, for example, are expected to employ a high press in order to force the opposing defense into making mistakes. Other teams in the Premier League, on the other hand, are more content to sit back and let the action come to them. Which approach do you see being more effective in the league?

There’s also more to look for than just a high vs. a low press. Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool is well-known for his gegenpress (counterpress), where after losing possession, the team immediately tries to get the ball back in order to avoid a counterattack. When watching a game, take note of whether the team tries to get the ball back after losing it in the attacking half, or if they fall back into their normal defensive shape. Finally, take note of where the team keeps its defensive line. Do they try to trap the opponents into running offside?

Is the offense possession-based or do they play more direct?

The Premier League has come a long way from its “route one” days in which the main strategy was to constantly play long balls up the center of the field to a target forward, but this stereotypically English style is of course still around to some degree. Many of the top Premier League teams keep possession with a multitude of short passes, which helps break down opponents and as well as maintain their own shape.

Not every good team attempts to dominate the possession stats, however. Just look at Leicester in 2016-17. They had some of the lowest possession stats in the league, but their lethal counterattacks led by Rihad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy propelled them to the title.

Which teams “park the bus”? How does their opponent try to break them down?

Since the gap between the top clubs in the Premier League and the rest of the pack is very large, you see some interesting tactics when the minnows try to steal a point away from a giant. A team that hunkers down and diverts all of their energy to defensing is often said to be “parking the bus.” Such a team brings everyone back behind the ball and clogs the middle of the field, forcing the opponents to play out wide. When you’ve identified a team doing this, how does their opponent try to break them down? Do they try to overwhelm them early before they can get comfortable? Wear them down relentlessly? Draw defenders out in a strategic manner?

How does the team attack?

By studying a team’s formation you’ll know if they employ two or three strikers, but look to see which other players get involved and how they go about their attack. A fun offense to watch is the lethal three-man attack of Salah, Mane and Firmino at Liverpool. Watch to see when Firmino drops back in the midfield to receive the ball (as a type of “False 9”) opening up space for someone else, often Mane, to run through. This forces the defenders to make a very difficult choice.

Movement is key for any offense, and top attackers often have freer roles that allow them to make runs and cuts all over the field. Take note of where Mane starts the match, for example, and then all of the locations you spot him in during the next 45 minutes. Try the same for Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling of Manchester City. Then compare them to a player like Romelu Lukaku of Manchester United, a big, more traditional center forward.

We hope this article gives you a few things to look for in the Premier League this season.

Are there any other tactics that you like to look for when watching soccer on TV?