How to counter the 4-2-2-2 formation in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team

The 4-2-2-2 is one of the most solid formations you can use in your online matches in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team because it allows you to have some solid defense thanks to the two center defensive midfielders (CDMs) while having two wide center attacking midfielders (CAMs) that will be there to receive through balls and counter-attack your opponent.

It is also one of the most-used formations in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team because it doesn’t have many weak points players can explore. According to players, this formation is being spotted in most division one, two, and three matches in FUT Rivals, and many find it easier to just mirror the opponent and run the 4-2-2-2 as well instead of looking for alternatives.

But if you don’t like running the 4-2-2-2 in your FIFA 23 Ultimate Team matches or have simply grown tired of using this formation, there are at least some alternative formations you can try to use and counter your opponents that only use the 4-2-2-2.

Which formations can counter the 4-2-2-2 in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team

4-2-3-1 (1)

The 4-2-3-1 (1) formation works well against the 4-2-2-2 formation because they’re similar. This one also has two CDMs that can cut the passing lanes and avoid the through balls your opponent makes to his own CAMs, and you’ll have three CAMs of your own to counter-attack and create plays.

To make this happen, set your CDMs to stay back no matter what, cut passing lanes, and to cover the center in their individual instructions. As for your CAMs, you’ll want them to stay forward, make balanced crossing runs, and stick to their position.

We also advise you to choose “balanced” for your defensive style in the overall tactics and to use Long Ball for build-up play and forward runs for chance creation on the offensive aspect.

4-3-3 (5)

Another way to counter the 4-2-2-2 in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team is to win the battle in the midfield. The 4-3-3 (5) formation has one CDM and two center midfielders (CMs). This means you’ll always have one extra man in that space to defend and pass up the ball until you find the space to use a through ball to your wingers, which will be upfront.

For this to work, you must set your CDM to stay back, cut passing lanes, and to cover the center. As for your CMs, it’s down to how comfortable you feel. You can either set one of them to stay back or set both of them to “balanced” so they can attack and defend without committing too much to either.

As for the overall tactics, set the defensive style, build-up play, and chance creation to “balanced.”

4-4-2 (2)

This formation works similarly to the 4-2-2-2, but it’s slightly defensive because of the left midfielder (LM) and right midfielder (RM) roles instead of the wide CAMs. Ideally, you’ll want two players with strong Physicality playing in these positions, as they’ll help defend and also participate heavily in the attack.

Set your two CDMs to stay back, cut passing lanes, and to cover the center. As for your two other midfielders, set them to basic defense support (default), balanced crossing runs, and “stick to position.” We recommend you choose “balanced” for the defensive style, build-up play, and chance creation in the overall tactics.