Save your current lineup and tactics as a preset so you can quickly switch between different setups. Use the Save as Preset button in the tactics header to name and store your current configuration.

Manage all your presets from the Presets tab on the tactics page. Each preset stores your formation, lineup, philosophy, offensive and defensive strategies, roles, and planned substitutions. You can have up to 6 presets.

Load a preset to apply it to the editor, Set Active to make it the one used for upcoming matches, or Rename and Delete presets you no longer need.

Before each match, visit the Match Prep page from the sidebar to prepare for your next opponent. The sidebar link shows red when preparation is incomplete and green when done.

Choose a preset to use for the match, or click Set Custom to create a one-off lineup and tactics just for this match without affecting your saved presets.

The Team Talk section lets you set match-specific instructions: how aggressive to play, which opponent player to tightly mark, and which formation you think the opponent will use. These settings are per-match and reset for the next game.

The page also shows your head-to-head record against the opponent and a Scout button to view their full scouting report before deciding your approach.

Prep closes 30 minutes before kickoff.

You can change tactics, lineup, subs, and your team talk freely up to that point. After the lock, your tactic choices are frozen and the lineup becomes public so the opposing manager can see who they are facing. The sidebar Next Match tile counts down to the lock, then switches to Locked. Anything still unsaved when the lock hits is dropped, so save before the deadline.

You can guess which formation your opponent will play, and a correct read bites them in two places:

• Chance volume: a meaningful slice of their attacks get broken up by your tactical prep before they even count.
• Chance quality: the chances they do create are noticeably less threatening.

Guess wrong and you give them a small quality boost instead. There's no volume penalty either way, but a bad read still hurts. Scout their recent matches to see what they usually play. This is one of the biggest tactical swings in the game if you nail it.

Tactics matter, but the raw quality of your starting eleven matters more. A two point rating gap between teams is roughly twice as impactful as any single tactical bonus. You can outwit a slightly weaker opponent with clever tactics, but no amount of smart setup will bridge a big rating gap.

Form works alongside rating. A high rated player in bad form can be worse than a lower rated player in great form, so keep your starters sharp by training after every match.

Tactics, philosophy fit, traits, and roles are tiebreakers in close games and real edges in evenly matched ones. Build a strong squad first, then pick a philosophy and tactics that suit the players you already have.

Each philosophy wants specific player traits. The Philosophy Fit tab in your tactics screen shows which traits are met, which are missing, and how well your squad matches the style you picked.

Tiki-Taka wants composed defenders and intelligent midfielders. Gegenpress wants fast defenders and engine midfielders. Direct Play wants long pass distributors and a target striker. Every philosophy has five or six trait requirements that flag which players make it tick.

The more traits you match, the more each attack is rewarded. You are never penalised for missing traits, they are just bonuses you are leaving on the table. Fully committing to a philosophy (meeting every single requirement) earns an extra reward, so the more you match the more you gain.

Balanced wants broad fundamentals like a leader, an intelligent player, a fast player, and a composed player. It is the steady choice when you do not have a specialist squad.

On your Tactics page, the Analysis tab shows a Team Strength score out of 100. It is a single number that tells you how strong your team is at kickoff, before we know who you are playing. The colour and band (Needs work, Developing, Solid, Strong, Elite) give you a quick read at a glance.

A compact version sits in the top right of the Tactics page header next to your rating and form. Watch it shift as you change formation, philosophy, or lineup.

Three things add up to produce the score.

Squad quality. How good your eleven starters are, based on their skill and current form. This is the biggest contributor and sets the floor. A league average squad with no tactical trimmings lands around mid-table; a world-class squad with an ordinary setup still lands Strong. A clever tactic cannot turn weak players into strong ones.

Pitch coverage. How well your eleven cover the nine zones of the pitch (defence, midfield, and attack, each split left, centre, and right). The engine already shifts its emphasis based on your style, so this just asks whether your players are strong in the zones your style cares about. A good fit lifts your score, a poor fit drags it down.

Tactic unlocks. Extra bonuses your current setup earns. Meeting philosophy trait requirements, having a leader as captain, assigning an intelligent playmaker, fielding a target striker under Direct Play, and similar fits all add up here. The "What's firing" list on the card shows exactly which bonuses are active and how big each one is (Subtle, Notable, or Major).

A full 100 out of 100 is reserved for a literally maxed squad (every starter at peak skill and form) with pitch coverage perfectly matched to the style and every available unlock firing. You should be able to hit Elite well before that, but the 100 mark is deliberately difficult.

What it does not include.

Team Strength is deliberately opponent free. Anything that depends on who you are playing shows up separately on match prep. That includes formation matchups, tightly marking a specific opponent, the assigned referee, and home advantage. Keeping those out means your Team Strength score only reflects what you bring to the pitch, so you can compare it across matches without the opponent muddying the picture.

How to push it higher.

Start by raising squad quality through signings, training, and keeping form high. Once that plateaus, commit fully to a philosophy and build your starting eleven around the traits it wants. Finally, assign the right roles to the players that carry the matching traits. Each step adds to the ones before it.

Football is about creating chances. A well prepared team should generate more attacks than a poorly prepared one, not just take the same number and convert them slightly better.

The match stats panel shows two related numbers: Chances and Shots. A chance is an attacking situation your team built up. A shot is a strike at goal, whether from open play or a corner kick. Chances turn into shots most of the time but not always.

What earns you more chances: matching your squad to your philosophy, picking a philosophy that counters the opponent, and guessing their formation correctly. The more of these you nail, the more attacks you create over the match.

Who gets on the end of them: your in form, higher rated players. The engine picks shooters, assisters, corner takers, and set piece targets by their skill and current form, not at random. A striker riding a purple patch sees far more of the ball in the box than a tired backup. Poor form hurts, good form rewards.

Who picks up the assists: your midfielders lead by a clear margin, forwards come second on knock downs and cutbacks, and defenders pick up the occasional full back cross. The designated playmaker sits above all of them when assigned. Centre back assists are rare, which is how it should read.

The stats panel also has a Free Kicks row next to Corners. It tracks direct free kicks taken at goal, not every foul. A designated free kick specialist converts these much more often than a random taker.