There are many formations that soccer teams can use, based on the type of players a club has as well as the preferred styles of play from the coaching staff. In FIFA 23, gamers can choose to line up their team in whatever formation they desire. While there is a default formation for squads online and Ultimate Team, players can change this while building their squad.
While all formations are at least viable to use, there are some that are better than others. This mirrors real life, with all professional leagues on the globe tending to stick to a handful of more popular formations. Gamers will see the most success online on FIFA 23 by sticking to the best formations that the game has to offer.
4 4-3-3 (3)
A bit of a niche pick for gamers who are confident in their abilities, the 4-3-3 third variation is useful for being anti-meta, and has seen a resurgence in its use based on initial impressions from high-ranking players on the game. Teams with the best center midfielders in FIFA 23 will see a lot of success with this formation.
On the 4-3-3 (3), midfield and attack have an equal number of players, meaning 2/3rd of the pitch is attacking-minded since the midfielders are pushed up more than normal. This does leave counterattacks wide open, so gamers should make sure to keep their defensive line tight and in shape, only switching to those players when it's absolutely necessary and instead tracking back with the midfielders.
For this formation, gamers should set their attacking offense to be just a bit higher than the balanced default. With Defense, only push up the back line when really confident, go for conservative tactics, to begin with.
3 4-2-2-2
A bit of an average formation in the past, 4-2-2-2 is in fine form for FIFA 23, being one of the best formations the game has to offer. This formation is a blend of 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 Narrow, making it perfect for gamers who are finding that they like those formations but something's "missing."
With the 4-2-2-2, all areas of the pitch are well covered with Defense, in particular, having a tight line that serves well when defending. Gamers should be a little more defensive with their back line when using this formation, putting the fullbacks on Stay Back While Attacking. Having the best center-backs in FIFA 23 will take some of the pressure off the defense, allowing this formation to flourish.
One weakness with this formation is that the midfield only has two players, who will be sitting quite deep. This leaves the Wingers, who are pulled into a more narrow position, with a lot more work to do. Wingers with high work rates will serve gamers well with this formation; which should inform the choice they make about which team to use the 4-2-2-2 with.
2 4-2-3-1
The 4-2-3-1 has been a solid formation for the past couple of FIFAs, so it should come as no surprise to gamers that it is one of the best formations on FIFA 23 so far. With wide and narrow options, the attacking options for a team utilizing this formation open up so much more, allowing for a mixture of fast and slow attacks involving all areas of the pitch.
Using the 4-2-3-1 to its maximum potential will see opponents scrambling in defense. The team mixes up the attack regularly and manages to track back quickly when defending, owing to the number of players in both Defense and Midfield with this formation.
With 4-2-3-1, gamers are fine to leave the custom tactics pretty much on default, with perhaps some slight tweaking of Width and Depth depending on the players available in that team. Player instructions should be used on Midfielders to make them cover centre whereas Wingers should stay wide. If the team has rapid fullbacks, they can choose to make the fullbacks join the attack with an overlap style, just be careful not to get hit with the counter as a result. Some of the fastest players in FIFA 23 are fullbacks or wingers, so players will do well with this formation if including those players.
1 4-4-2
The 4-4-2 tactic is back on top for FIFA 23, as the game's meta shifts from central, narrow formations in favor of wider team set-ups. The 4-4-2 is one of the oldest formations around in soccer, and its tried-and-tested nature makes it very simple to pick up, helping players to get used to the fundamentals of both soccer and FIFA in their games until they're ready to add some spice with a different formation.
On a 4-4-2 formation, gamers should largely keep everything balanced. A 50 Depth and Width with a Balanced defensive style is solid and simple to use in this formation. So long as gamers don't be overzealous with adjusting player positions or significantly changing the custom tactics, they should be golden. Having the best strikers in FIFA 23 as part of the squad will also help.
The attacking style on the 4-4-2 formation can also be largely balanced, with 50 Width and the bars placed halfway up for Players in Box, Corners, and Free Kicks.