Tottenham tactics: What’s the best formation for Spurs?

Should Tottenham play a 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1 if everyone is fit?

Credit Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino for his flexibility over the past several matches. He’s toggled back and forth between a 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-4-1 this season depending on his available personnel and the opponent.

That begs the question: which formation should Spurs utilize if everyone is fit? We’ll examine the case for both potential lineups in this piece. Let us know which you think Tottenham should employ in the comments field below.

The case for 4-2-3-1

Pochettino clearly has a natural preference for this formation. He used it for the vast majority of last season and went with it to start the current campaign as well. It’s clearly the setup he believes provides the top tactical advantage.

Perhaps more importantly, Spurs’ personnel really fits well with playing two defensive midfielders. When fit, Moussa Dembele is perhaps Tottenham’s most important player. English international Eric Dier was one of the first names on the team sheet last year. It’s hard to imagine leaving either of them out of the starting XI.

More from Playing for 90

The addition of Victor Wanyama has made the double-pivot even more crowded. If he stays in the starting XI it’s already going to force Pochettino to sit either Dier or Dembele. Leaving two out of these three stars on the bench as healthy scratches just doesn’t make sense.

Offensively, it allows Pochettino to maximize the rotation of his attacking midfield trio and strikers. He requires loads of running from all of his attacking players, so it only makes sense that each star will need significant rest.

Harry Kane, Vincent Janssen and Son Heung-Min can provide rest for one another at striker. Son can also be deployed in the attacking midfield three. Being able to rotate between Son, Dele Alli, Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen, and Moussa Sissoko would create terrific competition for starting spots. The combination of that competition and rest would yield terrific results for Tottenham.

The case for 4-1-4-1

The biggest weakness with Spurs playing a 4-2-3-1 is that playing two defensive midfielders just weighs down Pochettino’s attack. That problem is easily solved with the implementation of a 4-1-4-1 formation.

Playing just one defensive midfielder allows Spurs to get their best 11 players on the pitch to start the match. Deploying four midfielders further up the pitch takes better advantage of the squad’s depth and versatility.

Pochettino can alternate between Wanyama and Dier in the holding midfield spot. Wanyama has been excellent to start this season, and Dier proved his worth during last year’s campaign. Both men can do an excellent job shielding the back four.

You may wonder where that leaves Moussa Dembele. This formation allows the Belgian to move forward and play in the midfield four. Playing him in the double-pivot requires him to mute his offensive instincts too much. We’ll see the best Dembele possible playing in this forward role.

It also gives more match time to Lamela, Sissoko, Alli, Son, and Eriksen. Dembele, Alli, and Eriksen can cycle through the two central spots while Lamela, Sissoko, Son and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou can rotate on the wing. The 4-1-4-1 formation allows for the squad to rotate perfectly.

The Conclusion

In some ways, Pochettino’s choice of formation is always going to fluctuate based on health and quality of opponent. The chances of Spurs having everyone fit at the same time for even one match this season are pretty remote.

If that does happen, expect Pochettino to play the more offensively minded 4-1-4-1. It’s the formation that allows him to unleash his high press on the opposition most vigorously.