Marseille Football Formation

Starting Lineup

Marseille prefers to control games through high pressure and verticality, utilizing a 4-3-3 formation. This lineup focuses on winning the ball high up the pitch and quickly moving it toward the goal. The goal is to stretch the defence and use wide areas to create scoring chances.

Köhn stays between the posts to provide security from the back. The defensive line features a flat back four with Vasquez and Diomandé acting as the central pairing. Vasquez operates as a ball playing defender while Diomandé focuses on being dominant in the air. On the flanks, Giay and Locko act as attacking wing backs to provide width. These wide defenders push high to overlap the wingers, while the central duo works to hold the line and clear the lines when under pressure.

In the center of the pitch, Marseille employs a three-man midfield to control the tempo. Rios acts as the single pivot to shield the defence and recycle possession. Sulemana and Sohm operate as the two advanced midfielders who connect the defensive and attacking lines. Sulemana drives forward with the ball to break the line, while Sohm looks to arrive late into the box to support the attack. This midfield unit works to press in a mid-block to force a long ball from the opposition.

The attacking front line uses three attackers to pin the last defender. Newerton and Ghobo play as inverted wingers who cut inside to occupy the half spaces. This movement creates room for the full backs to push forward. Duro acts as a lone striker and a pressing centre-forward to lead the hunt from the front. Duro works to hold up the ball and find the feet of the midfielders. The team looks to hit in behind on the transition, using the speed of the wingers to exploit space.

Marseille possesses a strong ability to press high in coordinated waves, making it difficult for opponents to play out from the back. The formation also offers wide overloads from the overlapping runs of Giay and Locko. By using the inverted movements of Newerton and Ghobo, the team can often isolate wide players in one on one situations.

This 4-3-3 formation is built for a high intensity game where winning the ball high is the priority. It is best suited for matches against teams that struggle to play under pressure in their own half.