The Premier League formation has been reshuffled! Rising 4-2-3-1, falling from the altar 4-3-3! Trend: Fast attack is the way!

The Premier League in the 2024/25 season is not only full of variables in the competitive landscape, but also presents a series of remarkable new trends in technical and tactical evolution. Tactical changes, goalkeeper assists, offensive rhythm, pass methods and even cross quality from the wing all reflect that this most popular league in the world is quietly changing the way of the game.

In this article, Premierleague football expert Adrian Clark will dig deep into these key trends: Who is changing the tactics? Why did the goalkeeper suddenly increase in assists? Why did the number of passes and dribblings decrease? Is counterattack becoming the new kingdom? The answers are all below.

1. The most popular formation: 4-2-3-1 Become the new favorite

The just past season, the most popular formation for the Premier League coaches is undoubtedly 4-2-3-1.

The entire league has 13 teams using it as their preferred formation, with a surge in frequency of use of 37.8%.

Two years ago in the 2022/23 season, the system was used in total 261 times, and this season has soared to 408 times.

Bornemouth coach Ilaura and Chelsea's Maresca even used 4-2-3-1 in all 38 rounds, becoming the only two head coaches with "unchanged formation".

In contrast, the popular 4-3-3 formations in the past are gradually fading away. Although Arteta (Arsenal), Eddie Howe (Newcastle) and Postkoglu (Spurs) still insist on using it, more coaches prefer the midfield configuration of double midfielders + front midfielders.

And the new formation with the largest increase this season is 3-4-2-1 - Glasner of Crystal Palace, Amorin of Manchester United and Vito Pereira of Wolves all tend to adopt this three-center-back system. Comparison of Premier League formations in

23/24 season and 24/25 season

2. Frequent adjustment of formations ≠ chaos, but it is more successful?

Usually people think that coaches who frequently change formations are "sent-to-do medical treatment". But in the 2024/25 season, the coaches who change the most often get better results.

Nuno of Nottingham Forest and Thomas Frank of Brentford both used 7 different formations, eventually ranking 7th and 10th respectively, exceeding most predictions.

Fabian Helzer of Brighton and Marco Silva of Fulham also achieved outstanding results through flexible adjustment of the system.

The Premier League coach used different formations in the 24/25 season. The "creative goalkeeper" became popular, and the long pass assists surged

This season, the phenomenon of the most goalkeepers assisted in Premier League history has occurred.

The season with the most assists, facing high-level pressing in the frontcourt, more and more goalkeepers choose to bypass the pressing area and directly use long passes to find the gap in the frontcourt.

Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson gave 4 assists this season, setting a new record for Premier League goalkeeper assists in a single season (the highest was only 2 times before).

He accurately passes the ball in the middle and long distances, frequently breaking through the opponent's back defense. When the opponent implements man-to-man defense, he can always find the runner who is in the forward.

This may force the coach to reassess whether the number of people in high pressure pressing is worth the risk.

The player with the most assists from Premier League goalkeepers in the 24/25 season

The dribbling and passes fell across the board, and the rapid advancement data revealed a major change in the game style:

This season, the number of successful Premier League passes fell sharply, reducing by 547 times; the total number reached 5,943, which is the first time since 2012/13 that it has fallen below 6,000. The total number of passes also fell by 5.1%, an average of 48 passes per game, the lowest in nearly eight years.

The traditional ball control + short pass system is replaced by "fast direct pass", functional wingers replace fancy players, and prefer pragmatism in the middle and front courts.

Average passes per game in the past five seasons

5. Counterattacks have risen again, with 112 fast break goals set a record

2024/25 season, the Premier League has become the league with the most "fast break goals" among the top five European leagues.

This season, 513 fast break shots, creating 112 goals, significantly ahead of last season's 302 shots.

Liverpool scored 14 goals, with the most in the Premier League, and Salah contributed half of them (7 goals).

Tottenham (10 goals) and Arsenal (9 goals) followed closely, and the 20 Premier League teams scored at least 2 fast break goals.

For strong teams, the key to fast attack is to "break the intensive defense first, and then use the space to strike twice." This also explains why ball-controlled teams always want to take the lead.

6. High-quality crossing has once again become the mainstream weapon

Facing the return of the big center, such as:

Haland

Isaac

Chris Wood

Mateta

The Premier League teams have also increased the frequency of crossing on the wing:

This season, 323 crosses (+3.6%)

The success rate of crossing has increased to 22%, which is the highest since the 2005/06 season

High-altitude bombing tactics have revived locally, and the value of precision crossing is rising rapidly.

Summary: The Premier League in 2024/25 season has allowed us to witness a trend: the formation tends to be flexible and changeable

The goalkeeper has begun to become the "offensive starting point"

The pass control has weakened, and direct passes, fast attacks, and crosses have become the new fulcrum

In the future 2025/26 season, will we continue to deepen the "fast, direct, and efficient" tactical system, or return to the traditional ball control route? Let's wait and see.

This article is translated and compiled from the official analysis column of Premier League. The original author is Adrian Clarke.