3F Superliga 2019/20: Midtjylland vs AC Horsens – tactical analysis

The Danish football followed the path of Bundesliga and was the second major European league to return to action over the weekend. After almost three months, the clubs could again march towards European glory or away from the relegation zone. On Monday afternoon, Midtjylland aimed to pick up the pace and continue dominating the league. AC Horsens were supposed to be their perfect next victim.

In this tactical analysis, we are going to explain how the tables have turned and how Horsens caused one of the biggest surprises in the 2019/20 season. The article will focus on the forms, previous meetings between these two clubs, and the tactics used by the two managers who tried to adapt to football after a long break.

Opposite forms

Starting the season with 20 wins, two draws and two losses, Midtjylland has left little to no doubt about their intentions in the league after losing out to Glasgow Rangers in the Europa League. Before the general lockdown, not only did they manage to set a five-game winning streak but the defence didn’t concede a single goal in the process. They kept a 12-point lead over FC Copenhagen so the break came at the worst possible time.

On the other hand, Horsens arrived in this game with mixed expectations. Their February couldnt have been any worse as they conceded six against Nordsjaelland, followed by two home losses. Later, they visited the reigning champions and took all three points from Copenhagen, which could prove to be a crucial turning point in their relegation battle.

In their head-to-head matchup, we have to go back all the way to 2012 to find a game where Horsens could steal a point from Midtjylland. However, the stage was set equally, the teams played behind closed doors as the fans could only support the home side from the drive-in fan zone.

Midtjylland

Brian Priske sent out his best starting eleven available in their regular 4-2-3-1 formation. Despite being as dominant as they are in 2019/20, the team prefers a rather direct and vertical style as opposed to patient passing. The numbers support the aforementioned statement, their 384 average passes per 90 minutes are enough for the eighth place and lagging 100 passes behind FC Copenhagen (484). Relying on crosses from their full-backs, Paulinho and Joel Andersson and long balls from their keeper, Midtjylland is first in crosses per match with 18.6. On the receiving end stands Sory Kaba, a strong target man with a whopping 31.8 duels per 90 minutes, who holds up the balls and distributes them to his teammates. They came to this game with a solid plan, let’s see what it looked like.

Dynamic build-up

The team managed to solidify their position after the first 15 minutes, thanks to two key movements in their own half. The two centre-backs, Erik Sviatchenko and Alexander Scholz were facing two pressing forwards. Their wide positioning before goal kicks created space in the middle, while the two full-backs waited at the half-line. As Horsens lined up with a flat-four in the midfield, Midtjylland used two more players in the build-up since one could have easily been followed by a man-marking central midfielder. Frank Onyeka and Evander functioned as a double pivot and provided numerical advantage against the opponent’s hesitant pressing.