Brighton’s misfortune this season is well-documented.
‘Pretty on the eye’, you will hear from the pundits, but it all means nothing if your attackers cannot finish and your goalkeeper undergoes a dramatic dip in form.
Injuries have not helped Brighton either, but almost every Premier League club has been suffering from players going down with the virus or the more frequent muscle injuries this season.
Operating with a back three has been common this season; 88% of their games have started with a variant of the kind, and the rest of the league is filled with teams who use it as well.
Just under half the league use a back three as their primary formation; see Arsenal and West Ham as just two prevalent examples.
Recently, we have seen Brighton switch to back four in specific game scenarios that call for a change in tactics.
In this tactical football analysis, we will examine the benefits of switching to a back four, potential drawbacks if used incorrectly, and some forecasts for the future.
This piece will focus on analysing the recent Brighton vs Wolves game.
Graham Potter’s side started in a 3-4-3 formation before switching to a 4-4-2 in the second half.
Graham Potter’s flexible setup: does switching to the 4-4-2 work?
Against Wolves, heading into the second half, Brighton were 3-1 down, with their only goal scorer heading down the tunnel with an injury.
That goal scorer was Aaron Connolly.
He looked sharp, but Wolves struggled to deal with him on and off the ball.
He spearheaded a 3-4-2-1 formation, which would transform into a 3-4-1-2, with Leandro Trossard moving centrally into the #10 space and Neal Maupay slotting to the left of Connolly to create a striking partnership in possession.
The problem in the first half was via the absence of Tariq Lamptey.
His pace and directness were evidently missing.
