Recreate Pep Guardiola’s narrow central overloads in FM26, from Bayern
foreshadowing to Man City’s new era of positional freedom.
Following the elite success that was the Treble in 22/23, Pep’s City side underwent a major revamp over the course of the following two years, with major parts of the Treble-winning squad becoming a distant memory.
Football is rapidly evolving at the rate of knots, and Pep is, once again, hoping to lead the rest into the new era of football’s tactical landscape.
Man City’s recent 3-0 victory against Liverpool, and the strategy behind it, was characterized by the direction football is heading in, with narrow combinations and opening space in-behind at the forefront of City’s supreme success against the Champions.
In this article, I’ll be underlining how Pep Guardiola is using his rebuilt City side to reshape European football, and how his time at Bayern Munich was, perhaps, a pre-cursor to this – all of this, before demonstrating my recreation of the tactics on Football Manager and showcasing the insane results said tactics achieved in testing.
The Central Cluster & Haaland Dilemma
In recent years, debates have been regularly sparked surrounding the tactical landscape of European football – namely the integrity and the ethics behind the strategies on show, as players and managers constantly wrestle between system compatibility or player compatibility.
The rise of ‘Positional Play’, of which was made famous by Pep himself, arguably stripped away freedom from players, as every movement and action on, and off, the ball was meticulously hardcoded into their systems.
Now, in late 2025, the power dynamic appears to be shifting, with fluidity and ‘relationism’ becoming more and more popular amongst European clubs; At Manchester City, Pep Guardiola is leading this surge.
This season, Pep Guardiola has altered his shape significantly, no longer relying on occupying certain zones on the pitch and, rather, giving his players licence to move more freely.
Mostly, this forms a very narrow 4-2-3-1 shape in build-up, with only Erling Haaland on the defensive line, as the example below shows:
By having so many players dropping deep, in such a narrow and compact manner, City can overload the midfield areas, allowing for smoother progression through the thirds.
Additionally, the narrow nature of the shape allows for 1-2s and third-man combinations to be executed safer in knowing that the team has created ideal conditions for an intense counter-press immediately after losing possession.
Additionally, with Haaland holding such a high position, it begs the question of the opposition: Do they press high with a high line, risking the ball potentially going in-behind for Haaland to chase, or do they drop off and allow gaps in-between the lines to form?
Either way, City gain superiority, whether that’s numerical or qualitative.
The Bayern Foreshadow
Pep’s time at Bayern Munich was, by the standards he set at FC Barcelona and Manchester City, relatively underwhelming; Title wins were, of course, welcome, but the UEFA Champions League alluded him unlike his predecessor.
However, whilst he largely opted for a distinctively familiar 2-3-5 in-possession shape in Bavaria, he did sometimes experiment with a similar shape to that he’s currently using at Manchester City.
In Bayern Munich’s 0-1 win vs Hertha Berlin on the 29th November, 2014, Pep set his team up in an intriguing 4-1-2-1-2 shape, with Ribery and Robben both operating as faux-central midfielders, flanking Xabi Alonso who held the fort in defensive midfield.
In build-up, this shape would transform into a very narrow 4-3-3/4-3-2-1 – then, as the team progressed into the opposition’s half, the players would rotate so much that, for large parts, there wasn’t a particularly recognisable in-possession formation.
Examples from the victory in Berlin can be seen below:
In Football Manager, I was able to successfully recreate the build-up shape and the fluidity in the final third:
Let’s Break Down the Tactic - Bayern
(DISCLAIMER: As there are two different tactics, with two different tests, I won’t be providing as many explanations for my choices of roles/instructions so this read isn’t too long!)
In Possession:
When Bayern had the ball in this game, they really emphasised their narrowness and aimed to play through the middle regularly, using shorter passes to retain possession, whilst passing with quite some vigour, linking up often and being a nuisance to defend.
Out of Possession:
When Bayern would lose the ball, they would use their narrowness to their advantage as it created ideal conditions for an immediate counter-press to try and regain possession.
If they had prolonged spells without possession, which was rare in fairness, they would press high often and try to force turnovers in wide areas.
Player Roles
Ball-Playing Goalkeeper | Sweeper Keeper:
When Bayern had the ball, Neuer would push up to aid deep possession – although, he was rarely needed.
When Bayern didn’t have the ball, he would position himself higher and sweep loose through balls in-behind.
Wing-Back | Full-Back:
Both full-backs would hold the width in this system.
The right-sided full-back would advance slightly higher than the left-sided full-back, however, and when he’d receive the ball, he would often carry forward and try to reach the byline to supply cut-backs.
(DCR & DCL) Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Centre-Back:
In this system, the two centre-backs were asked to regularly break the lines to feed the central clusters with passes.
Full-Back | Full-Back:
The left-back, Bernat in this game, held the width like the right-back – however, he did so from a slightly deeper position.
Deep-Lying Playmaker | Screening Defensive Midfielder:
In this position, Xabi Alonso held the fort for the side, dropping slightly deeper when Bayern didn’t have the ball to screen the back-four as the two midfielders ahead pressed rigorously.
When Bayern had the ball, Alonso would move side to side and dictate the tempo.
Channel Midfielder | Pressing Central Midfielder:
Götze’s contribution in the game against Hertha Berlin probably went under the radar, but it was his positioning and unpredictable runs into the channels that allowed for Bayern’s right side to combine so well at times.
When Bayern didn’t have the ball, both Götze and Ribery would advance higher to press the opposition.
Midfield Playmaker | Pressing Central Midfielder:
In this system, Ribery would often drop deeper to retrieve the ball and carry the ball forward to aid deeper progression.
As with Götze, Ribery would advance to press the opposition higher.
Shadow Striker | Winger:
In this system, Müller would regularly roam around to try and find, and attack, space – this would see him regularly making penetrative runs in-behind.
When Bayern didn’t have the ball, Muller would drift wide to become the side’s right winger in their 4-3-3 out-of-possession shape.
Free Role | Central Outlet Centre Forward:
In this system, Robben would be the side’s ‘10’ in-possession – however, he wasn’t limited to this position, as he was given complete licence to roam around and do whatever he would like, often creating situational overloads or offering a bounce pass for 1-2s or central combinations to be enacted.
When Bayern didn’t have the ball, Robben wasn’t the most willing defensive player, so Pep Guardiola instructed him to move into the ‘striker’ position and sit high, providing a central outlet option for the counter-attack.
Deep-Lying Forward | Winger:
In this system, it wasn’t uncommon to see Lewandowski drift wide on the left or drop deep.
When Bayern didn’t have the ball, Lewandowski would drift into the ‘left-winger’ position to accommodate Robben’s central positioning.
Let’s Break Down the Tactic – Man City:
In Possession:
When City have the ball, they also emphasise their narrowness by constantly playing into central areas.
From here, their central players can link up, before playing a through ball in-behind for Haaland to chase.
They are a bit more meticulous and patient in their in-possession exploits than his Bayern side of yesteryear, however.
Out of Possession:
When City loses possession, their narrow shape creates ideal conditions to immediately spring into an aggressive counter-press to regain possession.
If they don’t have the ball for sustained periods, they will close all central passing angles, forcing play wide in their high-press.
Player Roles
Goalkeeper | Sweeper Keeper:
In this system, Donnarumma is rarely ever used in-possession, only as a last resort to retain possession and, subsequently, draw in the opposition’s high-press.
When City don’t have the ball, Donnarumma will regularly sweep loose balls in-behind.
(DR) Wing-Back | Full-Back:
In this system, both full-backs predominantly hold the width.
However, there is a slight disparity between the pair…
(DCR & DCL) Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Centre-Back:
Akin to that at Bayern, both centre-backs in this system are asked to regularly break the lines to progress play and feed the central clusters.
(DL) Wing-Back | Full-Back:
As opposed to Nunes on the right, O’Reilly will often drift into central areas when City has the ball, allowing Doku to situationally hold the side’s width on the left.
Box-to-Box Playmaker | Attacking Midfielder:
When City has possession, Bernardo Silva will drop deep alongside the defensive midfielder (Rodri or Nico Gonzalez) to create a 2-2 box-shape in build-up, before situationally moving higher.
When City don’t have the ball for prolonged periods, they form a narrow and compact 4-1-2-1-2, with Silva moving higher into the ‘10’ position.
Defensive Midfielder | Dropping Defensive Midfielder:
In this system, the nominal defensive midfielder largely stays in position to reliably receive and recycle possession from a deeper position.
When City don’t have the ball, the defensive midfielder will usually drop into the backline to accommodate for the lack of width the 4-1-2-1-2 out-of-possession shape, situationally forming a 5-2-1-2 out-of-possession shape.
Free Role | Central Midfielder:
Rayan Cherki is absolutely essential to this set-up, as he’s given complete licence to roam and do whatever he would like.
When City don’t have the ball, Cherki moves into the right-sided central midfielder position in their 4-1-2-1-2 out-of-possession set-up.
Advanced Playmaker | Centre Forward:
In this system, Foden drops deeper regularly to offer another passing option and accentuate the central overload City creates.
From here, he can receive and carry out of pressure, or link with the teammates around them.
Inside Winger | Central Midfielder:
In this system, Doku can roam across the pitch to create situational overloads, or occupy the space created between the lines.
However, he can move wider and hold the side’s width when O’Reilly inverts behind him.
Poacher | Centre Forward:
In this system, Haaland is constantly on the shoulder of the last line of defence, ready to sprint in-behind to chase through balls.
If he does receive the ball to feet, he’ll simply lay the ball off for one of the ‘10s’ in this system.
Results – Bayern
Bundesliga:
Domestic Cups:
UEFA Champions League:
Results – Man City
Premier League:
Domestic Cups:
UEFA Champions League:
Read Also
- FM26 Tactics Hub
- FM26 Best Youth Academies
- FM26 Wonderkids by PA, Price & Position
- FM26 Transfer Budgets
Conclusion
Pep Guardiola will go down in football history as one of the greatest, most innovative managers and tacticians the sport has ever, and will ever, witness.
From incredible immortalization in Catalonia to a triumphant Treble in Mancunia – what a story, what an evolution!
If you have enjoyed this article, in particular this four-part mini-series, and want a taste of these immense tactics, make sure to download the tactic using the link attached to this article and make sure to follow FM Blog (@fmbIog) and myself (@AshtonGgmu) on our respective socials.
I hope you have enjoyed this article, and I wish you much success with this tactic on your saves! Thanks for reading!
