EA SPORTS FIFA 15 Seasons Team Guide - 4 Stars

Three great four-star teams to use in Seasons!

Last time we looked in detail at Anderlecht, a top 3.5 star team to use if you’re aiming to move through the Seasons divisions. If you missed that you can find it here: http://www.easports.com/uk/fifa/tips-and-tricks/fifa-15-season-team-guide

This week, instead of picking out just one club, I’ve got three of them for you. These are my go-to teams when I’m playing at four-star level and really need a win. For me they’re right up there with the very best four-star clubs once I’ve made a few changes, so hopefully you’ll find at least one of them to be a great fit for your preferred style of play too.

There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s get started…

ASTON VILLA
With a few changes to their default line-up, Villa become a team packed with power and pace in all three areas of the pitch. Throw a top-class striker into the mix and they’re a match for any opponents at this level.

I go with the same attacking 4-3-3 formation that I covered when we looked at Anderlecht last week, but I use inverted wingers in the wide roles with the skilful N’Zogbia cutting in from the right and the incredibly quick Gabby Agbonlahor making runs on the left. Benteke of course plays in the centre of the three as the lone striker, and I use Andreas Weimann in the CAM role. He’s comfortable on the ball, quick enough to beat markers and a good finisher, so he’s effective in that position. My CMs are Sanchez and Delph. Sanchez is a powerful ball-winner with bags of stamina while Delph is faster and a little more creative, so they compliment each other well.

At the back the main change I make is to bring Bacuna into the team as a centre-back. He’s really a full-back but at 6ft 2in and with plenty of strength, he’s comfortable as a CB and brings speed to that position.

My game plan with Villa is to attack quickly, getting the ball to the wide players and heading in field to look for Benteke whenever he’s available.

KEY PLAYER
CHRISTIAN BENTEKE
Benteke has plenty of acceleration and sprint speed, loads of strength, good dribbling ability, excellent finishing and he’s good in the air, so he’s a real goal machine at this level. I try to keep him in the box as much as possible, as that’s where he’s most dangerous, so I avoid chasing defenders down too much.

UNSUNG HERO
CARLOS SANCHEZ
Sanchez is great at stopping attacks before they get too advanced, as he’s rarely out-muscled and can run all day. His passing is good, too, and I’ve hit some tasty long shots with his left when he has got forward.

LINE-UP
4-3-3

GK Guzan

RB Hutton
RCB Bacuna LCB Okore LB Cissokho

RCM Delph
CAM Weimann LCM Sanchez

RW N’Zogbia
ST Benteke LW Agbonlahor

CSKA MOSKVA
I’ve used Russian club CSKA over a number of different versions of the game now, and in FIFA 15 they’re just as good as ever. If you like blistering pace in attack then you should definitely take a look at them if you haven’t already as, with players like Doumbia and Musa, CSKA must have one of the fastest four-star forward lines.

They’ve got a bunch of brilliant attacking midfielders too so, because they’re so good going forward, I set CSKA up to be as attack-minded as possible by playing with my favoured 4-3-3 and selecting CAMs in all three midfield positions. Ahead of them, Musa plays on the right wing and former Man. United winger Tosic is on the left, with Doumbia through the centre.

I bring Nababkin in next to Aleksei Berezutskiy in the centre-back positions, as he offers a little more speed there, and I have solid full-backs on either side, with the excellent Igor Akinfeev in goal.

With a playing style that has such a heavy bias on attacking, when things go wrong for me they can really go wrong in terms of goals conceded, but most of the time I’m able to score more than I let in. If you wanted more of a balanced line up you could go for a 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 with Elm and Natcho in the holding roles.

KEY PLAYER SEYDOU DOUMBIA
Ivory Coast striker Doumbia is a nightmare for defenders at this level, as he’s extremely quick and a lethal finisher. His dribbling is also excellent and he can do four-star skill moves – the only things he lacks are power and physical presence, so it’s best to keep the ball at his feet rather than aim for his head.

UNSUNG HERO ROMAN EREMENKO
Classy CAM Eremenko just made it as my unsung hero ahead of the ultra-skilful Vitinho, because his all-round game is brilliant and he’s a good goal scorer from range. He has great vision and passing attributes, so creates a lot of chances for me too.

LINE-UP
4-3-3

GK Akinfeev

RB Fernandes
RCB Nababkin LCB A. Berezutskiy

LB Schennikov

RCM Dzagoev
CAM Vitinho LCM Eremenko

RW Musa
ST Doumbia LW Tosic

LYON
Some teams at four-star level have a fantastic player who really stands out, even more so when that player is a striker, and that’s definitely true with Lyon. I set the team up to create as many opportunities as possible for the excellent Alexandre Lacazette, who has an overall rating of 83 and great attributes for a goal grabber.

I give him support up front by playing him next to Yattara in the wide version of the 4-1-2-1-2 formation. With Gourcuff just behind in the CAM role, I link those three with short passes and one-twos – always with an eye on getting Lacazette in behind the defence.

I like speed out wide so I play Fekir on the left and N’Jie on the right, but Lyon have other useful wingers so you may prefer a different combo. They’re also spoilt for choice in the CDM and CAM positions, but Gonalons starts for me as he’s a good physical presence and has the technical skills to start attacks effectively.

At the back Lyon have fast, solid full-backs, a powerful centre-back pairing with enough pace to cope at this level and an excellent goalkeeper.

KEY PLAYER ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE
The France striker is extremely quick – his acceleration and sprint speed ratings are in the high 80s – and he’s an excellent dribbler with four-star skills. Saving the best until last though, he’s an incredible finisher. I first started playing as Lyon after being destroyed by them online ages ago, and everything Lacazette hit in that game seemed to go in. Thankfully he’s just as effective when I use him with Lyon too!

UNSUNG HERO NABIL FEKIR
Fekir just seems to float past players with the ball at his feet, thanks to his great balance, agility and high dribbling attribute. He can also do four-star skill moves.

LINE-UP
4-1-2-1-2

GK Lopes

RB Jallet
RCB Kone LCB Umtiti LB Bedimo

CDM Gonalons
RM N’Jie CAM Gourcuff LM Fekir

RS Lacazette
LS Yattara

So they’re my big three at four-star level when I’ve got to get a win. Next week we’ll look at two more top four-star clubs that are a bit more challenging to use than the three here but still great fun to play as, especially if dribbling and skills is your thing.

As always, thanks very much for reading and have a good weekend.

Thanks for reading,
Darren
@darren_cross