3 formations Atletico Madrid could use if Edinson Cavani joins the club

Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid have been known to be one of the best sides defensively in Europe and the world for several years now. His favourite formation is a 4-4-2 double 6 where he fields a couple of defensive midfielders along with 2 wingers and 2 strikers up-front.

Such a formation allows the midfielders along with wingers to drop deep and defend in numbers, forming low blocks outside of the box. Occasionally the forwards also venture into defensive zones to pick the ball from the midfield and initiate counter attacks.

Edinson Cavani’s inclusion in the squad could mean that Atletico variates from their usual 2 striker formation due to his qualities and the versatility he brings. The Uruguayan is fast, strong, and technically brilliant. Here are 3 formations Simeone could use with Cavani on the pitch in an Atleti shirt.

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#3: 4-3-3 formation

4-3-3 diamond shape formation with Edinson Cavani as a lone striker

This is a more attack-oriented formation. With this, Diego Simeone could field a midfield trio of Thomas Partey, Koke, and Saul Niguez. The forward lineup consists of a trio of Joao Felix and Angel Correa on the flanks, while Edinson Cavani takes the position up-front.

This formation will allow a smooth attacking gameplay with very technically adept wingers who love to move along the flanks with the ball at their feet.

In the midfield, Partey will be the destroyer, Koke the passer, and Saul the creator due to his better abilities on the ball. This overloaded midfield can drop deep to defend while the opposition is pressing in numbers.

Once the ball is recovered, there is Cavani centrally or either of the 2 wide players who can carry the ball towards the opposition goal while giving defenders a run for their money at the same time. The fullbacks can come up-front and support the attack without fear, as the overloaded midfield does spread out a bit wide to cut off opposition attacks.

#2: 4-3-1-2 formation

4-3-1-2 with a double striker partnership upfront

This is another formation suited to Atletico Madrid’s gameplay. It's a variation of the diamond formation and is very compact, moreover, it's especially used by teams which focus on defence rather than attack.

Atleti can easily set the midfield with Thomas Partey being the defensive pivot, Koke and Saul Niguez taking up the wide midfield roles, and Joao Felix at the head of the diamond, while Alvaro Morata and Edinson Cavani take up the forward positions.

This formation could be lethal as both Saul and Koke are technically brilliant and have excellent passing abilities. Felix can steer the ball away from the opposition players with his pace & dribbling, and the Morata/Cavani duo will be upfront to pick the ball to find shooting positions inside the penalty box.

Due to the absence of wingers in this formation, it might attract opposition fullbacks higher up the pitch, leaving acres of space behind them for the likes of Cavani, Morata, and Felix to exploit.

#1: 4-4-2 (double 6) formation

Diego Simeone's most favoured 4-4-2 double 6 is tailor-made for Edinson Cavani

This is the most common formation used by Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid. Here Atleti uses a couple of defensive midfielders and 2 wingers, with 2 strikers up-front. This formation allows them to defend deep in numbers outside of the box, as the defensive midfielders break up the opposition play centrally while the wingers defend the balls coming in from the flanks.

While on the attack, the team moves up in numbers without having a change in shape. Depending on the opposition team shape, the ball is drifted to open spaces where an attacker is present to pick up the ball to move it further upfront towards the opposition penalty box.

The forwards often drop deep to collect the ball from the midfield, and Edinson Cavani being a workhorse suits this perfectly. The Uruguayan and Joao Felix or Alvaro Morata up-front would give the team quite a bit of pace & technicality upfront.