The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast

On October the 15th, four games into the Premier League season, we released a pod titled 'How does Guardiola get Man City back on top?' - they were struggling and looked miles off the pace.Eight months later they have won the Premier League at a canter and have reached the Champions League final - so how has Pep done it and how does this side compare to the title winners of 17/18 and 18/19?The Athletic's Michael Cox, Tom Worville and Ali Maxwell look at the tactics, the numbers, the key performances & performers to get to the bottom of City's title-winning campaign. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Michael Cox, Tom Worville and Ali Maxwell have called time on Fulham and West Brom's stay in the Premier League and all but consigned them to the Championship for next season along with Sheffield Utd, so what went wrong for them this season?Why have they been the worst three teams in the Premier League and what are their respective chances of bouncing back next season?And we also look at whether Norwich and Watford's immediate return to the top flight could give this season's basement boys any hope for the 2021/22 season Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Michael Cox, Tom Worville and Ali Maxwell complete their quest to classify every possible position and role on a football pitch with the third and final edition of the ZM pod footballing glossary, this time focusing on defenders and goalkeepers.What's the difference between a libero and a sweeper? When is a back three really a back five? Should the outside centre-backs in a three man defence be called full-backs? Is Joao Cancelo the modern half-back? What is the opposite of a sweeper keeper?All these questions answered and more as we journey deep into the the defensive third Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's Zonal Marking pod is a European Super League Free Zone, come shelter from the storm with The Athletic's Michael Cox and Tom Worville as they take a deep dive into that most quintessential part of the English game - crossing.Tom has scoured the data to look at how effective crossing is in the modern Premier League, how many teams focus on it as a main source of attack, which players are best at it, and the best positions to cross the ball from.You won't believe how many time Aubameyang has crossed the ball without getting an assist! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The race to qualify for the Champions League looks set to be the most exciting thing about the run-in as we approach the end of the Premier League season.Leicester, West Ham, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton are all still in contention with eight games remaining.The Athletic's Michael Cox, Tom Worville and Ali Maxwell have studied the form and the data to give you their considered take on each team's chances of making it into those sought-after top 4 spots Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What makes an entertaining football match? Loads of goals? Tactical battles? Tension?The Athletic's Michael Cox, Tom Worville and Ali Maxwell pick five games from the Premier League this season with the highest and most evenly balanced xG they could find to see whether they can crack the code and determine the key ingredients needed for the ideal crowd-pleasing game.Game 1 - Arsenal 3 - 1 ChelseaGame 2 - Leeds 1 - 4 LeicesterGame 3 - Manchester United 6 - 2 LeedsGame 4 - Liverpool 3 - 0 LeicesterGame 5 - Newcastle 2 - 2 Tottenham Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Michael Cox is away... The Athletic's Tom Worville and Ali Maxwell will delve into the Championship and pick out the most interesting stats and best players to watch from each of the 24 teams as we prepare to head full-steam into the business end of the season Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the international break upon us The Athletic's Michael Cox, Tom Worville and Ali Maxwell thought it would be the ideal time to travel back to summer 2018, to the hazy days of waistcoats and wasted pints, as Gareth Southgate's England came within twenty minutes of a World Cup final. We all remember the penalty shoot-out and the Trippier free-kick, but were England actually any good in that tournament?Cox and Worville have looked at the footage and the data to determine whether Southgate's Three Lions were worthy semi-finalists.We look at the supposed lucky draw, the reliance on set pieces and penalties, plus pick out some highlights featuring the likes of Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard that you've probably forgotten about by now.There's also a look ahead to the forthcoming set of international fixtures and the Euros that loom in the summer - what is Southgate's best XI? Are we going to end up with a very similar team to 2018? Do the likes of Ollie Watkins or even Patrick Bamford have any hope of making the squad in the summer? And what's going on with Trent Alexander-Arnold? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Ali Maxwell are joined by our new analytics writer Mark Carey to tackle the thorny issue of how we measure the performance of that most unique of positions - goalkeepers.Taking the lead from Mark's recent pieces on Kasper Schmeichel and Vicente Guaita we look at the various metrics we use to analyse goalkeeping performance, how useful they are at accurately assessing their performance, and we try to dispel some common myths around the importance of save percentages and distribution.And it wouldn't be a pod about goalkeepers if we didn't try to work out who should be England's no.1 for the Euros so we look at the numbers to try and work out whether Pickford, Pope or Henderson deserves the shirt for Southgate's side. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Michael Cox, Tom Worville and Ali Maxwell set out to select an XI from across Europe's top five leagues consisting of players who are unique in their positions - whether it be a curious tactical style, strangely high or low stats compared to what you'd expect, or just the fact that they are ridiculously tall, this is Quite Unique FCSee if you can guess who we've picked from these clues:A veteran keeper who keeps it simple and is the best cheerleader aroundA right-back who would be more at home in 1992 than 2021A young Premier League centre-back who doesn't really tackle but also doesn't passA ball-playing centre-half from Serie A who loves to use his weaker footAn all-action left-back from Berlin who loves to surge forwardA decorated defensive mid who has quietly turned into an attacking midfielderAn Italian midfielder who plays like a young David SilvaThe most tactically diverse midfielder in EuropeA prolific Argentinean who has never scored for ArgentinaA 6ft7 striker with elegant feet on a hot streakA sleep-loving Spanish winger whose mother named her dog after her son's famous night on Merseyside Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.