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Our Ligue 1 expert Genesis, returns to give his tips on how you can build out your team from a solid foundation.
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Hello all and welcome back to this mini-series about how I set my teams up for Sorare Academy and the official Sorare tournaments. So far we have discussed the ‘foundation player’ and the power of the centre-back. Indeed, last time out, I put forward the merits of the ‘two centre-back’ configuration. A powerful, if conservative build.
Today I will talk about a different configuration: partnering up your foundation player with a second, ‘boom or bust’ midfielder.
WHAT IS A ‘BOOM OR BUST’ MIDFIELDER?
These guys are different from your foundation player. They have a lot more potential to hit high defensive scores but can also frustrate you. You cannot expect them to consistently rack up as large an all-around score as the likes of Aurelien Tchouameni. That means when they bust, they can be quite damaging to your weekly score. But when they boom…
What these players have in their armoury is playing further up the pitch, getting into positions to hit a decisive action (a goal or assist) and almost always monopolising set pieces for their team. If you can combine the last two attributes with a player who receives a decent volume of touches per game then you are headed towards a superb weekly asset.
Who stands out as this sort of player? For me, as a French football aficionado, it is Christopher Nkunku. He is the pinnacle of the ‘boom or bust’ midfielder having an elite season, with 22 goals and 10 assists across major competitions in 2021-22.
What defines Nkunku? He monopolises set pieces, a core element of the boom or bust midfielder, as noted above. He is positioned high up the field for Leipzig. He takes 2.4 shots, has nearly 50 touches and makes two key passes per match. He also wins his fair share of duels and enjoys dribbling. Who else can hold a torch to him as alternative options? From the French side of the house, there are three that spring to mind.
ROMAIN FAIVRE
Faivre is a delight to watch. He glides with the ball. I was concerned that leaving his role as the undisputed main man at Brest might affect his weekly scoring potential. However, he is now Lyon’s chief set-piece taker (although he is yet to win the penalty-taker job). He takes over 60 touches and two shots per game and delivers 1.9 key passes. With nine goals and five assists so far this season, he has high potential.
SOFIANE DIOP
A little more bust than boom at the moment. However, there is no denying Diop’s talent. A tricky, if a little one-footed, number 10 or left inside-forward, Diop is in Monaco’s set-piece rotation and regularly gets into the box in open play. Thus, his potential for goals and assists is always high. He has six goals and four assists this season so far. He averages 49 touches per game, 1.3 shots and 1.4 key passes. Monaco are wobbling a little at the moment but once back on an even keel, Diop should be their star man.
LUDOVIC BLAS
Rated through his teens as France’s brightest young star, Blas faded a little into his early twenties. Now though, he has seemingly found his groove again as part of an efficient Nantes side. Like the others, he is part of the set-piece rotation and has a knack for goals, with eight so far in 2021-22, although he is a little low on the assists with only two. Averaging nearly 48 touches, 2.7 shots and one key pass per game, he has the potential to be hitting big scores, as his recent efforts show.
So, here is how our team looks with the ball-playing centre back, foundation player and the boom or bust midfielder.
It might be useful to add that I most frequently double up in defence or midfield. That is unless I want to be incredibly aggressive in a certain week and go double forward. Selecting two forwards sets your team’s potential points ceiling very high but it is risky: forwards don’t often have solid ‘all-around’ games and are often goal reliant to set big scores. That can mean that most forwards are a goalless match away from a very poor (and line-up-destroying) weekly score. I’ll tell you some more about selecting forwards next time out!
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