In pre-season, one of the most common situations Spurs have faced has been around the middle of the pitch with the ball at the feet of their centre-backs.
Here, De Zerbi’s side will look to do some of the same things of old – standing on the ball, waiting for pressure, looking to play through the centre of the pitch, aiming to find the attackers high up the field in space.
Given how effective De Zerbi’s approach was in 2022, coaches have since made a conscious effort to nullify those same tactics.
Knowing De Zerbi’s sides aim to play vertically through the middle of the pitch, the first thing teams have looked to do is block that path.
Opposing teams can set up with a very narrow defensive shape, making it hard for Spurs’ centre-backs to find the holding midfielders. So De Zerbi has had to come up with new solutions – either by pulling the central players out of position, or by progressing the ball down the flanks.
This can be illustrated with an example from Spurs’ 3-0 win against Hoffenheim in pre-season.
Hoffenheim set up in a 4-4-2 defensive mid-block. What stands out is how narrow this shape was. Both the right and left midfielders almost looked like third and fourth central midfielders. To protect the centre of the pitch further, the two strikers stood in front of Spurs’ midfield two.
Spurs’ shape on the ball here looked like a 4-2-4 – the most common shape they use in these situations.