2026-06-18, 04:35 AM - Word count:
Should be eligible for Deep Dive 3 & 5 plus my Weekly PT
After finishing the last season as runners up in Division 1 and the winners of the SSL Cup, União São Paulo is positioned in a good spot to take the title this season. They have three new additions to their lineup, with João Cancelo taking the starting goalkeeper spot, and David Luiz Jr. and Dunkler Sowerwine getting promoted from AS Paris. Their forward three strikers combined for 22 goals with one of them, Nerve De Groot, also having the second highest average rating in the league overall. TPE wise their biggest weakness is at Centerback and Goalkeeper with both of the callups lagging behind in terms of TPE, but at least in terms of cornerback compared to the rest of the division, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Their Player to Watch this season will be Roquefort Cotswold who led the league last season in Key Passes and Successful Crosses by a lot and their team’s success will rely on how well Cotswold is able to connect his crosses with one of the three strikers in the box.
The reigning Division 1 Champs definitely have a good chance to win again this season, especially considering they ran away with the title last season finishing with ten points more than second place. They did get hit with some regression however which is why I don't think its likely. Compared to São Paulo who focus their offense through their right side, Hollywood pretty much directly counters them by running their offense through their left side. They ultimately do run a pretty similar tactic although they have Moff playing more offensively as an inside forward rather than as a regular classic winger. The reigning golden boot winner, Pete Martell, got moved down to their minors team which gives Juozas Kupinas who finished third in goals the chance to take over his leading role. Kupinas is definitely the player to watch for them this season as last season they finished top of the league in average rating, almost reaching 8. Another really important player is their wingback, Alexandros Mograine, who led the league in interceptions last season as well as had a pretty productive offensive output with key passes and successful crosses.
It was really interesting when I went through all the tactics of each of the 12 teams in the majors and then noticing that the teams I had finishing in the top of the league ran very assymetrical lineups while the other teams ran more classic formations. Using the last file from last season, something I did notice for Reykjavik is that Striker + CAM combo, every other position had fairly poor connections with each other and according to the game weren't really playing well together, so thats something to monitor as the season goes on. They do boast a really strong lineup this season and have as good a chance as anyone else in the top three to finish on top. One of their key players last season was Santos Neymarinho who got moved back down to their minors team and now replaced by Zaza Banana. I think someone to keep a watch on this season is Mikko Rashford II who was fourth in the league in expected goals last season with 8.56 but couldn't capitalize on that and ended up with the biggest XG underperformance in the division. If Rashford can get back on track that would be really helpful for a team that finished in fourth place last season, only two points off of the relegation playoffs.
Now for the first of two promoted teams. Despite finishing in second place and having to fight through a promotion playoff match where they won 4-0 against Xelajú Cósmico FC, I have Tenochtitlan finishing as the best of the two new squads. They run a very classic 4-3-3 with one caveat where they elect to focus their attack through the center of the pitch instead of having any wingers on their team. Because of that, their outside backs are super important, and Jonny Elliott was probably their best player last season, where he finished with a pair of six goals and six assists from that left back position. He led division two in successful crosses so we can definitely expect him to bring a similar playstyle up to division 1 where he will also be hoping for one of the three strikers to be able to head in his created chances. They did run with split goalkeepers last season but now James Asprey should have the GK1 spot on lock. Both Tenochtitlan and their promotion partners Liffeyside Celtic FC got relegated two seasons ago but they each only had to spent one season down in division two before making their way back up, and I don't think they'll have to worry about relegation again this season.
Luckily for Catalunya, this season they don't need to worry about any relegation possibility if they actually end up in fifth place due to preparation for the two/four new expansion teams joining the league. They do still have a pretty young team so this season should be a good season to get some more development in before playing in a seven team division one in Season 27. Joga Bonita finished second in the golden boot race last season and is due in part to Bernardo Fry's playmaking efforts with seven assists alongside his five goals. Maarten Slothlenburg however led the division in number of saves last season with 50 saves parried. Unless the defense can do a better job in preventing shots on goal this season, it is up to Slothlenburg to stay strong in the net to ensure Catalunya doesn't have to worry about anything this season.
Unfortunately for Liffeyside, they might be stuck in the cycle of promotion to immediate relegation as they look the most likely to make their way back down to division two. While they performed really well last season, their squad definitely still needs a little more development before they are ready to compete in division one. They run a very similar formation to Catalunya with just a few different player instructions. Miedema at top was the division 2 golden boot winner, but their main production came from both fullbacks, Bahl and Superhoops who were second and third in successful crosses as well as both being close to the top in key passes. Compared to the rest of the teams in their division their goalkeeper does have the second most TPE, but Snor Lax did finish last in division 2 in save percentage last season despite them being first in the league, so they will definitely need a better percentage if they want to avoid the relegation playoff. I'd say the player to watch is Orla Hughes-Galloway who is a lot lower in TPE compared to the competition that they will be facing, but last season they did have some of highest player of the matches number and average ratings and Liffeyside needs them to provide good creation for their team.
Introduction
In an effort to get more acquainted with the league and the metas and playstyles that teams were running with, I went through the last save file from last season and tried to see what each team would be lining up like this season. Shoutout to the API spreadsheet that made looking through rosters a lot easier. I know tactics change a lot during the season depending on what team someone is matched up against, but I decided to just assume that the last formation that each team used was the general tactic that they liked running with and aimed to fit their current roster into whatever system they were running with last season. For the few teams that had twelve players, I made the inactive players go on the bench, which I believe follows league rules. I did all the work off going through the lineups for all the division two teams so I'll try and publish a preview for that division as well sometime soon, but for now I thought this was a good start. 1. União São Paulo
Projected Formation: 4-3-3 (Asymmetrical)
Code:
Nerve De Groot Julian Rubio Zach Mulder
ST ST ST
João Peixoto Dunkler Sowerwine Ashito Aoi
CM CM RM
Yoma Hashimoto Slab Head David Luiz Jr. Roquefort Cotswold
LB CB CB RB
João Cancelo
GKAfter finishing the last season as runners up in Division 1 and the winners of the SSL Cup, União São Paulo is positioned in a good spot to take the title this season. They have three new additions to their lineup, with João Cancelo taking the starting goalkeeper spot, and David Luiz Jr. and Dunkler Sowerwine getting promoted from AS Paris. Their forward three strikers combined for 22 goals with one of them, Nerve De Groot, also having the second highest average rating in the league overall. TPE wise their biggest weakness is at Centerback and Goalkeeper with both of the callups lagging behind in terms of TPE, but at least in terms of cornerback compared to the rest of the division, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Their Player to Watch this season will be Roquefort Cotswold who led the league last season in Key Passes and Successful Crosses by a lot and their team’s success will rely on how well Cotswold is able to connect his crosses with one of the three strikers in the box.
2. Hollywood FC
Projected Formation: 4-2-4 (Asymmetrical)
Code:
Marean Dohbra Juozas Kupinas Freddy Adu
ST ST ST
Tommy Moff
LAM
Caspian Skovgaard Ali Dia
CM CM
Alex Calderon Hercule Hefeweizen Lucas Peioxoto Alexandros Mograine
LB CB CB RB
Maverick Jones
GKThe reigning Division 1 Champs definitely have a good chance to win again this season, especially considering they ran away with the title last season finishing with ten points more than second place. They did get hit with some regression however which is why I don't think its likely. Compared to São Paulo who focus their offense through their right side, Hollywood pretty much directly counters them by running their offense through their left side. They ultimately do run a pretty similar tactic although they have Moff playing more offensively as an inside forward rather than as a regular classic winger. The reigning golden boot winner, Pete Martell, got moved down to their minors team which gives Juozas Kupinas who finished third in goals the chance to take over his leading role. Kupinas is definitely the player to watch for them this season as last season they finished top of the league in average rating, almost reaching 8. Another really important player is their wingback, Alexandros Mograine, who led the league in interceptions last season as well as had a pretty productive offensive output with key passes and successful crosses.
3. Reykjavik United
Projected Formation: 4-2-2-2 (Asymmetrical)
Code:
Mikko Rashford III Zaza Banana
CF ST (R)
George Shaheen Tre Qartista
LAM CAM (R)
Bimitar Derbatov Santiago Mitidiero
CM CM
Dwayne Pruney Charlie Chambers Ilya Prusikin Dina Skovgaard
LB CB CB RWB
Fiery Chicken
GKIt was really interesting when I went through all the tactics of each of the 12 teams in the majors and then noticing that the teams I had finishing in the top of the league ran very assymetrical lineups while the other teams ran more classic formations. Using the last file from last season, something I did notice for Reykjavik is that Striker + CAM combo, every other position had fairly poor connections with each other and according to the game weren't really playing well together, so thats something to monitor as the season goes on. They do boast a really strong lineup this season and have as good a chance as anyone else in the top three to finish on top. One of their key players last season was Santos Neymarinho who got moved back down to their minors team and now replaced by Zaza Banana. I think someone to keep a watch on this season is Mikko Rashford II who was fourth in the league in expected goals last season with 8.56 but couldn't capitalize on that and ended up with the biggest XG underperformance in the division. If Rashford can get back on track that would be really helpful for a team that finished in fourth place last season, only two points off of the relegation playoffs.
4. CD Tenochtitlan
Projected Formation: 4-3-3
Code:
Elizabeth Rose Bloodflame Dom Patterson Roger Roger
ST ST ST
Mazeed al-Kazmi Andre Caetano Tonto Tut
CDM CDM CDM
Jonny Elliott Cesare Pinkman Larv Itar Sandro da Silva
LB CB CB RB
James Asprey
GKNow for the first of two promoted teams. Despite finishing in second place and having to fight through a promotion playoff match where they won 4-0 against Xelajú Cósmico FC, I have Tenochtitlan finishing as the best of the two new squads. They run a very classic 4-3-3 with one caveat where they elect to focus their attack through the center of the pitch instead of having any wingers on their team. Because of that, their outside backs are super important, and Jonny Elliott was probably their best player last season, where he finished with a pair of six goals and six assists from that left back position. He led division two in successful crosses so we can definitely expect him to bring a similar playstyle up to division 1 where he will also be hoping for one of the three strikers to be able to head in his created chances. They did run with split goalkeepers last season but now James Asprey should have the GK1 spot on lock. Both Tenochtitlan and their promotion partners Liffeyside Celtic FC got relegated two seasons ago but they each only had to spent one season down in division two before making their way back up, and I don't think they'll have to worry about relegation again this season.
5. CF Catalunya
Projected Formation: 4-2-3-1
Code:
Joga Bonito
ST
Carolina Salazar Alejandro Fuecoco Aimo Silakka
LAM CAM RAM
Bernardo Fry Nikolai Ahmed
CDM CDM
Zoey Jenkins Pablo Kawasaki Beelze Bot Andres De Giron
LB CB CB RB
Maarten Slothlenburg
GKLuckily for Catalunya, this season they don't need to worry about any relegation possibility if they actually end up in fifth place due to preparation for the two/four new expansion teams joining the league. They do still have a pretty young team so this season should be a good season to get some more development in before playing in a seven team division one in Season 27. Joga Bonita finished second in the golden boot race last season and is due in part to Bernardo Fry's playmaking efforts with seven assists alongside his five goals. Maarten Slothlenburg however led the division in number of saves last season with 50 saves parried. Unless the defense can do a better job in preventing shots on goal this season, it is up to Slothlenburg to stay strong in the net to ensure Catalunya doesn't have to worry about anything this season.
6. Liffeyside Celtic FC
Projected Formation: 4-2-3-1
Code:
Carolien Miedema
ST
Takeda Takahashi Orla Hughes-Galloway Leandro Dybala
LAM CAM RAM
Joseph Mathys Hendry Kaspars Kalinins
CDM CDM
Puma Superhoops Chicken McTendie Nyron Nosworthy Kika Bahl
LB CB CB RB
Snor Lax
GKUnfortunately for Liffeyside, they might be stuck in the cycle of promotion to immediate relegation as they look the most likely to make their way back down to division two. While they performed really well last season, their squad definitely still needs a little more development before they are ready to compete in division one. They run a very similar formation to Catalunya with just a few different player instructions. Miedema at top was the division 2 golden boot winner, but their main production came from both fullbacks, Bahl and Superhoops who were second and third in successful crosses as well as both being close to the top in key passes. Compared to the rest of the teams in their division their goalkeeper does have the second most TPE, but Snor Lax did finish last in division 2 in save percentage last season despite them being first in the league, so they will definitely need a better percentage if they want to avoid the relegation playoff. I'd say the player to watch is Orla Hughes-Galloway who is a lot lower in TPE compared to the competition that they will be facing, but last season they did have some of highest player of the matches number and average ratings and Liffeyside needs them to provide good creation for their team.
