Home of football statistics and historyTactics in professional football constantly evolve as managers strive to find different ways to overcome their opponents during the season.
That is undoubtedly the case in the Premier League, where shifting tactical trends help it retain its status as the most exciting domestic competition in the world.
With that in mind, read on as we look at five tactical trends shaping the 2026/27 season.
Manchester City are taking more risks
Manchester City were the scourge of the best online betting sites during Pep Guardiola’s time as manager, with his team regularly winning major silverware.
City have continued to give the oddsmakers headaches this term, reeling off seven consecutive league victories under Enzo Maresca.
Although they were renowned for playing attractive football under Guardiola, City’s system was heavily reliant on defensive stability.
That factor has been less prevalent since Maresca took charge, with his team often demonstrating a gung-ho approach to attacking when they have the ball.
Arsenal’s set-piece mojo deserts them
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has made few adjustments to the approach that delivered the club’s first league title in 22 years last season.
However, the Gunners are one of only four sides, along with Liverpool, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, yet to score a non-penalty set-piece goal this term.
They scored a Premier League-high 25 non-penalty set-piece goals on their wat to winning the title, so the drop in productivity is extremely noteworthy.
Changes to the set-piece rules have not helped Arsenal’s cause, but it will likely only be a matter of time before they start capitalising on dead-ball situations.
Wing-backs are back in fashion at Chelsea
Xabi Alonso has brought wing-backs back to prominence at Chelsea through his favoured 3-4-2-1 system, mirroring the approach he used successfully at Bayer Leverkusen.
Intriguingly, the Blues are thriving moving a winger into a wing-back role, as was the case under Antonio Conte during their 2016/17 title run.
Victor Moses made the switch on that occasion and Pedro Neto is now following in his footsteps after spending the bulk of his career further forward.
He is averaging 5.3 touches in the opposition box per game compared with 3.6 last season, highlighting how effective Alonso’s tactical switch has been.
Carrick’s lack of ‘Plan B’ comes back to haunt United
Michael Carrick was often accused of having no ‘Plan B’ when he was in charge at Middlesbrough and the same issues have resurfaced at Man United.
Carrick appointed Steve Holland as his assistant in a bid to address that issue, but the partnership has not worked despite showing initial promise.
United’s tactical style is one-dimensional, and their inability to break down low blocks is a problem which dates back to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s time at as manager.
Two wins in eleven games in all competitions paint a worrying picture for Carrick. Unless things change rapidly, he is unlikely to hang onto his job.
Newly-promoted teams show willingness to change
The managers of several promoted teams have steadfastly refused to deviate from their principles in recent seasons and the results were not pretty.
The clearest recent examples are Vincent Kompany at Burnley and Russell Martin at Southampton, who both ended up taking their clubs back to the Championship.
Sergej Jakirovic (Hull City), Gary O’Neil (Ipswich Town) and Frank Lampard (Coventry City) have all shown more pragmatism this season and have been rewarded.
Their teams have amassed 24 points between them after seven games, the most for a promoted trio at this stage of the season since 2016/17.
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