Like most people, I love FIFA (I used to look Pro Evolution Soccer, but that’s another story) and my favourite mode is Seasons, mainly because I can just pick up a controller and play, instead of spending loads of time doing a FIFA Ultimate Team (although I play that occasionally). Most of my FIFA time is on Seasons and here’s my “cheats” to do the best when playing online.

Obviously, there’s no real way to cheat on FIFA (otherwise it would be a rubbish game to play) but there are things you can do to give you a big advantage against others online.

I played FIFA 14 on the PlayStation 3 and now the PlayStation 4 and use the same system, formation and tactics.

Just to warn you though, you can try all these things but the bottom line us that if you are against a top class player, then you will have your work cut out for you.

Saying that though, there are ways you can stack the odds in your favour.

The Team I Use:

Unsurprisingly, the team I use is Real Madrid.

Some people recommending a “weaker team” because you’ll play against weaker players – but what I’ve found is most of the amateur players on FIFA will automatically use one of the top teams like Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, etc. because they think that will give them the best chance to win. So I prefer using Real Madrid.

Formation & Players:

The formation I choose is 4-2-2-2 with the following players:

• GK: Iker Casillas
• RB: Dani Carvajal
• CB: Sergio Ramos
• CB: Pepe
• LB: Marcelo Vieira
• CM: Sami Khedira
• CM: Xabi Alonso
• RM: Angel Di Maria
• LM: Luka Modric
• RFW: Cristiano Ronaldo
• LFW: Gareth Bale

The default team selection and formation that FIFA 14 has on Seasons Mode is different so you will have to take a little time to change it. The good think with the latest version of FIFA is that it saves your new formation and team selection, that is until they do the auto-update.

Playing With This Team & Scoring Goals

Carvajal and Marcelo are the quickest full backs at your disposal which helps with defending and Pepe and Ramos are immense central defenders. Khedira and Xabi Alonso are very good defensive midfielders, and have an excellent passing and shooting rating meaning they can start attacks and come up with a goal from distance if needed.

Upfront, Bale, Ronaldo and Di Maria are rapid and Modric has excellent passing and dribbling capabilities to cause any team problems.

With Bale, Ronaldo, Di Maria and Modric, one of their biggest threats is the fact they can cut inside and score goals. Coming inside is a big weapon and a lot of my goals come from cutting inside and either using the finesse or power shots into the bottom corner.

Bale and Ronaldo are also excellent in the air, and with Di Maria and Modric’s crossing ability, you can score a lot of “cheap” goals but going wide with Di Maria and Modric and simply crossing for Bale and Ronaldo. If one of your strikers gets to the ball then it’s a goal.

Because you’ve got a team full of power and pace, I setup my team to play “Counter Attacking” football (you can activate this by pressing down using the D Pad on the PS4) and I set the team up to be “Ultra Defensive” (done by repeatedly pressing left on the D Pad).

With Bale and Ronaldo, cheeky balls over the top are an excellent way to score goals as the vast majority of players on FIFA cannot keep up with them. Get the ball into space behind your oppositions back line and you’re setup to score a lot of easy goals.

When teams play particularly defensively again you and balls over the top (or through balls) aren’t working, then you can use Modric and Di Maria to go out wide (usually to the by-line) and crossing for Bale and Ronaldo.

Generally with this team, I will be direct (playing one-twos and using clipped balls over the top) but depending on your opponent, you might need to patiently build up attacks. So you will need to be adept at passing the ball sideways and waiting for the space.

Set-Pieces & Corners:

I always favour the “in-swinging corner” and use Bale for the left hand side and Modric for the right. I keep the direction of the corner the same (i.e. don’t move it left or right) and then hold the up direction, and then giving it just over half power on the crossing power bar. For me, that usually hits Sergio Ramos to score a headed goal.

With free-kicks, if they are in striking distance then I would recommend not shooting. Scoring free-kicks on FIFA 14 seems to be particularly difficult and I usually play a short pass to someone (using L2 to bring in a supporting player) and then taking a finesse shot from just outside the area – and more times than not if you execute it right it will end up with a goal.

With set-pieces from further out, I always suggest punting it into the box. You might catch out the opposing team with a great ball which gives you a free chance at goal, and if you play it short there’s always a chance your opponent will nick the ball from you and have a free run on your goal.