Minute one: read them

Open the fixture and take three facts: their formation, the rating gap, and the venue. Count their defenders (intent), find their CAM or CDM (danger), and note whether their shape is wide or narrow. That is the whole scouting report that matters.

Minutes two and three: shape and dials

Pick the counter-shape first - the Counter Tactics library or the AI assistant gives you one instantly - then set sliders inside their safe bands for your play style. Line tactics come last and must agree with the sliders: proactive with proactive, passive with passive.

Minute four: the coherence check

Run the Match Tester. You are not looking for a perfect score; you are looking for contradictions - the trap with man-marking, tempo outside the band, a push-forward midfield behind a defensive style. Fix the flagged item, not everything.

Minute five: commit and stop

Save the tactic and close the app. Fiddling after the check is how coherent plans become incoherent ones. Keep a note of one thing you changed from last match, so every result - win or lose - teaches you exactly one lesson.