How to Defend Well in EA FC 25

Scoring a goal is only half of what victory is all about. You also have to keep the opponents out of your half of the pitch. To help, we have some tips on how to defend well in EA FC 25 to help you win as often as possible.

Defensive Tips for EA FC 25

While one might think that sliding and tackling are the basic foundation of a good defense, that is definitely not the case in FC 25. Instead, we would recommend that you familiarize yourself with some of the concepts and commands here, while also spending a bit of time training your defense. That will definitely be time well spent.

Here are some of the best tips and tricks for defending well in EA FC 25.

Use Defensive Formations and Tactics

In this year’s FC title, tactics and formations are more important than ever. Thus, if you are on the winning side of a match and want to keep that advantage, using formations is still key to a good defense. For example, in certain matches it is a good idea to adopt formations such as 4-3-3 holding or 4-2-4, switching them on the fly will enable your team to stay flexible when you need to sit back and soak up pressure. But formations alone are not enough, so switching to a more defensive tactic will help you in defending well.

We would recommend keeping your Defensive Approach to Balanced, with a line height of 50. Still, depending on the match, there might also be value in switching to Deep, which is a very safe approach that will make sure your defense will always be there marking the opposition and ready for any counterattacks.

You might also want to adjust the Line Height of defense, while still keeping it Balanced. We would not recommend switching to the Cautious Tactical preset for the moment, as many players have reported it doesn’t work very well. Instead, if you really want to you can build your own custom defense tactics to use during matches.

Switching Between Your Defenders

Continuing on the importance of the position of your defenders, what we would recommend is not to simply stick to one defender that you are controlling. While they might be a very strong defender and run very fast, their position in the team is still important. If you let them run around too much and stray too far from the back line, you’ll create gaps that your opponents will probably exploit.

Instead, switch between various defenders when you are covering the opponents. While using the Jockey button, remember to use other defenders on your team. Rather than trying to get the ball at all costs in the minimum amount of time possible, try to focus on keeping your line of defense intact, waiting for the right moment to step in and grab the ball, while avoiding gaps that the opponents might shoot or easily run through. And about jockeying…

Careful Use of Jockeying

An essential defense technique is being able to always cover up the player with the ball by using the jockey button. This tactic will not get you in trouble, as your player won’t tackle or slide, but it will cover up the player enough so that they should be able to control them. If the opponent is running away with the ball, you can quickly switch to sprint jockey in order to cover them effectively.

Still, it is not recommended to press it all the time, as that might end up altering your players’ positioning. The way your defenders are positioned is to cover up the field so there are no open spaces, so when you are using the jockey button do not abuse it so that you are moving your players too far out of their positions. You can alternate jockey with the sprint button or other tactics, familiarize yourself with it and your defense will greatly improve over time.

A Rational Use of Tackles

While tackling is a surefire way to get back possession, it is a tactic that can be too aggressive and might lead to unfortunate consequences. We would advise you not to abuse the tackle button, as that not only will cause unnecessary fouls, but might cause the referee to give you yellow and even red cards.

Naturally, it is entirely possible to perform a tactical foul, and sometimes necessary, just like in real football. With a tactical foul, which will earn you a yellow card each time, you will stop an attacking player from creating an opportunity, basically stopping them while they had a shot-on-goal opportunity. While it is an opportunity for your team to take a breather, and perhaps rethink your overall tactics and strategy, do not rely on it too much.

Beware of Long Passes

These are a defender’s worst enemy. If the opponents start to get these passes through to their attackers, then it might be soon over. You want your defenders to always be one step ahead of the attacker, this means both covering them but also being quick enough to run, so that they might catch them in an offside trap and prevent a ball over the top. Either way, try to anticipate these plays, as they are often the most dangerous.

In order to do this, you’ll want to set the defense line height at an appropriate level. While we always recommend keeping it “balanced”, depending on the tactics being employed by the opponents, you might want to step in and create a custom tactic that you can switch to when needed. It might just be what you need to take care of those dangerous plays.

That’s all we have for you on how to defend well in EA FC 25. For more guides on the game, check out our articles such as how to flair pass and the promo schedule calendar.