Wigan Vs Norwich

Wigan Vs Norwich:

Score: 0 - 0

Possession (%): 35 - 65

xG: 1.04 - 0.44

· Norwich's build-up vs Wigan's press.

· Unforced errors and defensive transitions.

· Aarons inverting.

· Failing to create superiority against a back five.

Base Formations:

Norwich were set up in their usual 4-2-3-1 with Sargent occupying the second striker role. Wigan employed a 3-4-1-2 shape with a double pivot and a single ten behind Fletcher and Keane.

Norwich's build-up included the usual rotations under David Wagner. McLean and Sara would sometimes create a double pivot ahead of Hanley and Omabamidele. McLean would often drop between the two wide centre backs to create a back three.

Wigan's press was based on man-orientation and a series of ‘jumps’. During a press, jumping occurs when a pressing player leaves their man to press a free player who may have the ball. It is the responsibility of a teammate to 'jump' onto the player who becomes free during the press.

Wigan pressed with Lang (19) behind a front two of Fletcher (23) and Keane (10); pressing with a three meant Norwich often had a free centre back. If this centre back received a pass the nearest forward would leave his man to press. It was then up to a Wigan midfielder to 'jump' onto the new free man. The remaining Wigan midfielder would then move across to pick up Sargent.

Wigan's press also involved shifting to both touchlines to trap Norwich during their build-up. For example, when Hanley received the ball out wide:

1) Keane (10) pressed Hanley.

2) Lang (19) shifted to the ball side midfielder (Sara).

3) Fletcher (23) stayed close to the far side midfielder (McLean).

4) Darikwa (27) marked Giannoulis.

5) Power (8) blocked the passing lane to Hernandez.

6) Tiehi (22) marked Sargent.

The same shift happened on the opposite side when Omabamidele received a pass.

With McLean often dropping between Hanley and Omabamidele, Lang (19) was drawn into the first line of Wigan's press. To prevent Norwich from creating a free man in midfield, the Wigan midfielder closest to Sara would mark him.

While Wigan's press was fairly well organised, it was unforced errors in possession which were most problematic for Norwich. This was when the gaps between Norwich players in their own half became an issue.

Large distances between players in the build-up left Norwich vulnerable during defensive transitions (when the opposition win possession of the ball). When mistakes were made in possession, the distances were too big for players to effectively counter press. This problem was exacerbated when McLean dropped out of midfield and into a back three.

However, there were signs of improvement in Norwich's build-up structure against Wigan. Typically, full backs in David Wagner's sides remain high and wide during the build-up; but on Saturday, when McLean dropped deep, Max Aarons would occasionally invert alongside Sara to create a 3-2 build-up structure.

Despite not happening very often, this build-up structure provided an overload against Wigan's double pivot as Power (8) marked Sara and Tiehi (22) marked Sargent.

For those who watch Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side, this will be a familiar build-up structure. Young right back Rico Lewis has often been tasked with inverting alongside Rodri to create the same 3-2 shape that Max Aarons helped to create at times against Wigan.

This is a rotation David Wagner should look to utilise more often when McLean drops between the Norwich centre backs. It provides an additional central passing option while also providing support for Gabriel Sara. Additionally, it would reduce the distances between players in Norwich's half, thereby making it much easier to counter press if possession is lost.

An issue Norwich faced against Wigan was creating superiority against a back five. Under David Wagner, Norwich often occupy each of the five vertical corridors. But setting up with a back five allowed Wigan to mark players in each of these corridors. This meant Norwich would often only create 5v5 situations in the attacking third as at least one of Norwich's attacking six would drop to support the build-up.

In an attempt to resolve this, Sara was involved in final third attacking sequences much more often than he usually would be. Sara would occasionally occupy the left half space to allow other attackers to drop to provide a link between the midfield and attacking thirds.

Due to a lack of any real build-up play from Wigan, Norwich were rarely able to create chances through a high press. For David Wagner, benefiting from high turnovers is a key method of chance creation; Wigan starved Norwich of the opportunity to do this.

On one occasion in the second half, Wigan did attempt to play out from the back.

With Tzolis (18), Núñez (26) and Gibbs (26) now on the pitch, David Wagner's 4-1-3-2 pressing structure was clear. But Wigan built-up in a 3-1-3-1-2 and were easily able to escape Norwich's press by creating a 4v2 against Idah and Núñez.

Overall, poor decisions and sloppy mistakes in possession made it very difficult for Norwich to transition between the thirds effectively. With McLean dropping between the centre backs, David Wagner needs to find a way to reduce Norwich's vulnerability during defensive transitions.

To do this, the distances between players during the build-up need to be smaller. Aarons inverting alongside Sara is one potential method of achieving this. It will be interesting to see if this becomes a more common rotation under David Wagner.