Dario Vidošić's Brighton: Formation, style of play and key players
Tactical deep dives on all 12 Barclays Women's Super League sides from The Cutback and Football Manager
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This year, women’s football features in Football Manager for the very first time, so to get fans ready for a brand new experience, The Cutback has put together the ultimate insights on FM26. Find out about the secrets of building FM26, dive into the tactical details of all 12 Barclays Women’s Super League sides and hear about the next gen talent that will feature in the game.
The next team to be profiled in this deep dives series is Brighton.
Formation
Brighton’s primary structure is an asymmetric 3-4-3, with a classic pair of an inside forward and a wingback on the left and a more unique inverted winger and inverted wingback on the right.
This system balances wide occupation with a strong presence in the half-spaces and high overloading potential in central spaces, despite using a wing-heavy formation like the 3-4-3. It is also designed to leverage WSL star Fran Kirby’s free role, allowing her to start wide and then drift inside, functioning as an extra advanced playmaker and linking play between midfield and attack. The striker often acts as a complete forward, capable of both holding the ball up and stretching defences with runs in behind.
The wide attacker on the left drifts inside, opening corridors for the overlapping wing-back, while the winger on the right can both cut inside or hold width to give the side unpredictability. In midfield, the double pivot is typically composed of a deep-lying playmaker and a more dynamic volante, combining distribution with vertical pressure. This pairing is central to Brighton’s ability to recycle possession and dictate tempo. The back three remain narrow to secure rest defence, though the right-side wide defender can step forward in possession to aid circulation and support progression.
Late in the season, the 3-5-2 provided an alternative attacking shape. With two attacking players (Canković and Kirby) pushing high, two classic wingbacks for width and two forwards complementing each other, one holding up play, one running in behind. Their 1–2 defeat to Liverpool showed the system’s resilience away from home, while the 4–2 win over Arsenal highlighted its attacking potential when transitions clicked, even against top-level opposition.
Compared to last season, Brighton has lost starting striker Parris and captain Losada, but reinforced significantly with youth and versatility. Mpome strengthens the defensive line with athleticism and forward carrying, Nnadozie adds shot-stopping quality, while loans like Rosa Kafaji, provide an extra gear to their attack, adding blistering pace, creativity and flexibility. Camacho and Vanegas Cataño further add depth across the frontline and defence, maintaining continuity in principles while refreshing the squad’s profiles.
In possession: Brighton’s in-possession approach can be described as a blend of vertical tiki-taka and direct attacking transitions. While they are comfortable building from the back, the goal is rarely sterile circulation: instead, the team seek to progress quickly through the lines using diagonal passes and third-player runs. The first phase often begins with the back three spreading wide and one pivot dropping between or beside them, forming a temporary back four. The goalkeeper is also actively involved, distributing either short to initiate controlled buildup or long towards the wings to exploit the pace of the forwards, while at this stage, both wing-backs provide width, functioning as the first build-up outlet, pinning opposition full-backs and opening space behind the opposition’s second line of pressure.
In the second phase, rotations among the front five create multiple lanes of progression. The central striker drops deeper, drawing out defenders and enabling the two wide attackers to run at the opposition’s defensive line. Inverted wingback Kirby now cuts inside to overload the edge of the box and support the attack with quick passing combinations.
A hallmark of Dario Vidosic’s Brighton is their commitment to attacking with multiple players and the fluidity of their offensive positioning. Many players are visibly engaged in the attacking build-up, often leaving only the central defender and goalkeeper in their own half. Once possession is secured and the team approaches the opponent’s box, positional guidelines for each role become more flexible. Players know which spaces need to be occupied, but adapt their movements according to their teammates’ location. It’s not unusual to see the striker drifting wide, with wide players like Kiko Seike or midfielders like Jelena Cankovic filling the area in front of the goal. A consistent, structured movement is the right centre-back providing width in the advanced areas (the area vacated by the inverted wingback), with left central defender Olislagers stepping up in midfield, leveraging her solid ball-playing skills. This reflects Brighton’s ambition to apply a vertical tiki-taka approach, using quick interchanges and positional rotations to destabilise compact blocks.
Out of possession: Defensively, Brighton morphs into a 4-2-3-1. The left wing-back drops into a left-back role, and the right centre-back covers more width. The striker joins the attacking midfield line, while Kirby stays central as a reference point, freeing her from extensive defensive duties and backward tracking, though they sometimes switch roles. The wingers shift wide to cover opposing full-backs, with the front three showing a strong defensive work rate. Like most back 3 formations, this structure is vulnerable when opponents manage to exploit gaps between the wide centre-backs and the wingbacks after quick turnovers, especially if the back four ‘shape shift’ hasn’t happened already. Maintaining proper spacing during rotations and defending wide areas remain key challenges in this setup, struggles the team seems to have addressed by adding to the roster pacey defenders that are good in 1v1 situations.
A cornerstone of Brighton’s play is their gegenpressing principles. Vidosic’s side ranks among the teams allowing the fewest passes per defensive action, with Kirby leading the press from an advanced position. The front line pressures the goalkeeper and central defenders while wingers mark full-backs, and the midfield maintains shape to allow forwards to recover. In this phase, Brighton often shifts into a high, aggressive structure, sometimes resembling a 4-2-4 or 3-2-3-2, channelling opponents wide and closing spaces quickly, with wide players and midfielders dynamically covering any gaps left behind.
The 3-5-2 setup adds defensive security in tougher fixtures. With three true midfielders, Brighton can contest central areas more effectively, even when the two central midfielders, such as Kirby, Cankovic or Nadine Noordam, and potentially Kafaji in the future, take on very offensive roles. The width is provided by traditional wing-backs like Rachel McLauchlan or Marit Auée, who ensure the team maintains balance. This approach proved decisive in the 4–2 victory over Arsenal, providing both central control and attacking support, whereas in the reverse fixture, facing Arsenal with their usual setup, Brighton suffered a 5–0 defeat. Highlighting Vidosic’s willingness to adapt without compromising the team’s core principles.
Key players:
Fran Kirby – Kirby is one of the WSL’s most influential players of all time, combining national and international experience with a decorated career full of trophies. At Brighton, she thrives in her free role linking midfield and attack. Her vision, versatility, goal-scoring instincts and leadership elevate immensely her team’s possession phase, making her indispensable to Vidosic’s system and a constant threat for opponents.
Maisie Symonds – In Brighton’s highly offensive system, someone needs to provide balance, and that role falls to Symonds. The club’s longest-serving player and new captain, she anchors the midfield with strong tackles, excellent positioning, and the ability to recover possession. Always ready to cover teammates out of position, she is also efficient at passing, especially in short distribution. At just 22, Symonds is ready to guide the Seagulls with composure and authority.
Jelena Cankovic - Cankovic has been one of Brighton’s most consistent operators, contributing over 1000 minutes already this season. A key component of Brighton’s team in and out of possession, she combines immense work rate with crucial link up play.