Dario Vidošić's Brighton: Formation, tactics and style of play
A new series showcasing the tactical profiles of every Women's Super League team in partnership with The Underrated Scout
This piece is part of a special Team Profiles series with The Underrated Scout. Across the next few months we’ll be publishing pieces on the tactics, style of play and trends of every WSL team.
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Brighton & Hove Albion have started the season strongly, showing a clear improvement from last year’s ninth-place finish. Under head coach Dario Vidošić, the team has gained fresh momentum and a new football philosophy. Despite the departure of some key players and the arrival of new talent, Brighton have positioned themselves among the top spots in the WSL standings. This analysis will explore their evolving tactical setup, highlighting the strategies driving this progress and the areas that still need attention to solidify their place in the top half of the table and possibly even more.
Attacking Structure
Base formation
Brighton line up in a 3-4-3 formation, continuing last year’s trend. Several staples of the system are still in place this season, such as the wingbacks (Fran Kirby and Poppy Pattinson) providing width, striker Nikita Parris alternating between dropping to receive the ball and making runs in behind, and the two central midfielders—one acting as a controlling holding midfielder while the other plays more box-to-box (typically Vicky Losada and either Marisa Olislagers or Jelena Cankovic). Meanwhile, wingers Bruna Vilamala and Pauline Bremer often invert their positions, playing more centrally.
So what’s changed since Vidošić took over? In terms of rotations, this season's main innovation centres on the movements around the right wingback position, currently held by WSL legend Kirby. The new signing has traditionally played as a winger or attacking midfielder, and at 31, she may no longer have the stamina required for this physically demanding role, besides having offensive skills that make her valuable closer to goal. Kirby is therefore instructed to drift inside significantly, taking on a more free role once the team has consolidated possession or when she’s on the ball herself. This shift requires the right centre-back and right winger to cover her space, maintaining width in her absence. This is also highlighted by the heat map of the two wingbacks: while Pattinson’s is more conventional, with intense activity down the flank, Kirby’s shows a tendency to start wide and then move centrally. The lighter colouring on her heat map reflects the fluid positioning of the former Chelsea player, who tends to occupy a variety of different spaces.
In terms of philosophy, Brighton have shifted from a more "old-school" style of play—characterised by a compact defence with a back five, direct forward play, heavy reliance on the wings, and frequent crosses—to a more dynamic approach. They now keep more possession, emphasize building from the back, seek quick combinations, and apply intense pressing, playing boldly even against stronger opponents. This change in style maximises the departure of a physically strong target forward like Elisabeth Terland, shifting instead to Parris, a quicker, more technical striker.
Build up
In the buildup, the three central defenders stay relatively close together which helps concentrate the opponents pressing in the centre, actively screening their own midfielders. However, this becomes secondary as it opens up significant space on the flanks, allowing the wingbacks to serve as the main outlets for bypassing the initial press. Once this first line of pressure is beaten, the ball is advanced through quick central combinations, often involving striker Parris and her link-up abilities. These exchanges typically allow receiving wide for the wingbacks or in between the lines for the wingers.
It’s worth noting, although not in the frame, that while Bruna and Parris drop deeper to facilitate play, the third member of the front three, Bremer, stays higher up, effectively occupying the centre-forward position. This stretches the opposition and provides an emergency option for a long ball to a target player, which Bremer can control and shield thanks to her physical presence. This tendency to keep at least one winger in an advanced position while the striker drops to link up play is also reflected in this year’s spatial distribution data for the team.
It’s interesting to observe Brighton’s shape when building out from a goal kick. The back three is composed of the left centre-back, central centre-back and the goalkeeper, while the right centre-back shifts wide into a full-back position, aligning with the left wingback. This effectively emulates the build-up of a back four formation, with Kirby given the freedom to roam and find pockets of space across the field, effectively playing as a playmaker. This setup gives her (and the other attacking players) the opportunity to receive centrally behind the opponent's pressing line.
A hallmark of Vidošić’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 a winger or midfielder filling the area in front of goal. A consistent, structured movement is the right wingback moving centrally while the right centre-back provides width, with left centre-back Olislagers covering the middle—leveraging her ball-playing skills, which have even seen her feature in midfield this season.
Defensive structure
General characteristics
Brighton defend in a mid-to-high 4-2-3-1 block, creating clear one-on-one matchups with opponents. The left wingback drops into a left-back role, and the right centre-back covers more width. Striker Parris 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 strong defensive work rate. However, this structure is vulnerable when opponents manage to exploit gaps between the wide centre-back and the wingback or central defender, as seen in the goal conceded against Manchester United. Maintaining proper spacing during rotations and defending wide areas remain key challenges in this setup.
Against Leicester City, Kirby started in one of the two midfield spots while maintaining her free roaming role, with Rachel Mclauchlan playing as a more "traditional" wingback. The absence of a second defensive midfielder alongside Losada was addressed by pushing up the left centre-back Olislagers—who has previously played in midfield—when out of possession. This allowed Kirby to stay in her advanced position. The back four was then formed by the two remaining defenders along with the two wingbacks.
Pressing
A cornerstone of the new Brighton is their intense pressing game. Vidošić's team is among those with the fewest PPDA (passes per defensive action) so far this season. PPDA is calculated by dividing the number of passes completed by the opposition by the number of defensive actions taken by a team. It measures the intensity of a team’s press.
The primary outlets for this press are Parris and Kirby, making use of their advanced positions out of possession. However, this doesn’t mean the rest of the team is uninvolved. The pressing is collective and well-coordinated. The two front-liners typically press the opposing goalkeeper and central defender, while the wingers mark the opposition full-backs. If the first line of pressure is bypassed, the midfield line of two doesn’t necessarily break to continue the press but instead holds its shape, allowing the four forward players time to recover.
Given the team’s off the ball shape, it’s not unusual to see them form a 4-2-4 while pressing, aiming to channel the opposition toward the wings where they can be closed down and dispossessed. The “centre-back turned box-to-box” functions as a true midfielder in this phase, pushing up even to the edge of the opponent’s area to track their assignment. Any space left behind is promptly filled by one of the wide players moving inward, shifting Brighton’s formation to a very aggressive and high-risk 3-2-3-2 setup.
In Brighton’s 5-0 defeat to Arsenal we saw how this high-risk pressing can be undone by opponents that can successfully play though the press.
Transitional play
As a team that presses aggressively, Brighton often win the ball in the attacking third. However, Vidošić’s side doesn’t seem to particularly rush transitions, considering they already play at a high tempo, particularly when approaching the opponent's goal. Their patterns in this phase resemble those of their standard attacking moves, with the team looking to advance the ball through central triangles, frequently relying on Parris dropping deep or Kirby occupying the attacking midfielder position.
Negative transitions are also a frequent aspect for Brighton, as the emphasis on building from the back often leads to losing possession. In such cases, every advanced and wide player applies immediate counter-pressing, while the two central midfielders tend to regroup and maintain shape. This requires a high work rate from the wingbacks and wingers, both in the press and when tracking back to cover for teammates or deal with opponents.
This is especially true on the right side, where the more aggressive rotations can leave more spaces for the opposition to exploit. This leaves a lot of space in their own third and a large gap on the right half-space, allowing opponents to enter the box untracked.
When losing possession high up, turnovers still carry risks. In their 5-0 defeat to Arsenal, Brighton struggled in these situations. As you can see below, in the 11th minute, four attacking players were positioned too far forward to recover. Maria Thorisdottir attempted to press but in this instance wasn’t close enough, while Losada held her assigned position, but in doing so left a good passing lane open that Arsenal fortunately missed. Pattinson was the only one able to track back centrally to support the two defenders, forcing the opposing winger wider or behind her. This approach proved risky against Arsenal’s pace, resulting in a decisive loss for Vidošić’s team.
Conclusions
Under Vidošić, Brighton have evolved from a direct style to a dynamic, possession-based system with strong pressing. Their build-up play and finishing, led by Parris and Kirby, have been effective, with notable contributions from wingers Vilamala, Kiko Seike, Bremer, and young Arsenal loanee Michelle Agyemang. Defensive organisation has improved though vulnerabilities remain, especially in wide areas and during negative transitions, where their commitment to high press and build-from-the-back approach sometimes leave them exposed.
Despite these challenges, Brighton's progress from last season’s ninth-place finish is clear. Refining their defensive structure, managing transitions with composure and balancing risk-taking will be crucial to secure sustained success and contend for a top-five finish.
Amazing to get so much tactical depth, thank you!