I'm not sure what to think about this formation. I see some promising things, but over all, this pretty much ruins what was probably the best thing about the team last year - solid defensive game. Not to mention we have a MASSIVE central midfield with Martinez/Gustavo/Schweini/Kroos, probably the best in Europe, something we won't take advantage of.
Not playing Martinez / Gustavo is a HUGE mistake. We don't have either in the team right now, so I'm hoping this is just temporary.
But then again based on the system I see emerging here, one of our CMFs from last year will have to be sacrificed. With this system, we have Ribery, Robben, Shaqiri, Gotze, Kroos, Schweini, Martinez, Gustavo and most probably Thiago for 5 positions. Not putting Muller there, cause I'm pretty sure he'll be playing CF. As a CAM I don't see Schweini being a better alternative than Gotze / Kroos, and as a destroyer, I don't see him being better than Martinez / Gustavo.
Some good things about this system, but I can't see us making this work efficiently enough in the next 2-4 weeks to beat Dortmund. Our current defensive game is just perfect for (a team like) Dortmund.
