Daily Knockout Tournament Squad Builder - “Off-Leagues”

In this series, I will be creating squads for you to use in the Weekend League or Daily Knockout Tournaments. These squads will meet the requirements of these tournaments and competitions that they were built for, and will be divided up into tiers based on their prices.

Today, we’ll be looking at the daily knockout tournament (DKT) that kicks off on the 27th of March.

Prizes: 1,000 coins, All Players Pack, and Entry into the Weekend League.

Requirements: Maximum of 1 player from each of these leagues: Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 in your starting XI and subs.

(Note: At the time of writing this article, there was also a restriction on the number of Calcio A players that could be used. EA have since removed this requirement.)

As you can see, this tournament is designed to make you use teams from leagues besides the big five. While these requirements may seem very restrictive, there are some fantastic players in some underused leagues that you can use to win this DKT.

Today we’ll be looking at squads in variants of the 433 formation, which is slowly regaining popularity. Most of the squads feature players from the Liga Nos, as this league has some of the true forgotten gems of FUT 17.

Team 1: 10K Squad

This is a squad for those of you who don’t want to spend too much money on the tournament, but still want to have a decent chance of winning it. It’s pretty much a full-Portuguese squad, with a few non-Portuguese Liga Nos players.

FUTHEAD

However, for 10K, you are getting a fantastic, well-rounded squad. Casillas is solid keeper, and the defensive line in front of him features some cheap beasts. Semedo may be my favorite cheap CB this year, and Felipe plays well above his rating. Elisue and Pereira are solid defensively, and can contribute to the attack. The midfield trio complement each other well - you have the cheap-Gullit himself in Renato Sanches, and defensive rock in Pereira, and a creative force in Pizzi. On the wings, you get two 5* skillers in Nani and Quaresma, and you have Danny playing in the false-nine role.

I actually used this team for a while at the start of FUT 17, and it’s a solid team - for 10K, you can’t do much better than this.

Tier 2: 50-60K Squad

This team is built around a true cheap beast - SIF Jorgensen. He feels very much like Zlatan in-game, with his fantastic height, strength and dribbling. He’s lacking the skills, and is a little less clincal than I would like, but he’s a solid player never the less.

FUTHEAD

The team around him is also very solid - it’s kind of incredible that you can get this for 60K on either console. On the right, we have a 5* skiller in Quaresma, as well as a solid holding midfielder in Hutchinson and a great full-back in Gonul. We go with the Eredivisie on the right, with Jorgensen getting a link to the cheap beast Elia, and the midfield being completed by IF Klaassen and IF Ziyech - both are fantastic playmakers and box-to-box midfielders. We then have Jetro Willems in the LB spot, with Chedjou and Riedewald in the CB positions, and 83-rated Muslera in goal.

Tier 3: 150K Squad

This team is built around one of my favorite players this year - TOTGS Giuliano. It also features the likes of SBC Smolov, IF Promes, Witsel, and my second-favorite right-back on the game, Igor Smolnikov (check out my review of him here).

FUTHEAD

TOTGS Giuliano genuinely feels like Luis Suarez in game, with the 5* skills. He’s one of my top 5 cards this year, alongside Ronaldo, SBC Suarez, SIF Perisic and SIF Firmino.

Promes and Shatov are two incredible wingers, bringing pace, flair, and solid creative and offensive skills. Witsel and Pereira are world-class box-to-box midfielders, and the defense behind them is incredible. Smolnikov and Layun are amongst the best fullbacks this year, and the two center-backs are hidden gems. Rui Patricio is a reasonably decent keeper, so you’re set in that department.

If you don’t have SBC Smolov, you can always play Giuliano upfront, and Danny in behind him.

General Suggestions:

If none of those teams appeal to you, here are some possible squad building tips you can use when coming up with a squad for this DKT.

1. As you’re only allowed one player from each of the major leagues, you’re probably not going to be able to use Smalling, Bailly, Walker, Musa or Butland (or other WL gods). You’re going to be relying on players with common nationalities, so I’d recommend going French or Portuguese.
2. There are some fantastic “off-leagues” out there - I would personally recommend the Eredivisie, Liga Nos or Russian League. The Liga Nos excels in it’s defensive and midfield options, the Eredivisie has some beasts in all positions, and the Russian League packs a punch when going forward.
3. You can always use Legends (if you are on Xbox, and have plenty of money to burn through).
4. Formation is crucial, especially when you are relying on players you haven’t used before, or players who aren’t up to your usual standards. I’d suggest the 41212, or a 433 variant. The last thing you want is to be having a tough time with a new team, and also struggling to get to grips with the formation.

We’ll be back next week, with a squad builder for the next DKT. Good luck!