Placing Good Players
Keep the basic 4-4-2 but with a few adjustments. Move the full-backs wider than they start. There is nothing you can do to make the central midfielders play better in this game, no matter who they are. To make the team more secure, move them back a bit though to protect the defence. If you have some valuable CMs (without a good power stat) sell them and buy a couple of 16-year old South American ones because they play no worse.