Just about any Inter fan you ask would agree; the 3-5-2 is not working right now. Inter’s electric play from the first half of the season is a distant memory and the Nerazzurri look slow and sluggish week after week. By no means will a formation switch fix things, but surely it couldn’t hurt. But Simone Inzaghi doesn’t seem inclined to agree, remaining stubbornly attached to Inter’s formation of the past three seasons even as the results have tailed off. That didn’t stop us, however, from taking a look at some possible Plan B options for the Nerazzurri. And Inzaghi, if you’re reading this, feel free to use any of these this Sunday.

Option A (3-4-3)

Let’s start with what resembles the current tactics as much as possible. In fact, we saw this formation last season once under Conte in a 2-2 draw away at Hellas Verona. The most obvious positive is that the 3-4-3 keeps the back three and wingback structure together. It seems pretty clear that Inter’s problems don’t lie there, so why fix what isn’t broken. Moving into midfield, Brozovic and Barella now form a double-pivot (which had mixed results against Verona) while Calhanoglu returns to the attacking role he filled at Milan, this time partnered by Sanchez (Correa is also an option but seems a bit too similar to Sanchez to work effectively). The former will need to drop back more often than not to make sure Inter isn’t outnumbered in midfield but a roaming Sanchez could cause plenty of problems. Last but not least, Dzeko would be the sole striker, a role he played well at Roma. A Dzeko-Lautaro partnership hasn’t worked so far, so the Bosnian might be utilized better as the lone striker.

Option B (4-3-1-2)

Now we get a little bit more creative. A back four could be a disaster but it’s not an entirely foreign concept. Dumfries, Darmian, and Skriniar joined Inter from clubs that played a back four, while Bastoni has some experience in a 4-3-3 with the national team. It might work, it might not, but hey, at least there’s some mystery about it compared to the dreary football on display now. Moving into midfield, the Calhanoglu-Brozovic-Barella trio remains intact but this time Sanchez forms the tip of a diamond behind the two strikers. Adding the Chilean’s creativity to the mix could (maybe?) unlock Dzeko and Lautaro. Even if it doesn’t Inter at least has a dominant overload in the center of the park that could throw opposing systems into chaos. This could also be a 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree, with Vidal in the midfield three and Calhanoglu up to the attacking band behind one striker.

Option C (4-2-3-1)

Last but not least comes a standard 4-2-3-1, the formation of choice around much of the footballing world at the moment. We keep the defensive shape of the 4-3-1-2 but bring in the midfield from the 3-4-3 with a Brozovic-Barella pivot. Calhanoglu takes the attacking midfield role while Perisic and Sanchez/Correa line up on the flanks. Perisic is a natural winger anyway, while the two South Americans have played out wide in the past. According to Transfermarkt, Correa has 5 goals and 3 assists in 16 appearances as a right-winger. Those aren’t great numbers (especially compared to Sanchez’s 48g and 45a in 155apps) but it’s not as though the Argentine has shown much upfront so far.

Which one of these strikes your fancy? Are there any you would want to see Inzaghi test out?