How can I make the most of my defense?

[zipme17]

My defense are quite weak to start with and I am letting in a lot of goals. The problem is it's not like all the goals are coming from crosses, or they all come from counter attacks. They can come from anywhere and quite often the defenders are in good positions, they are close to whoever they are marking but the opposition act like they aren't there.

As you can see below they aren't very strong or good at marking or tackling. So what can I do? Should I stand off opponents? Doesn't this reduce the chance of them challenging for headers? Should I try playing the offside trap to take advantage of their speed? Is there any specific analysis I can do to find out how to improve things?

For reference I have the central defenders both set as CDs with the defend option and the left fullback on auto and the right fullback on support, oh I'm playing 4-4-2.

[KevMaaan]

You have the best pace and acceleration, so i think you should be playing with a high defensive line, as your defenders will be able to backtrack alot quicker. Your marking and tackling are woeful, so personally i would stand off opponents and zonal mark. Standing off will make sure your defense keep shape and will make it hard to break down, and when someone does play a through ball then your defence have the pace to chase up. I would also set the FB on auto to defend to keep men behind, and one of your CMs should have a defend duty.

[zipme17]

Thanks. I've started playing with a higher defensive line and standing off, the number of opposition shots seems to have decreased quite a bit. I tried playing offside which worked well in the first game but hasn't really worked since. But overall we are letting in a lot less goals, which is good.

Why is zonal marking the thing to choose in the situation?

Also if I am using zonal marking and playing a high defensive line would it be best not to counter attack?