so a 442 will presumably pack the midfield and the midfield will not be overrun. first, there would be 2 banks of 4 and leaving 2 upfront which surely brings us to the point where there is not enough firepower when the goals do not come. secondly, there would be a lack of width, forcing the game to be played in the center midfield area. good teams will exploit whatever space they can find. that is assuming the midfield 4 are all central midfielders since its the midfield you are concerned with if 3 can be overrun. if you put 2 wingers in your midfield, probably jese and di maria, then that leaves you with only 2 midfielders centrally. it will be overrun all the same.