Who plays three at the back?
Share of line-ups set out with three defenders — the shape that has grown faster than any other in the archive.
Serie B (Italien) commits hardest: 41,9% of its line-ups start with three defenders.
| League | Three at the back | Line-ups |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Serie B Italien | 41.9% | 930 |
| 2. Fußball-Bundesliga Deutschland | 36.6% | 612 |
| 3. Serie A Italien | 36.1% | 760 |
| 4. Super League Schweiz | 32.8% | 360 |
| 5. J1 League Japan | 29.6% | 611 |
| 6. Premjer-Liga Russland | 29.4% | 479 |
| 7. Premier League England | 23.9% | 758 |
| 8. Superliga Dänemark | 23.4% | 354 |
| 9. Fotbollsallsvenskan Schweden | 22.5% | 480 |
| 10. Fußball-Bundesliga Österreich | 21.6% | 357 |
| 11. 2. Liga Österreich | 20.9% | 358 |
| 12. Championship England | 20.4% | 1.104 |
| 13. 3. Fußball-Liga Deutschland | 20.2% | 450 |
| 14. Division 1A Belgien | 18.3% | 262 |
| 15. 2. Fußball-Bundesliga Deutschland | 18.3% | 612 |
| 16. EFL League Two England | 15.2% | 368 |
| 17. Eliteserien Norwegen | 15% | 480 |
| 18. Super League Griechenland | 13.8% | 240 |
| 19. Champions League International | 13.6% | 286 |
| 20. EFL League One England | 13.6% | 376 |
| 21. UEFA Europa League International | 11.7% | 664 |
| 22. AFC Champions League International | 11.7% | 248 |
| 23. Liga MX Mexiko | 9.2% | 306 |
| 24. Super League China | 8.6% | 478 |
| 25. Ukrainische Premjer-Liha Ukraine | 8.2% | 256 |
| 26. Primera División Spanien | 7.9% | 760 |
| 27. Segunda División Spanien | 7.2% | 922 |
| 28. Ligue 2 Frankreich | 6.4% | 760 |
| 29. Ligue 1 Frankreich | 5.5% | 760 |
| 30. Liga 1 Rumänien | 5.4% | 353 |
| 31. Liga Profesional Argentina Argentinien | 5.1% | 752 |
| 32. TFF 1. Lig Türkei | 4.4% | 480 |
| 33. Categoría Primera A Kolumbien | 3.9% | 822 |
| 34. Primera División Peru | 3.7% | 465 |
| 35. Süper Lig Türkei | 3.6% | 607 |
| 36. A-League Men Australien | 1.9% | 270 |
| 37. Primeira Liga Portugal | 1.8% | 612 |
| 38. Serie A Brasilien | 1.4% | 760 |
| 39. Serie B Brasilien | 1.3% | 676 |
| 40. Eredivisie Niederlande | 0.8% | 612 |
Showing every competition. Major competitions only
Any formation whose first line is a three. The provider records a formation for roughly a quarter of line-ups, so a league appears only once enough of its matches carry one.