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 A (Italien) commits hardest: 41% of its line-ups start with three defenders.
| League | Three at the back | Line-ups |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Serie A Italien | 41% | 758 |
| 2. J1 League Japan | 36.6% | 612 |
| 3. Fotbollsallsvenskan Schweden | 35.8% | 480 |
| 4. Fußball-Bundesliga Österreich | 31.3% | 390 |
| 5. Premjer-Liga Russland | 29.5% | 478 |
| 6. A-League Men Australien | 27.4% | 274 |
| 7. Superliga Dänemark | 26.4% | 451 |
| 8. Serie B Italien | 26% | 647 |
| 9. 3. Fußball-Liga Deutschland | 23.8% | 450 |
| 10. Fußball-Bundesliga Deutschland | 23.5% | 616 |
| 11. Premiership Schottland | 22.3% | 336 |
| 12. Ligue 1 Frankreich | 21.7% | 760 |
| 13. Primera División Spanien | 21.4% | 758 |
| 14. Division 1A Belgien | 20.9% | 446 |
| 15. 2. Fußball-Bundesliga Deutschland | 19.3% | 610 |
| 16. Super League Schweiz | 19.2% | 355 |
| 17. FA Cup England | 18.8% | 207 |
| 18. Super League Griechenland | 18.3% | 449 |
| 19. Premier League England | 15.9% | 760 |
| 20. Friendlies International | 15.5% | 322 |
| 21. Primera División Chile | 15.4% | 480 |
| 22. Championship England | 15.2% | 1.110 |
| 23. UEFA Europa League International | 14.6% | 906 |
| 24. Major League Soccer Vereinigte Staaten | 12.4% | 816 |
| 25. Champions League International | 11.5% | 392 |
| 26. UEFA Nations League International | 11.5% | 262 |
| 27. Veikkausliiga Finnland | 10.8% | 324 |
| 28. AFC Champions League International | 10.6% | 274 |
| 29. World Cup - Qualification Europe International | 10.2% | 508 |
| 30. Super League China | 10.2% | 480 |
| 31. Eliteserien Norwegen | 9.1% | 474 |
| 32. Segunda División Spanien | 8.1% | 887 |
| 33. Saudi Professional League Saudi-Arabien | 5.8% | 480 |
| 34. Primeira Liga Portugal | 5.8% | 607 |
| 35. Ekstraklasa Polen | 5.6% | 574 |
| 36. Serie B Brasilien | 5.2% | 538 |
| 37. First League Bulgarien | 4.3% | 417 |
| 38. Liga 1 Rumänien | 4.3% | 488 |
| 39. Liga Profesional Argentina Argentinien | 4.2% | 640 |
| 40. Serie A Brasilien | 4.2% | 760 |
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.