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: 45,4% of its line-ups start with three defenders.
| League | Three at the back | Line-ups |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Serie A Italien | 45.4% | 760 |
| 2. Fußball-Bundesliga Österreich | 35.4% | 390 |
| 3. Fotbollsallsvenskan Schweden | 33.8% | 482 |
| 4. A-League Men Australien | 33.1% | 296 |
| 5. Serie B Italien | 33% | 776 |
| 6. EFL League Two England | 28.8% | 720 |
| 7. EFL League One England | 26.1% | 796 |
| 8. Superliga Dänemark | 22.4% | 482 |
| 9. FA Cup England | 21.7% | 295 |
| 10. Super League Schweiz | 20.3% | 364 |
| 11. Premier League England | 20.3% | 760 |
| 12. AFC Champions League International | 20.1% | 288 |
| 13. First League Bulgarien | 19.9% | 366 |
| 14. Premjer-Liga Russland | 18.7% | 470 |
| 15. Super League China | 18.5% | 464 |
| 16. 2. Fußball-Bundesliga Deutschland | 18.1% | 612 |
| 17. Ligue 1 Frankreich | 16.1% | 558 |
| 18. Champions League International | 16% | 420 |
| 19. UEFA Europa League International | 15.3% | 1.022 |
| 20. 3. Fußball-Liga Deutschland | 14.2% | 618 |
| 21. Championship England | 14.2% | 1.114 |
| 22. Ligue 2 Frankreich | 13.8% | 560 |
| 23. Primeira Liga Portugal | 12.8% | 610 |
| 24. 2. Liga Österreich | 12% | 208 |
| 25. Premiership Schottland | 11.8% | 356 |
| 26. Super League Griechenland | 11.5% | 470 |
| 27. Division 1A Belgien | 11.3% | 452 |
| 28. Premier Soccer League Südafrika | 11.2% | 250 |
| 29. Primera División Chile | 10.3% | 378 |
| 30. Czech Liga Tschechien | 9.4% | 508 |
| 31. Major League Soccer Vereinigte Staaten | 8.5% | 786 |
| 32. Copa del Rey Spanien | 8.1% | 210 |
| 33. Primera División Spanien | 6.8% | 760 |
| 34. Segunda División Spanien | 6.5% | 905 |
| 35. Ligat ha’Al Israel | 5.3% | 263 |
| 36. Eliteserien Norwegen | 5% | 480 |
| 37. Liga Profesional Argentina Argentinien | 4.9% | 536 |
| 38. Saudi Professional League Saudi-Arabien | 4.5% | 446 |
| 39. Ekstraklasa Polen | 4.5% | 582 |
| 40. Liga MX Mexiko | 4.2% | 550 |
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.