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: 51,1% of its line-ups start with three defenders.
| League | Three at the back | Line-ups |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Serie A Italien | 51.1% | 760 |
| 2. Fußball-Bundesliga Deutschland | 41.1% | 616 |
| 3. Championship England | 38.1% | 1.113 |
| 4. Premiership Schottland | 33.5% | 466 |
| 5. 1. SNL Slowenien | 33.3% | 249 |
| 6. K League 1 Südkorea | 33.2% | 316 |
| 7. Superliga Dänemark | 32.6% | 386 |
| 8. J1 League Japan | 32.2% | 612 |
| 9. Division 1A Belgien | 31.7% | 624 |
| 10. First League Bulgarien | 31.2% | 426 |
| 11. HNL Kroatien | 30.7% | 355 |
| 12. Football League Trophy England | 29.1% | 254 |
| 13. Super League Schweiz | 29.1% | 364 |
| 14. EFL League One England | 29.1% | 1.114 |
| 15. World Cup - Qualification Europe International | 28.3% | 516 |
| 16. A-League Men Australien | 26.9% | 294 |
| 17. Serie B Italien | 26.4% | 774 |
| 18. Primeira Liga Portugal | 25.8% | 616 |
| 19. EFL League Two England | 24.9% | 1.108 |
| 20. Superettan Schweden | 24.8% | 222 |
| 21. Fußball-Bundesliga Österreich | 24.7% | 393 |
| 22. Premier League England | 24.1% | 760 |
| 23. UEFA Nations League International | 23.8% | 336 |
| 24. Premjer-Liga Russland | 23.4% | 478 |
| 25. Fotbollsallsvenskan Schweden | 22.1% | 484 |
| 26. Wyschejschaja Liha Belarus | 22.1% | 430 |
| 27. NB I Ungarn | 21% | 272 |
| 28. Ekstraklasa Polen | 20.9% | 478 |
| 29. Czech Liga Tschechien | 20.7% | 610 |
| 30. Ligue 2 Frankreich | 20% | 764 |
| 31. Perwenstwo FNL Russland | 19% | 828 |
| 32. 3. Fußball-Liga Deutschland | 18.1% | 756 |
| 33. Copa Sudamericana International | 17.3% | 202 |
| 34. UEFA Europa League International | 16.9% | 722 |
| 35. 2. Fußball-Bundesliga Deutschland | 16.9% | 616 |
| 36. Champions League International | 16.4% | 348 |
| 37. Ligue 1 Frankreich | 16.4% | 764 |
| 38. Fußball-Europameisterschaft International | 16.3% | 626 |
| 39. 1. Division Zypern | 14.9% | 462 |
| 40. Super League Griechenland | 14.5% | 484 |
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.