FORMATION · 3 AT THE BACK
The 3-4-2-1 formation
Three at the back, wing-backs and two central midfielders, two tens behind a striker.
Also called 3-4-2-1 wing-backs
The shape
1
GK
2
CB
3
CB
4
CB
5
RM
6
CM
7
CM
8
LM
9
CAM
10
CAM
11
ST
Formation 3-4-2-1
What it gives you
Two players permanently in the pockets either side of the striker.
What it costs you
Asks the two tens to defend as well as create, and most of them prefer one of those.
Positions
GKCBCBCBRMCMCMLMCAMCAMST
Who plays it
The 3-4-2-1 is the 4th most-used shape of the 22 we track: 685 of the 7,434 lineups we hold from the leagues we cover this season, 9% of them.
- Athletico Paranaense84% of lineups27 of 32
- Bradford94% of lineups15 of 16
- Lens100% of lineups11 of 11
- Udinese100% of lineups9 of 9
- NEC Nijmegen82% of lineups14 of 17
- Crystal Palace86% of lineups12 of 14
- Nice100% of lineups8 of 8
- Lorient100% of lineups8 of 8
- Borussia Dortmund90% of lineups9 of 10
- FC Augsburg100% of lineups7 of 7
- FC Schalke 04100% of lineups7 of 7
- Monza89% of lineups8 of 9