Premier League 2018-19: 3 Reasons why the ‘Three at the back’ strategy will take a back seat

#3 Majority of the new managers are comfortable with four at the back

Sarri is one of the best exponents of the 4-3-3

A couple of years back, Conte arrived after coaching the Italian national team and implemented the same system at Chelsea. Similarly, Pep arrived from Bayern having played three at the back on a number of occasions. Apart from them, the likes of Ronald Koeman and Roberto Martinez stuck to playing with three at the back.

This time round, the Premier League’s newcomers, Fulham and Cardiff look set to continue with a back four as they seek to cement their place in the Premier League. In addition to this, a majority of the incoming managers have made a living playing the conventional 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1.

Unai Emery, the Arsenal manager has always favoured a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3. Similarly, Maurizio Sarri has created his own brand of ultra-attacking football with four at the back aka ‘SarriBall’. Another new manager, Marco Silva also likes to play with four at the back.

Hence, one of the major reasons for the three-man system losing importance this season is the new managers’ inclination to not play with the aforementioned system.