Should Norwich City try playing three at the back?
Its a question that comes up time and time again but as the Canaries prepare for the Premier League its one thats worth considering again. City are understood to be focused on adding another senior centre-back option to their defensive mix, with Celtic and Norways Kris Ajer among their top targets. Whether that is Ajer or a different centre-back, adding another player to Grant Hanley, Ben Gibson, Christoph Zimmermann and youngster Andrew Omobamidele will offer more flexibility in defence. During his four seasons as head coach, Daniel Farke has largely stuck to a 4-2-3-1 formation as a starting point, which tends to become a 4-1-4-1 in attack. For a couple of months during Farkes first season, a 3-5-2 was tried out with Grant Hanley flanked by Timm Klose and Christoph Zimmermann, with mixed results. Citys boss has never seemed too keen on the system but has regularly turned to that more defensive shape during the latter stages of games when trying to strengthen the defensive core  with Max Aarons regularly switched to left wing-back in that scenario. Farke has been asked about the prospect on several occasions during his time in England, including as his 2019-20 squad prepared for a trip to Everton amid a nosedive in form, after a damaging 2-0 home defeat to Watford stretched a winless streak to seven games. "It's always important to be flexible, and believe me, we don't just have a plan A but also a plan B, C and D or whatever," he said, ahead of that rejuvenating 2-0 victory at Goodison Park. "Yes, we stick to our philosophy and our principles but within that you have to be flexible in order to adapt to each and every opponent. We are flexible in our base formation. We are not addicted to a four-man or a three-man or a five-man formation. "The most important thing is you stick to your central principles because you can't be one day like this and then another day like that - like a flag in the wind. When everything is great after a win it can't be you don't need to change and then after a defeat you change everything.  In the Championship it is that 4-2-3-1 shape that has brought the majority of success but Farke, Stuart Webber and the players that remain from that painful top-flight relegation campaign return knowing they need to prove that harsh lessons were learned from. Andrew Omobamidele and Grant Hanley finished the season as City's central defensive partnership - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd  The defensive injury curse which undermined that season in so many ways perhaps limits the depth of effective analysis we can reflect on when looking back on the 75 goals conceded during 2019-20. During the past five seasons, the average amount conceded by the relegated teams is 67 goals, with Fulham conceding the most during that time, going down after conceding 81 during 2018-19. The fewest was a respectable 53 by Middlesbrough in 2016-17 when Ben Gibson was at the heart of Aitor Karankas defence, which was mostly the traditional flat back four. That was matched last season by Fulham, who also went down having conceded just 53. So keeping that total below 50 would appear a good benchmark for survival  although thats far from certain. Striking the balance between attack and defence is the name of the game. Ben Gibson's ball-playing style could be well-suited to the left side of a three-man defence - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd  Fulham went down having conceded only 53 last year but Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Southampton all survived comfortably having conceded in excess of 60. The big difference was that those three teams all scored over 40 and the Cottagers only managed 27. Rock-bottom Sheffield United were one of the Premier League teams to regularly play with a three-man defence and West Brom were the other team to go down. The Baggies, like Fulham, flirted with a three-man central defensive shape  but mainly during the opening 13 matches before Slavisa Jokanovic was replaced by Sam Allardyce, bringing eight defeats, just one win and 26 goals conceded. Leicester, West Ham and Arsenal all used a three-man defence sometimes during last season, with fellow top-half teams Tottenham, Leeds and Everton only going down that route occasionally. Seven teams avoided it almost completely, including champions Manchester City and fellow Champions League qualifiers Manchester United and Liverpool. Christoph Zimmermann is trying to overcome his injury issues for the Canaries - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd  Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Southampton and Burnley also saw little need for a three-man defence during their survival success. Perhaps the biggest advocate for a back-line triumvirate was from a man Farke knows well, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel. His former Borussia Dortmund colleague implemented a 3-4-2-1, or a slight variation of it, immediately and it worked  leading the Blues to fourth place and the Champions League trophy. Steve Bruce kept getting drawn back to a 3-5-2 at Newcastle and after initially limited success, returning to that formation for the final nine matches earned five wins in nine games and a positive conclusion to the campaign. Sheffield Uniteds three-man defence had drawn plenty of praise previously under Chris Wilder but couldnt prevent their implosion. Wolves have also regularly used that system during their well-funded success of recent years under Nuno Espirito Santo but dipped to 13th. The last of the five teams which were regular users of a three-man defence last season were Brighton, with manager Graham Potter almost exclusively using a back-line trio as he steered the Seagulls to a fifth consecutive year in the top flight. Whether Farke is tempted to add a new tactical element to his repertoire will soon become clear but there is little evidence to suggest that it necessarily provides Premier League clubs with a better balance between defence or attack, whether newly promoted or an established big-hitter. Being able to use three at the back certainly seems a sensible element to possess but ultimately it will come down to players proving consistently that they can perform to the required standard in one of the best leagues in the world.