One of the main positives to take from the second leg of West Ham’s Europa Conference League play-off was the smooth implementation of a new system. David Moyes opted for a 3412 shape in this match and his side displayed a fantastic understanding of how to manipulate the opposition to create space in attack.
With the selected personnel, the system allowed for great flexibility between a three and a four in defence as left-back Aaron Cresswell turned out on the left of the three and attacking midfielder Pablo Fornals featured at left wing-back. This meant that, when needed, the shape could seamlessly transition into a diamond or a 433 with Fornals drifting into midfield and Cresswell shifting out to left-back to provide the cover.
When we’ve previously seen West Ham deploy a three at the back defensive shape, we’ve largely seen a 343 with Michail Antonio starting centrally to be flanked by Jarrod Bowen and Fornals. At times, Manuel Lanzini has been included in that frontline with Fornals dropping to wing-back – we saw this variation of the system in games against Wolves and Eintracht Frankfurt last season.
A key strength of this variation of the three-back system is the rotations it allows for in midfield, on top of the three/four at the back flexibility provided by Cresswell and Fornals. Where Tomáš Souček can be shackled by the 4231 and the sheer distances required to both be an effective defensive player and a threat in the box, the 343 allows the Czech to charge forward with Lanzini being capable of joining the doule-pivot to provide cover alongside Declan Rice. It’s no coincidence Souček recorded his highest xG total of the Premier League season (0.7) on the only occasion West Ham used this system in league football.
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