Antonio Conte started off his managerial career at Spurs by playing the 3-4-3 formation in their first two games. But journalist Allistair Gold reports that Conte now having spent some time at the club wants to change to a 3-4-1-2 formation in the coming weeks. This formation change is probably due to the fact that Spurs have a few attacking midfielders like Ndombele, Lo celso & Alli who do not fit well in the 3-4-3 formation.

When asked about Conte’s tactics in a Fan Q&A, Allistair said, “Yes, there’s an expectation within the club that the starting XI and formation will change over the coming weeks. I think the width from the wing-backs negates the need for wingers up front as well so I think we’ll see a shift to a 3-4-1-2 and yes I reckon two or three faces in the team will be different within a month’s time.”

Antonio Conte’s 3-4-1-2 formation for Spurs

This formation would allow Conte to play a third midfielder who can be more attacking and have more positional freedom. Against Everton, although Spurs looked more defensively solid, going forward they struggled to create anything of note. This might be the reason, Conte is looking to add more attacking options to the side especially in midfield. Adding the third midfielder allows Spurs to dominate the ball and allow their wing backs to get forward and contribute more in the attacking phase.

One drawback of this formation is the reliance on the wingbacks for width. As we saw in the Manchester derby, if the opposition pin back the wingbacks with quality wingers, it is really hard to attack with width. Conte might switch back to the 3-4-3 formation in games against the top sides and play with a 3-4-1-2 against sides where Spurs are expected to be on the front foot.