Top 10 Midfield Three's

jonjoward1998
Aug 26, 2025
6 min read

Midfield three's are very much a thing of the present and have been for many years probably going back to when the foreign managers came over to this country.

A midfield three is made up of one player who sits deep and does all the dirty work which in turn allows the other two players to push up and help out the attacking players, knowing that they have someone behind them to protect the defence.

We've seen midfield three's talked about a lot in recent years as a number of teams have had a lot of success with them including Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp and Man City since Pep has been in charge.

Their midfield three's got a lot of plaudits for how they operated and some of their midfield trios are mentioned in the list.

And here is the list:

David Silva, Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne

Frank Lampard, John Obi Mikel, Florent Malouda

Michaelk Carrick, Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher

Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Giorginio Wijnaldum

Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo Silva

Michael Essien, Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard

Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso

David Silva, Gareth Barry, Yaya Toure

Ray Parlour, Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit

Mousa Dembele, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli

Mousa Dembele, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli

This midfield three had three and a half seasons together at Spurs and all of them were an integral part of that side under Mauricio Pochettino that went very close to winning trophies.

Dembele would be the one that sits deep and dictates play in midfield whilst Eriksen and Alli were the ones who played higher up the pitch and provided the service to Harry Kane.

Eriksen was used more out in the right instead of centrally, but there would be games where he would move into midfield and play as another no.10 alongside Alli.

I had to put them in 10th because they didn't win anything together.

Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso

This midfield three had two and a half seasons together at Liverpool and were an effective duo throughout their time together.

They were all different kind of players with Mascherano being the one who would sit deep and do the dirty work, Alonso would play alongside him as a deep lying playmaker whilst Gerrard was the one who would do most of the running and play higher up the pitch due to the energy he had

Gerrard had his best goal scoring as the more advanced midfielder as he found the net 16 times and it was in that attacking midfield role where his partnership with Fernando Torres was at it's best.

This trio almost won the league in 2009 under Rafa Benitez and they might have done had they not drawn as many games or if Fernando Torres didn't have his injury issues.

David Silva, Gareth Barry, Yaya Toure

This midfield three spent three seasons together at Man City and were their midfield trio for the majority of their title winning season in 2012.

Barry would be the player that sat in and do all the dirty work whilst Silva and Toure would be given the freedom to push higher up the pitch.

Silva and Toure were both different kinds of player as Silva was the more creative one whereas Toure was more powerful and the one who would make those driving runs into the box.

They all played a key role in that title win in 2012 and in City's early success during the Abu Dhabi era.

Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Giorginio Wijnaldum

This midfield three didn't have many goals or assists in them compared to most midfield trios. But they were players who had bags of energy and would work hard for their team.

Fabinho was the one who sat deep and cleared up everything in front of him and him doing that gave Henderson and Wijnaldum the freedom push up the pitch and help out the attacking players.

The might not have scored many goals between them, but they did chip in in the odd game with Wijnaldum stepping up the most as he scored a lot of big and crucial goals throughout his time at the club.

All three players played were an integral part of Liverpool ending their long wait for a Premier League title in 2020 due to their energy and work rate off the ball.

They had three seasons together at Liverpool and their work rate and intensity was a key part of how Liverpool played during that time.

Ray Parlour, Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit

This midfield three had three seasons together at Arsenal and they even won the title in their first season together in 1998.

Petit and Vieira were the two tough tacklers and the players who gave Arsenal that solid backbone during their early years under Arsene Wenger.

Petit played the deeper of two as Vieira was a player who liked to carry the ball up the pitch and take on players due to how technically gifted he was.

Parlour was the one who had the more energy as he worked his socks off all game due to his incredible work rate. He did love a tackle like Petit and Vieira and he could also strike a ball from distance. But he was known best for his work rate off the ball.

The work they all put in played a massive role in Arsenal's first title win in 1998.

Frank Lampard, John Obi Mikel, Florent Malouda

This midfield three had a successful five seasons together at Chelsea as they won nearly everything on offer including the Premier League title in 2010.

Mikel was the one who would sit deep and disrupted the opposition's game whereas Lampard and Malouda were the ones who pushed higher up the pitch.

Lampard was of course the main goal getter as he had a habit of breaking into the box to score goals throughout his career.

Malouda also chipped in on a number of occasions as well and especially during the blues' title winning season in 2010 where he netted 12 times. He was mainly a winger, but he did play a lot of games for Chelsea in midfield and was always reliable when he played there.

Michael Essien, Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard

This trio had three seasons together at Chelsea and it was in their first season together that they won the title.

Makelele would be the one that sat deep and did all the dirty work because of his ability to read the game and make crucial challenges when his team needed him to.

Essien and Lampard on the other hand were the ones who were given the freedom to push up but both players were different in style.

Essien was a midfield powerhouse due to his work rate, energy and tenacity off the ball whereas Lampard as I mentioned earlier was a player who liked to break into the box to score goals.

All three played a massive part during Chelsea's second title winning season under Jose Mourinho in 2006 with Makelele providing the solidity, Essien the energy and Lampard the goal threat.

David Silva, Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne

This trio were Man City's midfield during the Centurions season and were at the club for five seasons together.

This midfield three were like the prime Barcelona midfield three Pep had with Fernandinho being Busquets by dictating play and sniffing out danger, and De Bruyne and Silva being Xavi and Iniesta by providing the team's creativity.

Fernandinho doing what he did gave De Bruyne and Silva the licence and freedom to express themselves higher up the pitch and both of them were at the heart of everything City did during that Centurions season with their creativity and ability to run games from midfield.

City were incredible to watch throughout that season and it was because of how good their midfield were with the ball.

Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher

This trio were at Man United for seven seasons and won almost everything on offer including five Premier League titles and the Champions League.

Carrick would be the one that sat deep and dictate play whereas Scholes and Fletcher would play higher up with the freedom to do what they want.

Scholes did recreate himself as a dee lying playmaker as his career progressed, but he was used in the no.8 role when United played with a three in midfield which gave him the freedom to show off his abilities such as his ability to pick out a pass.

Fletcher on the other hand was a player who worked his socks off every game due to his work rate and energy off the ball alongside his tenacity.

Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo Silva

This trio had to be my no.1 because of what they won together and how good a trio they were when they played together.

Rodri would sit deep and both dictate play play and break up opposition attacks whereas De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva would be given the licence to get forward and help out the attacking players.

They won four straight titles and a treble during their six seasons together at City and all all of them were a major part of it with De Bruyne providing the creativity, Silva bringing energy and both goals and assists, and Rodri being the one who controlled the game from midfield.

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