Match play demands of 11 versus 11 professional football using Global Positioning System tracking: Variations across common playing formations.

This study aimed to examine Global Positioning System (GPS) determined movement patterns across the 5 most common playing formations (4-4-2; 4-3-3; 3-5-2; 3-4-3; 4-2-3-1) employed in 11 versus 11 football match play in England. Elite male footballers (n=46) were monitored over the course of a season; total distance (TD), high speed running (HSR), high metabolic load distance (HMLD), high speed accelerations (Acc) and decelerations (Dec) data was collected for analysis. It was found that 3-5-2 formation elicited higher TD (10528±565m, p=0.