Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen – in the form of his life with four assists in his last four Premier League games – claims the 3-4-2-1 formation gives him the freedom to take more risks.

Eriksen is thriving alongside Dele Alli (the pair are one of the Premier League’s most effective partnerships) in a free-ish role behind Harry Kane and they beat West Brom 4-0 on Saturday with a performance that left us asking if they have the best starting XI in the top flight.

“At the moment it’s definitely working,” the Dane told his club’s official website ahead of Saturday’s clash with Manchester City.

“Of course, we’re in a position with the players where we can always change but it’s never really staying in the same position – the starting position is in 3-4-2-1 or whatever you want to call it but we move around and that gives us a lot of opportunities to play forward, either playing to the guy next to you or playing it wide where we have a lot of space.

“I think you just feel a bit more controlled when you have three at the back as well. When you move the ball quickly you have space to move it forward and if you take a good decision, which we did on Saturday a few times, then you create a lot of chances.

“Of course, you always have defensive responsibilities, even if you play four at the back. I think it’s not much different (with three), just in the back of your head you know you can take a few more chances because you know there are a few more players behind you.

“Obviously you have less players to play through when you look forward but when you move well, which we did again at the weekend, then you create a lot of chances.”