Europa League

In a short list, the presence of the two FBs of Rennes is the main highlight despite their poor performance in this competition.

Player	Rating	Defense	Minutes Played	Team
Lorenz Assignon	7.72	Back 4	270	Rennes
Aitor Ruibal	7.68	Back 4	540	Real Betis
Josip Juranović	7.52	Back 5	342	Union Berlin
Adrien Truffert	7.42	Back 4	276	Rennes
Mitchel Bakker	7.34	Back 5	517	Bayer Leverkusen
Christian Günter	7.30	Back 4	495	Freiburg
Tyrell Malacia	7.09	Back 4	662	Man. United

Conditions for the presented data: 

– Minimum minutes played in the season: 270 minutes (equivalent to 3 full games) per type of defense played (Back 4 or Back 5);

– EL Qualifying Round data excluded;

Data from FBref.

From this list, it is possible to identify that the teams that used a Back 5 defense achieved positive results in terms of CB performance. From the Top 8 CBs (in terms of average rating), 7 of them played in a Back 5.

Player	Rating	Defense	Minutes Played	Team
Axel Disasi	8.90	Back 5	270	Monaco
Edmond Tapsoba	8.68	Back 5	628	Bayer Leverkusen
Danilo	8.62	Back 5	561	Juventus
Aritz Elustondo	8.33	Back 4	270	Real Sociedad
Paul Jaeckel	7.89	Back 5	270	Union Berlin
Gonçalo Inácio	7.87	Back 5	483	Sporting CP
Sebastián Coates	7.85	Back 5	450	Sporting CP
Piero Hincapié	7.81	Back 5	561	Bayer Leverkusen
Marc Bartra	7.78	Back 4	450	Trabzonspor
Marius Lode	7.73	Back 4	412	Bodø/Glimt
Robin Knoche	7.70	Back 5	891	Union Berlin
Marius Høibråten	7.68	Back 4	448	Bodø/Glimt
Lisandro Martínez	7.66	Back 4	793	Man. United
Jon Pacheco	7.59	Back 4	450	Real Sociedad
Dávid Hancko	7.45	Back 4	930	Feyenoord
Jonathan Tah	7.42	Back 5	655	Bayer Leverkusen
Gleison Bremer	7.38	Back 5	480	Juventus
Philipp Lienhart	7.32	Back 4	436	Freiburg
Axel Disasi	7.22	Back 4	390	Monaco
Rob Holding	7.12	Back 4	613	Arsenal
Armando Obispo	7.06	Back 4	343	PSV Eindhoven
Diogo Leite	7.06	Back 5	810	Union Berlin
Nemanja Gudelj	7.01	Back 4	419	Sevilla

Conditions for the presented data: 

– Minimum minutes played in the season: 270 minutes (equivalent to 3 full games) per type of defense played (Back 4 or Back 5);

– EL Qualifying Round data excluded;

Data from FBref.