Roberto De Zerbi gave his Albion side a new look against Fulham.

But will it be a back four in the city of the Fab Four this weekend?

Albion go to Merseyside looking for a return to winning form as they take on Everton.

There were a few questions almost begging to be asked when De Zerbi spoke to the media after the game with Fulham.

The first was for his overall thoughts and frustrations from a 1-1 draw.

The rest soon followed. The goalkeeping situation, Evan Ferguson’s return to goal-scoring.

And the formation. The back three which we were not expecting.

It is quite common now for chat around the media room an hour from kick-off to be focused on the 11 names on the team sheet and placing them into formation.

One imagines the same happens on concourses around the stadium or in buses and trains bound for Falmer.

On Sunday, it looked like Igor Julio at left-back and Pascal Gross on the right.

But Igor does not look a genuine full-back and De Zerbi came up with a recipe to suit the available ingredients as he unveiled something a bit different.

Something we saw far more often when Graham Potter was in charge – a back three.

It made the best use of Igor while Adam Webster was familiar to the role and rose to the challenge on the right of the three.

It populated midfield and gave Gross scope to get into different pockets.

But it took something away from Kauro Mitoma and Simon Adingra out wide.

Most significantly, it was a case of needs must and it helped Albion cover for their lack of full-backs.

Ironically, it would also have been tailor-made for two of those absent players in Tariq Lamptey and Solly March.

Then there is Pervis Estupinan, who plays left-back with but with a lot of wing-back tendencies.

Albion’s 4-2-3-1 can often be a potent force and a big part has been having one full-back allowed licence to attack at will and a steadier character on the opposite flank.

Estupinan and Joel Veltman, for example.

Ideally, not Estupinan and Lamptey, not Veltman and Milner.

De Zerbi told BBC Radio Sussex after the game that he might not have Lamptey or Estupinan back in time for the Everton game.

Of the two, it is said Lamptey is closer to a return.

That was a rather less positive update than we received on Friday afternoon regarding those two players.

If the personnel remains the same, one suspects the formation might not.

Albion are preparing to go against a decent pair of Everton wideman Dwight McNeil and Jack Harrison.

Veltman was kept on the bench against Fulham due to workload but it is easy to see him coming back at Goodison.

Are we looking at Milner on the left – with time afforded for Lamptey or Estupinan to be back by Thursday when Albion play in Amsterdam?

Anyway, the question was asked about the back three and it felt like De Zerbi thought his side had made the best of not an ideal situation.

For starters, he did what he used to do quite often in his early press conferences but hadn’t done for a while. He flipped the question back.

“Did you like it?” he asked the reporter with a smile.

The reporter – not a regular at Albion games - said he thought it worked “all right” before De Zerbi told us: “I had a doubt because I love putting the players in the right positions.

“James Milner couldn’t play 90 minutes.

“Veltman, the last time played three games in a row – Villa, Marseille and Liverpool.

“I thought to play with three defenders.

“In the first half I thought we played very well, especially if you think it was the first time we played in that type.

“I have to repeat, we could score more goals in the first half.

“And in that moment we conceded the goal we could be stronger because after that moment there was only one team on the pitch.”

And that was with a team with Veltman at right-back.

So where are we now?

The back three is an option – but we know how De Zerbi really likes to play and that formation isn’t it.

He likes the back four - even if one of the four is way up the pitch for much of the time.

REMEMBER THESE ALBION TACTICAL TWEAKS?

Mullery's masterstroke with Lawro

When bottom-of-the-table Albion visited European champions Nottingham Forest in 1979, Alan Mullery came up with something unexpected. Mark Lawrenson’s return from a 12-game absence came not at the back but in an unaccustomed central midfield role. With Brian Horton, he helped protect a defence which featured new boy Peter Suddaby as the Seagulls grabbed a memorable 1-0 win.

Wilkins’ midfield diamond

With his young, low budget side struggling for goals, first-year boss Dean Wilkins came up with something quite unusual for League One 16 years ago. He unveiled a midfield diamond on a Tuesday night at Leyton Orient with new arrival Alexis Bertin operating in a holding role, Dean Cox on the right, Dean Hammond on the left and Nick Ward behind the front pair. The result was a spectacular 4-1 win sparked by Hammond’s goal from left of centre. The diamond helped Albion pick up handy points in the weeks which followed.

Poyet ponders three wingers

Gus Poyet’s tenure was a tactical education for many of us. When he signed Craig Noone, he spoke of a set-up with the new boy from Plymouth on one wing, Kazenga LuaLua on the other and Elliott Bennett as an attacking midfielder. It is hard to recall that actually happening very often, if at all, but Bennett certainly shifted to a more central role at times, notably when he scored his fabulous title-clinching goal at Walsall.

The Ashley Barnes role

Another from the Poyet days. Ashley Barnes, who had been an old school centre-forward in League One, was asked to play a bit wide and bit wihdrawn. As a forward, yes, but also with defensive responsibility in a slightly lop-sided formation (by now, Albion were only using one genuine winger). It somehow worked, although Barnes was not totally valued until after he left the club.

Hughton’s classic 4-4-2

Chris Hughton guided Albion to safety in the second half of 2014-15 after inheriting a 4-3-3 set-up but also got a great look at players at his disposal. His conclusions were he could go to a 4-4-2 as the next season started with Dale Stephens and Beram Kayal as his central duo. Their efforts meant he could compete in that area of the field while operating with two genuine widemen and two forwards. But it was bad news for midfielders better suited to a 4-3-3 such as Rohan Ince and Jake Forster-Caskey. Hughton later adapted to a 4-4-1-1 in the Premier League, facilitated by the arrival of Pascal Gross.

Potter’s many wing-backs

Graham Potter first showed us his wing-back hand on his debut in charge at Watford with Martin Montoya, who had his best game for the club, and Solly March in those roles. Dan Burn later had an unexpected stint as a left wing-back before Potter pushed the boundaries even further. Steven Alzate (on his Premier League debut), Pascal Gross, Andi Zeqiri and Leandro Trossard all played wing-back. But the wing-back formation made it harder for Kaoru Mitoma to make an early impact.