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Glen Johnson deserves praise, but he's still a long way off these top wingbacks

talkSPORT look at the wingbacks setting the pace for Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique

Brendan Rodgers is pushing both Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique further up the pitch this season, with both now set to play more as 'wingbacks' rather than traditional full-backs. Glen Johnson looks like he's excelling with his new found attacking freedom, unleashing a trademark screamer in his side's 3-0 win over FC Gomel at Anfield, but the England international is still well behind the top players in his position. talkSPORT look at the best wingbacks playing today (and take a look at stats on the best attacking full-backs in the Premier League here: talksport.co.uk/magazine)...

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Check out the Glen Johnson strike in question, then our pick of the best wingbacks around, below...

Name: Marcelo
Club: Real Madrid
Honours: Copa del Rey (2011), La Liga (x3), Spanish Supercup (2008)

Strengths: Marcelo's dribbling ability and link-up play make him as dangerous as any attacker when he's on the ball and the left sided Brazilian can finish with true quality. Though he undoubtedly favours his left foot, the Brazilian can strike a ball sweetly with his weaker right too, and shows an uncharacteristic level of cool in the box for a player who's supposed to be a defender.  Marcelo has broken into Brazil's starting eleven in recent years after his success with Real Madrid, reflecting his rapid rise in prominence.

Weaknesses: To say Marcelo suffers in defensive areas would be an understatement. Though capable when his team sees the lion's share of possession, he has often been caught out against more capable sides. The Brazilian has been posted missing on a number of occasions against Barcelona in particular, most notably when he was wrong-footed by Ibrahim Afellay for the opening goal in Barcelona's Champions League semi-final elimination of Real in the 2010/11 campaign. His positional awareness seems virtually non-existent when playing on the back-foot.

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Name: Christian Maggio
Club: Napoli
Honours: Coppa Italia (2011/12), Euro 2012 Runner-up (Italy)

Strengths: Unlike most wingbacks, Christian Maggio was once considered a better defender than attacker and has since added more flair and forward play to his game. The Italian is a true grafter, working tirelessly up and down the flank, and is the perfect player to facilitate a back three, with the guarantee that he'll track back with minimal fuss when required. Though undoubtedly overshadowed by the likes of Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi in last year's Napoli side, there's a strong argument to suggest he was equally important.

Weaknesses: For a player with plenty of technical ability, Maggio probably doesn't score often enough. He's capable of scoring ridiculously spectacular goals, so you could argue that he should have picked up more than the three he managed in all competitions last season. He also tends to struggle when forced to player in a deeper, more traditional full-back's position, and opponents have often found that forcing him back is a simple way of both nullifying his attacking play and cause him discomfort when defending.

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Name: Lukasz Piszczek
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Honours: Bundesliga (x2), DFB-Pokal (2012)

Strengths: Polish wingback Lukasz Piszczek is as fit as they come and the defender has played in all but three league games over the last two seasons with Dortmund. The Pole started his career as a forward and has retained many of the qualities from his attacking days, constantly making bursting runs round the back of his opponents and opening up the pitch for his club. The defender is also truly two-footed and is content cutting inside on his left foot to both shoot and cross, yet another throw-back to his days as a left winger for Polish side Zaglebie Lubin.

Weaknesses: Piszczek excels when given space to work in, with his pace often opening up room to manoeuvre, but when it comes to dribbling his way to success the Pole isn't the best. More intelligent defenders with solid positioning can prevent the Dortmund man from getting too much joy, as he isn't likely to use trickery to wriggle his way to freedom. His high positioning on the pitch leaves plenty of room to be exploited by an accurate long passer of the ball too, and he could be punished by teams with a decent deep-lying playmaker looking to attack on the break.

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Name: Jordi Alba
Club: FC Barcelona
Honours: UEFA European Football Championship 2012

Strengths: Jordi Alba's low centre of gravity means he's surprisingly difficult to knock off the ball for his lack of muscle mass and, when combined with his lethal pace, it makes him a tricky customer to defend against, as many a team found out at Euro 2012. At Valencia he was used as both a left-winger and left wingback, often switching positions mid-game and his excellent eye for goal saw him pick up 11 in all competitions last season, which is unsurprising given that he started out as a number 10 as a youngster. As you would expect from someone schooled in the FC Barcelona academy, his technical ability and link-up play is top notch.

Weaknesses: Though Alba is conscious of his defensive duties and works hard to get back when required, his size makes and lack of ability in the air him virtually redundant when defending set-pieces, so it will be interesting to see how Barcelona attempt to compensate for this, particularly when Alba is attempting to replace the much more powerful Eric Abidal. He's also particularly one-footed, and showing him on to his weaker right side is often an effective way of defending against his attacking threat.

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Name: Joao Pereira
Club: Valencia
Honours: N/A

Strengths: Along with Alba, Joao Pereira was the standout fullback at Euro 2012.  His aggressive nature and tough tackling mean he's a difficult man to better, so much so that not one of the four goals Portugal conceded at Euro 2012 were from Pereira's right flank. A solid passer of the ball, Pereira rarely concedes possession and has a good crossing ability, too. His tenacious nature means that he has an excellent capacity to recover on the rare occasions that he makes a major error and is equally problematic for the opposition should they switch-off in the latter stages of a game, with the Portuguese player seemingly tireless until the final whistle. Probably the best defender out of the players listed.

Weaknesses: Pereira is the least explosive of our top wingbacks and though he likes to overlap where possible, he's often not a decisive factor in attack. His shooting is pretty poor and he's unlikely to finish a move with the aplomb of Marcelo or Alba. His fiery personality can occasionally cause disciplinary problems.

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Name: Dani Alves
Club: FC Barcelona
Honours: UEFA Cup (x2), Copa del Rey (x3), La Liga (x3), UEFA Champions League (x2), Copa America (2007)

Strengths: When it comes to energy, Barcelona's Dani Alves is second to none. The right sided defender is rarely found at less than 100 per cent, even in the final minutes of particularly tough games. His link up play is exceptional, particularly on the right when interchanging with Lionel Messi, often showcasing his excellent dribbling skills and love of a quick one-two. With 11 assists in the 2011/12 La Liga season, he created more goals than Xabi Alonso, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Xavi to name a few, reflecting his excellent eye for a pass and selfless nature. Alves also likes to score a spectacular goal or two, and is particularly dangerous when coming on to a ball from distance. Defensively he's underrated, with his positional awareness far better than his compatriot Marcelo. He's also good at timing last-ditch challenges, which is vitally important considering how far up the pitch he tends to play, and has been particularly useful in the past against Cristiano Ronaldo. Alves successfully debunked Maicon from his position in the Brazilian national team, and is probably the most complete of all the wing backs listed. The man to beat.

Weaknesses: For someone who likes to take free-kicks so much, the Brazilian balloons the ball into row Z on nine occasions out of ten, and though he does score the odd spectacular goal from a dead-ball, it probably doesn't justify how frequently he's allowed to take them considering his tendency to be wasteful. Similarly, considering he has shown the ability to play an exceptional cross on occasion, Alves is far too wasteful when crossing from the flank, though at Barcelona that's rarely a problem where it's rarely required.

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Who do you rate as the best wingback in the world? Have your say below...