Top 10 Full Back Pairings

Full Back pairings never really get spoken about and it's probably because they both play on opposite sides of the pitch.

But they can still have a partnership on the pitch as they can both push up and provide the attacking width for their team. This has been the case a lot in recent years because of how much the role of a full back has changed.

Also one would sit in and play as an inverted whilst the other would push up and make an overlapping run.

The full back pairings in the list are a mixture of both with some being pairs who would push up and the others having one player who would push up and one who would stay back or sit in.

Here is the list:

Gary Neville and Patrice Evra

Lauren and Ashley Cole

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson

Branislav Ivanovic and Ashley Cole

Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn

Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandar Kolarov

Gary Neville and Denis Irwin

Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo

Danny Simpson and Christian Fuchs

Kyle Walker and Danny Rose

10. Danny Simpson and Christian Fuchs

Simpson and Fuchs has to be in 10th because they only had one good season together in Leicester's title winning season in 2016.

They were both very good during that season with Simpson being the more defence minded one and the one who would sit, and Fuchs being the more attacking minded one who would push up.

They were two of Leicester's unsung heroes during that season as they quietly went under the radar whilst the likes of Vardy, Mahrez and Kante were getting all the plaudits.

9. Kyle Walker and Danny Rose

Walker and Rose were arguably the best two full backs in the league when they played together at Spurs mainly because of how good they both were going forward.

They both hogged the touchline all game and were full backs who had both pace and energy which were key to how Spurs played under Mauricio Pochettino.

They were even England's first choice full backs for a bit around the time they had their prime years at Spurs and I probably could've had them higher because of that.

But as they didn't win anything and had just two outstanding seasons together, I had to put them quite low down.

8. Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn

Dixon and Winterburn had twelve and a half seasons together at Arsenal with eight of them were in the Premier League era including the Gunners' double winning season in 1998.

They were both old fashioned full backs as were around when full backs were primarily focused on defending and both of them were strong and solid defenders.

But Dixon was the one who was more adventurous as he loved to get forward and deliver some perfect crosses into the box.

He would be the one that pushed up the pitch whilst Winterburn sat in.

7. Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo

Walker and Cancelo were both mainly right backs when they played together at Man City, but Cancelo could fill in at left back and it was at left back where he played the majority of his games for City.

They both to some extent changed the role of a full back by providing City's attacking width and also by moving into midfield which is what Pep Guardiola wanted from both of them.

Both of them were brilliant going forward, but Cancelo was the more creative of the two as he created a lot of chances from full back both from a wide position and when he tucked into midfield.

They won three straight Premier League titles during their three and a half seasons together at City and yes, I am including the third title in that as Cancelo did play enough games that season to earn a medal despite leaving halfway through the season for Bayern Munich.

6. Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandar Kolarov

Zabaleta and Kolarov spent seven seasons together at Man City and were a key part of their success during the early years under the Abu Dhabi ownership.

They didn't always play together as there were games where Micah Richards and Gael Clichy preferred and especially during their first title winning campaign in 2012. Clichy and Richards played most of the game that season.

Their first season as a consistent pairing was in their second title winning campaign in 2014 as they played the majority of City's games that season as well as in the following season when they finished 2nd.

Zabaleta would be the one that would sit in as he was a full back who was defensively solid whilst Kolarov would be the one that pushed up as he was the more attack minded of the two.

5. Branislav Ivanovic and Ashley Cole

Ivanovic and Cole achieved a lot of success together during their six and a half seasons at Chelsea including the Premier League title in 2010.

Both of them were similar kind of players in that they were effective both defensively and offensively and their ability to do both was what made them arguably the two best full backs in the league at the time.

They both ran up and down the touchline all game and their output at both ends played a key part in the success they achieved at Chelsea and was crucial to how the blues played at the time.

4. Lauren and Ashley Cole

Lauren and Cole spent six seasons together at Arsenal during which they won two Premier League titles including the Invincibles season.

Both of them were exceptional both defensively and offensively and their work at both ends played a massive role in Arsenal going the entire season unbeaten in 2004.

Both of them were attack minded full backs, but Lauren was the one who would sit in whilst Cole was the one who would push up the pitch.

3. Gary Neville and Denis Irwin

Neville and Irwin spent many seasons together at Man United where they won almost everything on offer including seven Premier League titles.

Neville was mostly learning off Irwin during their time together as he was a young player and Irwin was the more experienced and arguably the best full back in the league at the time.

Irwin was the more adventurous of the two as he was good going forward and a brilliant crosser of the ball whereas Neville was more defence minded and was the one who would sit in.

2. Gary Neville and Patrice Evra

Neville and Evra should probably be a bit lower as they didn't play together as long as Neville did with Irwin.

But they were still a very good full back pairing with Neville being the one that would sit in and Evra being the one that would push up as he was the better full back going forward.

They were both a core part of that second great Man United side under Fergie that won three league titles in a row between 2006 and 2009, which in turn re-established their dominance on the Premier League.

But they only won two of those titles together as Neville missed the entirety of the 2007-08 season due to injury.

1. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson

Alexander-Arnold and Robertson had to be my no.1 because the pair of them changed the role of a full back by being able to create and get forward.

They provided Liverpool's creativity and attacking width for a good number of seasons and it was the creativity they offered that has played a massive role in Liverpool's recent success.

The amount of assists they both registered was incredible and I don't think we'll ever see another full back pairing like them.

They won everything on offer during their time together including two Premier League titles in 2020 and 2025 respectively.

MY TOP 10:

1. Trent Alexander Arnold and Andrew Robertson

2. Gary Neville and Patrice Evra

3. Gary Neville and Denis Irwin

4. Lauren and Ashley Cole

5. Branislav Ivanovic and Ashley Cole

6. Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandar Kolarov

7. Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo

8. Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn

9. Kyle Walker and Danny Rose

10. Danny Simpson and Christian Fuchs