Last week saw Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers shipping out injured pair Cesc Fabregas and Wayne Rooney in their hundreds of thousands, and now, resultantly, many are sitting with a nice amount of spare cash in the bank.

As a great deal of FPL forward lines and, to a lesser extent, midfields now looking more and more identikit by the week, it’s perhaps worth thinking of investing the cash in defence as a means to having something a little “different” about your team.

With clean sheets at a minimum and difficult to predict, a look at the returns of specific attack-minded full-backs over the past few weeks suggests there are certain players worth investing in who have, for one reason or another, increased their returns in recent weeks.

ESPN’s match-analyis “Heat Map” tool is a fantastic way of seeing exactly where each player gets on the ball in any given match, and looking at the weekend’s matches, it’s easy to see why some players have been so effective of late. Here’s a look at a few…

Yuri Zhirkov

So much was expected of the Russian when he joined Chelsea in the summer, but he fair took his time to settle at Stamford Bridge, only featuring in two league games until the turn of the year.

Since then, however, due to other players being absent through either the African Cup of Nations or injury, Zhirkov has failed to feature in only one of Chelsea’s league games. His adaptability has seen him flit between defence and midfield, but since Ashley Cole’s ankle injury in mid-February, he has made the left-back berth his own.

In the six games he has played in Cole’s absence, Zhirkov has had four assists, one clean sheet, and three FPL Bonus Points. Significantly, all his Bonus Points have came in the last two matches, as he becomes more accustomed to a first-team place.

A look at his Heat Map during the weekend Man United game (the darker the area, the more times he touched the ball) illustrates how Chelsea’s system allows him to advance into attacking areas of the field, helping out high on the left in tandem with Florent Malouda.

Priced at £7.1m, he has just 0.4% of FPL owners and given Chelsea’s attacking potential of late, will surely continue to get amongst the points in Cole’s absence. His remaining fixtures read (BOL, tot, STK, liv, WIG).

Gareth Bale

Played a mere ninety-three league minutes up till the end of December, but, given a chance for first-team football following an injury to Benoit Assou-Ekotto in the New Year, he has never looked back.

Bale has played every minute of Spurs’ subsequent twelve league games (despite Assou-Ekotto’s return) and his adaptability, where previously detrimental to his selection chances, now seems beneficial.

In the twelve games, he’s racked up three assists, five clean sheets and -more significantly- fifteen FPL Bonus Points, with his performances continually being noticed by the Bonus judges. This heat map, showing Bale’s performance away at Sunderland this weekend, shows how much time he spent in the final third of the pitch, despite his side’s defeat.

Priced at £5.6m, he still has just 3.7% of FPL owners. Although Spurs’ fixtures undoubtedly toughen, they do still have a double gameweek and Burnley to play, and Bale’s ability to catch the Bonus judges eye should not be lessened. His remaining matches are (ARS, CHE, mu, BOL mcy, bur).

Leighton Baines

Everton’s first half of the season was blighted by injury to many key players, and as result, David Moyes’ men had registered just three clean sheets as the league entered 2010.

Though the on-off return of Mikel Arteta has seen Baines set-pieces reduced, the return of Phil Jagielka at centre half has added quality to the back line, and as a result, Everton have now chalked up three clean sheets in their last four games.

With almost all the club’s main men now fully fit, Everton are a different prospect altogether, and have been beaten just two times in the last eighteen games. As this heat map at home to West Ham shows, Baines plays such a large part in their attacking displays, foraging up and down the left wing time and again.

In the past six games, Baines has three assists, three clean sheets and one Bonus Point, as Moyes’ team belatedly push for a European place.

Priced at £6.4m and with 10.2% of FPL owners, Baines final five fixtures read (avl, bla, FUL, stk, POR).

Glen Johnson

A great start to the season was curtailed in December as a knee injury sidelined the right back until March, with Johnson missing eight league games as a consequence.

Since being eased back into action away to Wigan, Johnson has now started four games in succession for Liverpool, and his displays in these four matches have seen him immediately back amongst the points, returning one goal, two assists and a clean sheet.

An illustration of his attacking potency is that Johnson has more FPL points than Jamie Carragher, even though Carragher has missed just one league game all season, compared to Johnson’s eleven absences. A good sign that it’s worthwhile paying that little bit extra for a defender, even in a side like Liverpool, with thirteen clean sheets so far.

As this heat map shows from the game at Birmingham, Johnson spent most time in the final third of the pitch, a constant attacking threat against Alex McLeish’s team.

Johnson is the costliest of the full-backs highlighted, but again this is worth consideration if you have millions left over from the Cesc and Rooney deals.
Coming in at £7.5m and with only 7% of FPL owners, his run-in includes fixtures against three of the relegation candidates, as Liverpool look to clinch that all-important Champions League fourth spot. His remaining matches are (FUL, WHM, bur, CHE, hul).