Fantasy Premier League 2017/18: Top picks for Gameweek 23

Defenders: Marcos Alonso - Chelsea (£7.3)

Marcos Alonso has almost twice as many shots on goal as any other defender

Players who play wing-back are FPL gems because they offer both clean sheet as well as attacking potential. Having ended last season as FPL's highest scoring defender, he was duly slammed with a hefty £7.0 price tag at the start of the ongoing season. His performances weren't justifying his mammoth price tag over the first 16 gameweeks.

The last six gameweeks have shown that Alonso is a must-have in your fantasy team despite the high price. He has scored three goals and assisted one in his last six games in which he also mustered a total of 6 bonus points. Alonso finds his way to goal-scoring positions very frequently and has taken an atrocious 43 shots so far this season.

On top of this, he takes sumptuous free kicks too. Add to all this the fact that he plays for a sturdy Chelsea defense who face Leicester, Brighton, Bournemouth, Watford and West Brom in the next five and it'd be wise to jump on the Alonso bandwagon before his already hefty price shoots up even more.

One to watch: Virgil van Dijk - Liverpool (£5.4)

Though Liverpool face the toughest possible opposition in the following week in the form of league leaders Manchester City, their fixtures become considerably kinder after that. Van Dijk had a dream debut for Liverpool to say the least, as he scored an 84th minute winner in a Merseyside derby in the FA cup.

The defender is a reasonably consistent goal threat and a bonus point magnet. With a decent run of fixtures lined up for his new side Liverpool, he could be an interesting long-term FPL prospect. Watch out for his performances over the coming gameweeks!