Double gameweek 33 in FPL is huge, but it’s also unforgiving if you’re carrying the wrong players into it. With doubles everywhere and every minute counting, this is the week to cut out injury doubts, bad fixtures and players whose upside has already peaked. If you’re chasing rank, the key now is being ruthless: turn shaky minutes into reliable doublers and make sure your squad is set to attack the run-in. Here are five players I’d be happy to sell this week.
Bryan Mbeumo (8.5m)
Mbeumo has been a terrific FPL asset for large parts of the season, but the timing now feels off. If you followed the benching call last week, you were probably relieved, and I’d give the same advice again here. Even if he comes back into the XI, his form has cooled and there’s no double for Manchester United to tempt you into holding him through the week. At this stage of the season, you want players who can give you 160-180 minutes of upside across the double, not someone with one awkward fixture and a possible rotation cloud. Mbeumo’s still a good player – just not the one I’d keep now.
Declan Rice (7.2m)
Rice has had a brilliant season for Arsenal, but the FPL numbers over the last six gameweeks simply haven’t been strong enough to justify holding him through this stretch. An attacking rate of 0.04 xG per game isn’t doing much for a midfielder, and his 9.6 DEFCON average falls below the threshold that really makes a difference. That matters in a double gameweek, where you want players who can realistically return in multiple ways. With no double and a single fixture against Manchester City, Rice looks like a luxury pick you can move on from. There are better places to spend the cash if you’re chasing ceiling.
Anton Stach (4.8m)
If Stach was your Leeds midfielder of choice, it’s a brutal but straightforward one: sell. He’s out until Gameweek 35, which makes him an unnecessary squad clogger at a time when every spot needs to work. You don’t want dead weight sitting in your XI through the biggest weeks of the season, especially with better Leeds options available right now. A straight switch to another midfielder from the same team makes sense – Ethan Ampadu for the DEFCON potential, or Brenden Aaronson if you want the more advanced, goal-seeking option. Either way, there’s no reason to waste a slot on an injured player.
Nico O’Reilly (5.0m)
O’Reilly was a very nice wildcard punt last week, but the days since have been a bit of a rollercoaster. The 14 points were great, then came the suspected hamstring injury and the early sub, which left owners sweating. There hasn’t been a clear update from Pep yet, so the situation remains messy. The good news is that recent training images have shown him back with the first team, which slightly softens the blow. Even so, if you can move him for a fully secure starter, it’s not the worst idea. This is the part of the season where you want certainty, not guesswork.
Malick Thiaw (5.1m)
Thiaw does have some appealing traits – decent DEFCON, a bit of attacking threat, and enough minutes to matter. But the timing is all wrong. Newcastle’s defence has not been clean enough to justify keeping faith through a run that includes Bournemouth at home and Arsenal away. That’s a tricky pair for any backline, especially one that struggles to lock down clean sheets consistently. When you’re choosing defenders in a double gameweek, you want upside or reliability – ideally both. Thiaw doesn’t quite give you enough of either right now. If you can upgrade, this is the moment to do it.
