The Double Gameweek 33s of Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion in a nutshell:
- Chelsea players scoring 5+ points: 0
- Brighton players scoring 5+ points: 10
A dismal few days for the Blues, compounding a bleak few weeks, culminated in a desperately poor performance at the Amex on Tuesday night.
Brighton were not just deserved winners but also merited the margin of victory, with Liam Rosenior’s side meekly surrendering.
Here are our Scout Notes from the game.
PALMER + PEDRO INJURY LATEST
The Chelsea Double Gameweek 33 disaster was, for many FPL managers, sealed before kick-off. The Blues’ teamsheet not only contained no Joao Pedro (£7.7m), who Rosenior hoped to have back after Saturday’s no-show, but also no Cole Palmer (£10.5m). Hamstring tightness put paid to his involvement.
There was no update on the pair after full-time but, before kick-off, the under-fire Rosenior explained more.
“Cole’s had a bit of tightness in his hamstring, which he’s been carrying. He’s going to be out for this game, and we’ll see how he moves on for the FA Cup semi-final.
“Not [worth risking Joao Pedro] for this one. I think Joao Pedro will be good for Sunday, but this game has come too close for him.” – Liam Rosenior
“UNACCEPTABLE”
We’re so used to unconditional praise from Rosenior that, when the OTT blather stops, you know something’s badly wrong.
Tuesday was the final straw for the former Strasbourg boss, who turned on his players.
“In the basics, in the pride that you should have in wearing the shirt, that was unacceptable. I’ve defended the players and I am accountable. I’ve always said that. After tonight, I think the players, as well, need to have a look in the mirror for what they put in. You can talk about tactics; tactics come after the basics. Having more courage to play, winning duels, winning headers, tackles, conceding terrible goals. That was an unacceptable performance tonight.” – Liam Rosenior
You can use any stat you want to beat Chelsea with. Last night, it was just six shots, no big chances and 0.34 xG (StatsBomb). Over the medium term, it’s five league losses to nil – the first time that’s happened in 114 years. Then you get season-long nuggets like the below, to suggest the problems run further than Rosenior-deep:
Outrun again by the way. 34 games out of 34 now for #CFC. Brighton ran 101.2km to Chelsea’s 94km https://t.co/gfcMbKTDxw
— Dom Smith (@MrDomSmith) April 21, 2026
Whether the buck stops with the manager, the players (some of them evidently ‘wantaway’) or the board, is Chelsea’s Fantasy race run for the season?
The FA Cup semi-final at least gives us a chance to have one more look at the Blues before they return to action in Gameweek 35:
The next league fixture actually has potential, as Nottingham Forest will be right in the middle of a two-legged UEFA Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa. Then again, Chelsea couldn’t find a way past a Manchester United side missing four centre-halves, so maybe it’s time to cut ties.
POINTS FOR SOME, MINIATURE INJURY FLAGS FOR OTHERS
Tuesday crowned a resoundingly successful Double Gameweek 33 for owners of most Brighton players. There were the odd exceptions: injuries curtailed the Gameweeks of Diego Gomez (£4.9m) and Mats Wieffer (£4.9m), while Yankuba Minteh (£5.5m) produced successive blanks despite starting both games.
“Yeah, he’s okay. He has just a small issue with his ankle, but um we have now a few days to recover and I’m sure he will be okay.” – Fabian Hurzeler on Mats Wieffer’s injury, which ended his evening at half-time on Tuesday
Generally, though, it was a sea of points. Even Danny Welbeck (£6.3m), whose expected midweek benching materialised, salvaged a last-gasp goal, coming off the bench to score Brighton’s stoppage-time third.
Jack Hinshelwood (£5.1m) finally delivered on his excellent recent underlying stats as a no. 10, too, scoring Brighton’s second, having missed a Sanchez-gifted sitter earlier. Ferdi Kadioglu (£4.4m), who, along with Kaoru Mitoma (£6.1m), had more shots (three) than anyone on Tuesday, lashed in Brighton’s opener from a Pascal Gross (£5.5m) corner. Both Kadioglu and Gross ended the Gameweek on a joint-team-best 16 points.
This match was just a continuation of Brighton’s excellent individual and collective form. Arch-creator Gross supplied a whopping nine chances over the Gameweek. The defence was excellent, delivering its fourth clean sheet in eight matches. Jan Paul van Hecke‘s (£4.6m) attacking threat was in evidence across the double; he nearly followed up Saturday’s assist with a goal against Chelsea.
The tiny violins are out for van Hecke owners: he’s going to lose last night’s bonus point after the next update.
Above: Brighton players sorted by chances created (CC) over Gameweek 33
Probably the big development over the Gameweek was the injury to Gomez. It’s likely to keep him out for much of the rest of the season, boosting the game-time prospects of Mitoma and Minteh.
DECENT FIXTURES AHEAD
Encouragingly, the three-week break didn’t disrupt Brighton’s momentum, which hopefully bodes well for the 11-day gap until their next fixture.
And it’s a very decent run-in for the Seagulls:
The Premier League’s other ‘crisis’ club, Newcastle United, await next. Relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers follow. Leeds may be safe and/or playing days after an FA Cup final in Gameweek 37.
Plenty of potential for further Albion points, then. And plenty to play for, with Hurzeler’s troops in sixth place and right in the mix for a European spot.
Remember, sixth could get Champions League football!
