Image Credits: Imago Images
Liverpool are at Anfield for the penultimate time this season as they host Chelsea on Saturday lunchtime in the Premier League.
What was once expected to be a decisive clash in the race for Champions League qualification has instead become an opportunity for the Reds to move closer to securing their place in Europe’s elite competition next season, with Chelsea having lost their last six matches.
Elsewhere, highly-rated Liverpool forward Josh Sonni-Lambie has been nominated for the inaugural U18 Premier League Player of the Season award. He is one of eight players shortlisted by the Premier League’s Football Development Panel.
The list also includes Mathis Eboue and Chizaram Ezenwata (Chelsea), Joseph Junior Gabriel and Albert Mills (Manchester United), Teddie Lamb (Manchester City), Joe Roberts (Middlesbrough), and Tyler Tingey (Tottenham Hotspur).
Sonni-Lambie has netted 16 times in 21 U18 Premier League North appearances this season, with one final match of the campaign still to play away at Derby County. The winner will be announced at the Premier League’s youth development conference on Tuesday, May 12.
Josh Sonni-Lambie signed his first professional contract with Liverpool in February 2025. A natural No.9 with pace and a strong eye for goal, he joined the Academy at U14 level after being spotted in grassroots football in London.
He made his U18 debut as an U16 player in the 2023-24 season and scored his first goal on the final day away at Derby County.
The forward impressed in 2024-25, leading the line for the U18s and scoring 12 goals. He carried that form into 2025-26, including a long-range strike from the halfway line against Stoke City and his first European goal in a UEFA Youth League win over Galatasaray.
Sonni-Lambie also stepped up to the U21s, making his debut in a Vertu Trophy group-stage match against Crewe Alexandra in October. By mid-February, he had reached 20 goals across all competitions.