Sheffield United boss is convinced his team can pose a serious test for Liverpool

United have become one of the most talked about teams in the country this season, taking points off the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal during their march into the upper reaches of the table.

Although tomorrow’s match at Anfield represents their toughest assignment since climbing out of the Championship nine months ago - Jurgen Klopp’s men remain unbeaten in the competition this term - Wilder insisted Sunday’s performance against Manchester City, who included Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez in their starting eleven - demonstrated United can trouble the best in the business.

After Lys Mousset had a ‘goal’ controversially disallowed, Pep Guardiola’s side required a huge slice of luck - referee Chris Kavanagh impeding John Fleck before Sergio Aguero opened the scoring - to break United’s resolve en route to a 2-0 win.

“The gap, with what people have got available to them, has exploded in recent years,” Wilder said. “It didn’t used to be like that, it was a lot smaller, but it’s huge beyond belief now.

“I like to think we’ve shown though, that we can narrow it. And that we can even bridge it at times.

“We know what we’ve stepped into. But these lads have never given anything other than their absolute maximum. And we’re going to have to give that again.”

United also came within a whisker of frustrating Liverpool during the corresponding fixture at Bramall Lane in September; creating several fine chances before an individual error presented Klopp’s star-studded side with a victory the German later described as deserved but fortunate.

“We’ll go out there and give it our best shot,” Wilder said. “The same as we always do.

“We respect the opposition and we understand the qualities they’ve got. But we also want to try and give them something to think about, pose some questions ourselves. That’s the attitude we always take with us into every game.”