Sheffield United: 'They will give teams in this league a lot of problems' - Chelsea manager Frank Lampard on Blades test

Lampard locked horns with Wilder and the Blades last term while in charge of Derby County.

And he was very impressed with what he saw from United and their manager, both last season and this.

‘They have started well,” Lampard said.

“I was hugely impressed with them last season, their style of play and formation.

“The job Chris has done there can’t be underestimated, and I don’t think it is.

“The recognition he has got is very well deserved - to take that club from where he has, to play with a style and identity he has, when he is a man who feels deeply about the club.

“I felt that when we went to Sheffield United last year on the line next to him.

“I look forward to going up against him, against a good team who have stuck to their principles and who will give teams in this league a lot of problems.”

In the build-up to the game, Lampard inevitably faced questions over United's 3-5-2 system and the much lauded overlapping centre halves.

And the former England international says Wilder deserves plenty of credit for his tactical approach at Bramall Lane.

“We have to give credit where it’s due,” Lampard said. “There’s always something nice about being a leader rather than a follower, and that caught a lot of teams in the Championship cold.

“I really enjoyed the tactical battle of going up against them twice. It is certainly something you have to applaud and it gives a lot of threats against you.

“You have to work out how you can damage them from the way they play yourselves.

“From watching their first games, there’s not just a tactical edge to the way they play.

“They are also physical and there is a spirit about the way they play.

“That may have grown with trusting the players who have got them up.”