The performances and results against Liverpool, Manchester City and Co. that should give Sheffield United some heart ahead of testing run

And things don't get a whole lot easier anytime soon, either. Next up for Chris Wilder's men is a run of incredibly tough fixtures throughout October and November against Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, with a game against newly-promoted Fulham thrown in the mix for good measure.

Although Wilder is big on looking forward, rather than back, can United nevertheless take some heart from their performances and results against those top sides last season? Let's take a look...

Arsenal (A), 04/10/20

Arsenal now are a vastly different animal to the side that United beat 1-0 at Bramall Lane in October 2019. Lys Mousset got the winner for the Blades that day at a packed stadium - two things that will be missing next Sunday when the Blades make the trip down to the capital.

Unai Emery had been sacked as Gunners manager by the time that United walked out at the Emirates in the return leg last season, and things didn't look too promising for the Blades when Gabriel Martinelli put the Gunners ahead on the stroke of half-time.

But United's late charge bore fruit when a move involving all United's substitutes ended with John Fleck smashing a volley off the turf and into the top corner, to earn a deserved point and preserve United's unbeaten away run in London last season.

The teams met once more in the FA Cup at Bramall Lane, at the quarter-final stage. United were on another poor run, after consecutive 3-0 defeats to Manchester United and Newcastle United, but put in a spirited display to again hit back from going a goal down. But this time, it was Arsenal who netted a late goal, through Real Madrid loanee Dani Ceballos. The 90th-minute winner sent them through to the semi-finals and they eventually lifted the trophy at an empty Wembley Stadium.

Liverpool (A), 24/10/20

The eventual Premier League champions made the short flight - yes, flight - to South Yorkshire last season after starting like a train, winning their first six league games. But in the seventh at Bramall Lane, they were made to work incredibly hard for their 1-0 victory in a game that many pundits predicted they would walk.

United had good chances to go ahead themselves, before Liverpool did so with 20 minutes remaining - and in the most fortuitous of circumstances. Gini Wijnaldum's tame shot dribbled towards Dean Henderson, before squirming between his legs and rolling agonisingly over the line.

Things were a little more straightforward for the champions in the return leg at Anfield, helped by Mo Salah opening the scoring after four minutes when George Baldock unfortunately lost his footing. But again, when many thought the floodgates would open, United stayed in the game until Sadio Mane added a second just after the hour mark.

The Blades should have pulled one back late on, Oli McBurnie failing to get enough on the ball at full-stretch, but left Merseyside with no points and Jürgen Klopp's undying respect.

Man City (H), 31/10/20

United faced City and Liverpool within days of each other last season, and repeat the feat this campaign. Things could have been very different at The Etihad when Mousset latched onto the end of John Fleck's pass and finished past Claudio Bravo, but VAR showed he was just offside and the goal didn't stand.

City went ahead when Sergio Aguero blasted home from Kevin De Bruyne's pass, after a helping hand from referee Chris Kavanagh. Kavanagh got in the way of John Fleck as he looked to break, the ball fell kindly to De Bruyne and Aguero did the rest.

City sealed the points with a breakaway goal from De Bruyne, and it was that Aguero/De Bruyne combination that proved the difference in the return leg at Bramall Lane.

Dean Henderson saved a penalty from Gabriel Jesus, and Pep Guardiola brought Aguero off the bench as he sought a winner. The Argentinian latched onto one of the crosses of the season from De Bruyne to tap home from a few yards, and City went back over the Pennines with all three points.

Chelsea (A), 07/11/20

Going to Stamford Bridge last season, and receiving some half-time home truths from Wilder after going 2-0 down in the first half, proved to be one of the early turning points of United's campaign as they fought back to draw 2-2. Callum Robinson gave them the best possible start to the second period, turning home Enda Stevens' cross for his first Premier League goal, and an 89th-minute own goal from Kurt Zouma - under pressure from Mousset - sent the United fans behind that goal absolutely mental.

The return leg at Bramall Lane was even more memorable, even if it was played in front of an empty Bramall Lane amid the Covid-19 lockdown. David McGoldrick scored his first league goal of the season early on, before McBurnie made it 2-0 just after the half-hour mark.

Frank Lampard made a defensive change at half-time to match up United's shape, but it did no good as McGoldrick scored his second and United's third with 13 minutes left. It wasn't enough to seal a place in Europe for the Blades - but these performances, and some of the results, should surely provide a bit of inspiration and hope for both players and fans ahead of an incredibly testing run this time around.

Thank you for reading this article, one of dozens we publish every single day to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative coverage of YOUR club. This depth of Blades coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to from the football team at The Star, please consider taking out a subscription to our new discounted sports-only package. You'll find all the details HERE. Your support is much appreciated. Chris Holt, Football Editor