The Black Cats beat Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham at the Stadium of Light last season, and have already disposed of moneybags Manchester City this time around. However, they face a real test over the next few weeks with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United waiting in line in successive league games after the trip to Wigan on September 11. Bruce said: "The fixtures are difficult, but that is the Premier League. "Going into the end of the month, we know there is a run of fixtures - but we had them last year. "We had a run of fixtures where we thought, 'Oh, I don't fancy that', Liverpool and Arsenal at home back-to-back. "But we beat them both - and went to Wigan, Birmingham and Burnley and lost. "You can never call it, but certainly, the big teams brought out the best in us."
