Steve Bruce says he is hopeful Sunderland can keep up their decent record against the top four ahead of a tough run of fixtures.
The Black Cats travel to Wigan Athletic after the international break but then face Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United in consecutive weekends.
Bruce's side have a good record against the sides who have finished in the top half, recording wins over Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur last season, as well as last week's 1-0 victory over Manchester City.
Bruce believes the big sides bring out the best in his team and has backed his squad to cause further upsets when they face the likes of Arsenal and United later this month.
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."