Exclusive: Ole is buzzing for a huge week at United
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is looking forward to a "great week" for Manchester United, with three huge Premier League fixtures to come.
It all kicks off at 16:30 GMT today with Aston Villa's first visit to Old Trafford in three years, with three important points up for grabs.
On Wednesday night, Jose Mourinho will bring his Tottenham Hotspur side to the Theatre of Dreams for a much-anticipated game beneath the floodlights.
To cap off a fantastic week of football, United will then travel across town to face old foes Manchester City in the derby at the Etihad Stadium.
“We’re looking forward to the whole week and we’re going to stay in Manchester for the whole week. Let’s make sure we start well against Villa.”
“It was the last time for a while that we could have a training week. We’ve not had a training week for a while!
“So I can’t wait to get out at Old Trafford again and the boys took a lot of heart from the Sheffield United comeback last weekend. After a bad start, the performance there was good and I’m looking forward to facing Villa.
“We’re looking forward to the whole week and we’re going to stay in Manchester for the whole week. Let’s make sure we start well against Villa.”
Aston Villa are a side that Ole knows well after making 15 appearances against them as a player.
The manager is delighted to see the club back in the Premier League, after spending the three previous years in the Championship.
“They deserve to be in the Premier League,” says Ole. “I think it’s a great club. I scored a couple of times there at Villa Park, which I enjoyed. I played a lot against Aston Villa.
“They’re back to where they belong. But for us, we’re at home now and we need to keep on winning. The Brighton game was a good game, last time at Old Trafford, and hopefully we can continue.”
"They deserve to be in the Premier League. It’s a great club. I scored a couple of times there at Villa Park, which I enjoyed. I played a lot against Aston Villa. They’re back to where they belong."
One man who is looking forward to playing Villa is Axel Tuanzebe, after the defender spent two spells on loan at Villa Park and notably played in their Championship play-off final success at Wembley Stadium last May.
Tuanzebe played a full match on Thursday night, against Astana in the Europa League, yet he might feature in today's Premier League outing at Old Trafford.
“Obviously, Luke Shaw and Axel played in Astana and they’re back, fit and available for us, and ready to be on the pitch," explains the boss. "I think we’re looking strong.
“Of course, some of them didn’t travel - they’ll benefit from that because they’ve had a good week of training. The ones that went to Astana played and they’ll benefit from that as well.”
MUTV's live coverage of United v Aston Villa begins at 15:00 GMT, ahead of the 16:30 GMT kick-off.