Olsen thinks Danes will show their quality

The SuperLiga champions were only denied a point at Old Trafford, last time out in the UEFA Champions League, when Andre Onana saved Jordan Larsson's last-gasp penalty, and the Scandinavians gave a very good account of themselves throughout the tie.

With United needing another victory to maintain a push for a top-two spot in Group A, and qualification for the knockout stages, ex-winger Olsen acknowledges that there will be plenty of respect for the home team at the Parken Stadium.

In a discussion with club media, Jesper, who played for the Reds between 1984 and 1988, spoke about how Denmark made the breakthrough on the international stage during his playing days and have punched above their weight in terms of the talent the country has produced, including our current striker Rasmus Hojlund.

"I mean Danish football has come a long way, for sure," he told us. "And FC Copenhagen normally lead the way. One thing about Danish football, it’s always been on the same page with development and the organisation and wanting to find solutions.

"To know how we can actually compete with the bigger countries and, of course, they don’t have the same amount of money and it’s a small country, but they always seem to be able to keep to a certain level.

"They are able to compete with those big, big teams. But, at the end, maybe with the depth, sometimes we haven’t got the same top level as some of those bigger teams, of course. It’s great, though, for a lot of the players in Denmark to grow up and learn the game and, then if they’re good enough, we know that they will go and play abroad because that is the next step for the Danish players and those in smaller countries.

"That’s why I think there are so many Danes playing abroad, because the development of Danish football has always been very, very good. To be playing against Bayern Munich and Manchester United, of course, for the players, it’s huge. What an experience."

Olsen was part of a classic Denmark team that impressed the world of football, containing the likes of Morten Olsen, Soren Lerby, the Laudrup brothers (Michael and Brian) and Preben Elkjaer.

“That’s right, that team, and kit, does resonate and also because we hadn’t really done anything before at an international tournament as a national team," he added. "So, internationally, we were always hoping to get there, get to the European Championship.

"Every year, we had just been a bit short but suddenly, we managed to get into the European Championship in 1984 and then the World Cup in 1986. The whole country was behind the team and it was an amazing ride again for us as players, but also the supporters. There were some amazing years.”