LONDON - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will find himself in familiar territory in more ways than one when he takes charge of Manchester United for the first time at Cardiff City on Saturday.

So often previous United manager Alex Ferguson's go-to substitute when things were going wrong on the pitch-most notably his match-winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final-the Norwegian now faces another rescue act.

The 45-year-old was named as interim manager by the troubled Old Trafford club on Wednesday in the wake of Jose Mourinho's firing 24 hours earlier.

The final straw for United's hierarchy was a 3-1 defeat by Premier League leader Liverpool which left United 19 points off the top and 11 points away from fourth-place Chelsea.

Former striker Solskjaer's immediate focus will be three points at Cardiff, which he managed for eight months in 2014 but could not keep the Welsh side in the top flight before being fired at the start of the following campaign.

Solskjaer had a handy knack of scoring goals as an impact sub during 11 years at United, with many of his 126 strikes arriving after starting on the bench.

Having the same kind of influence while sat in a dugout alongside former United midfielder and ex-Ferguson sidekick Mike Phelan, who was named as his assistant on Wednesday, will be the biggest test yet of Solskjaer's lesser-known managerial capabilities.

While he managed to win successive Norwegian titles for Molde in 2011 and 2012, reviving a United side in disarray after its worst start for 28 years is a big step up.

On the plus side, after winning six Premier League titles and two FA Cups with United, as well as the Champions League, he knows exactly the kind of attacking soccer the fans crave but which was in short supply under Mourinho this season.

"Manchester United is in my heart and it's brilliant to be coming back in this role," Solskjaer, who made 366 appearances for the club and in 2008 became reserve-team manager, said in a statement after being named caretaker coach.

"I'm really looking forward to working with the very talented squad we have, the staff and everyone at the club."

Sitting just above the relegation zone in 16th place, Cardiff is unlikely to put out the welcome mat for its old boss, especially as he hardly distinguished himself while in charge.

With three successive home wins in the bag, Neil Warnock's Bluebirds will also fancy their chances of ruining Solskjaer's return.

In the likes of Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford, Solskjaer has more quality at his disposal than when he was at Cardiff.

Yet conjuring a style of play that gets the best out of United's attacking options while shoring up a leaky rearguard is what he will be judged on.

Much of the focus will be on United at the weekend but Liverpool has a gilt-edged opportunity to open a four-point gap over Manchester City when it travels to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday.

Second-place City is at home to relegation-battling Crystal Palace on Saturday, when fourth-place Chelsea entertains Leicester.

ASSOCIATED PRESS