RBK begin with away match 1 August with 2nd leg on Lerkendal 8 August.
The opponent could have been worse, but it is not ideal to travel far east in Eurasia. The draw was good, but not great.
On the paper Olimpi Rustavi are favourites against their neighbours from the opposite side of the Caspian sea. The club was established last year, when FC Tbilisi and Olimpi Tbilisi merged, and won the league on their first try this spring: Rustavi heroes gear up for Europe
Capital club Astana celebrated their third league championship in October last year, but like Rosenborg they are struggling this season. Halfway in the league, they are just number 10 of 16 in the table with only four wins in 15 matches. The reason for their trouble is that they during the winter lost both their Dutch coach Arno Pijpers and several key players: Shaky start for short-staffed Astana
Both clubs are short of experience in European cups, with only four matches each. Olimpi Rustavi (FC Tbilisi) played in the qualifyers for the UEFA Cup in 2005, and lost 0-7 for Legia Warszawa after first having knocked out Shamkir of Aserbajdsjan with 5-1.
Astana lost on away goals against Moldovian Sheriff Tiraspol (2-3 win and 1-2 loss) in the Champions League qualifyers in 2003, and in the UEFA Cup 2004 they lost 1-6 for Czech side Viktoria Zizkov.
An experienced Rosenborg team should be big favourites. In the 3rd qualifying round, the opponent however will be much harder...
PS! The matches in the 3rd round might be moved to Tuesday(s). This is likely if the opponent comes from a nation with several clubs in the qualifyers.
