Having dropped down to the UEL following their loss to Kairat in UEFA Champions League qualification, KuPS travel to Riga this Wednesday for the first leg, before hosting RFS in Kuopio on 14th August.
The Veikkausliiga champions will again not face a particularly long trip should they see off the Latvian champions, as they will meet the winner of the tie between Fredrikstad of Norway and Midtjylland of Denmark.
Those Playoff ties will be played over the following two midweeks, with KuPS again hosting the second leg, should they be featuring. The winner of the Playoff Round tie will enter the League Phase of the UEL.
KuPS have bad recent memories of facing Norwegian opponents - Tromso ended their European run in the Second Qualifying Round of the UEFA Conference League (UECL) last season. They have not faced Danish opposition since a narrow loss to Copenhagen in UEL qualifying in 2018
Should the Finnish side be eliminated by RFS, they will still have the chance to play in a major League Phase or Group Stage for the first time, as they will drop into the UECL.
The loser of the KuPS vs RFS tie will join the UECL in the Playoff Round, and will face the loser of the UEL Third Qualifying Round tie between Hamrun Spartans of Malta and Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv. The winner of that tie will reach the UECL League Phase.