København contemplate Rosenborg task

FC København welcome Rosenborg BK for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off round tie with each team seeking to return to the group stage after an absence of several years, although the home side have more work to do.

• København trail 2-1 after the first leg in Trondheim, where Rosenborg moved into a two-goal lead through Steffen Iversen (23 minutes) and Markus Henriksen (57) only to be pegged back by a Jesper Grønkjær header (84).

• Norwegian champions Rosenborg featured in the last 32 most recently in 2007/08, their Danish opponents making their one and only group-stage appearance in the previous season. This is Rosenborg's first UEFA Champions League campaign for three seasons, while København have twice fallen at the final hurdle before the group stage in the last three campaigns.

• Both have cause for optimism this time round, however, København showing their mettle in holding off FC BATE Borisov 3-2 in the last stage. Rosenborg kept four clean sheets in eliminating Linfield FC (2-0 on aggregate) and AIK Solna (4-0) in the second and third qualifying rounds respectively.

Previous meetings
• Prior to the first leg the teams had crossed paths only once before in UEFA competition, sharing a 1-1 draw in Copenhagen in the UEFA Cup group stage on 4 December 2008. Iversen put Rosenborg in front in the 33rd minute, Mikael Antonsson earning the home side a point with five minutes left and eliminating the visitors in the process.

• The lineups for that game were:
København: Christiansen, Pospěch, Laursen, Antonsson, Wendt,  Kvist (Nørregaard 71), Hutchinson (Júnior 71), Kristensen, Sionko, Nordstrand, César Santin.
Rosenborg: Jarstein, Lustig, Dorsin, Demidov, Alejandro Lago,  Nordvik, Strand (Storflor 75), Konan Ya (Pelu 62), Tettey, Skjelbred, Iversen (Aas 84).

• The clubs also met in the second stage of the inaugural Scandinavian Royal League in 2004/05. København were held 2-2 at home before a 1-0 win at Rosenborg with Hjalte Nørregaard scoring the only goal. The Danish club went on to win the trophy, retaining it the following year.

Match background
• Prior to the first leg København were unbeaten in their five UEFA games against Tippeligaen sides, all of which have come since August 2008. Aside from the aforementioned fixture against Rosenborg, the Copenhagen club have won both previous home games 3-1 against Norwegian sides. They overcame Lillestrøm SK in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup second qualifying round and Stabæk Fotball in last season's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, also winning each tie on aggregate.

• Rosenborg are also unbeaten against Danish opposition in UEFA competition and – apart from that draw against København – have won both their previous away matches by a single goal. They defeated Brøndby IF 3-2 in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round before a 2-1 win at the same opponents in the UEFA Cup first round six years later when Per Ciljan Skjelbred scored the decisive goal.

Team ties
• Rosenborg's squad includes Danish centre-half Kris Stadsgaard, who spent four and a half years in his homeland with FC Nordsjælland before signing for Reggina Calcio in 2007/08, moving onto Rosenborg in 2008.

• Rosenborg midfielder Fredrik Winsnes scored four goals in 45 league appearances for Danish club Aalborg BK between 2006 and 2007. Club-mate Rade Prica also played for AaB between 2006 and 2008, his 48 Superligaen outings bringing 28 goals including the winner in a 2-1 victory at København on 5 May 2007.

• København coach Ståle Solbakken and his assistant Bård Wiggen are both Norwegian, with the former due to take charge of Norway's national side at the end of their UEFA EURO 2012 campaign.

• Grønkjær scored the only goal as Denmark beat Norway 1-0 in a UEFA EURO 2004 qualifier at the Parken Stadium, København's home ground, on 7 June 2003.

• Among the players who have played for both clubs are former Norway defender André Bergdølmo, winner of four successive league titles with Rosenborg between 1997 and 2000 before Danish title success with København in 2006 and 2007, and Harald Martin Brattbakk. The striker scored 14 goals in 31 league games for København between 2000 and 2001 having made his name at Rosenborg, scoring 149 times in 223 Tippeligaen outings and lifting eight league crowns in two spells with the club.