So who are Derry City's Europa League opponents FC Midtylland?

Derry City have been drawn to play FC Midtjylland in the Europa League first qualifying round.

The Candystripes kick off tonight in Denmark, while the return leg will be held on July 6th at the Sligo Showgrounds.

It was arguably one of the toughest draws Kenny Shiels and Derry City could have been handed and another reminder that UEFA's second-tier European club competition is only getting better and better.

Who are FC Midtjylland?

There isn’t much of a history at the Danish club. They were formed in 1999 -18 years ago. The Candystripes were formed in 1928 – 89 years ago.

The Danish club, nicknamed the Wolves, play at the compact MCH Arena in Herning, Denmark. The stadium can hold a capacity of 11,800.

Rivals such as Brondby and Copenhagen were winning leagues titles well before Midtjylland were formed on the cusp of the millennium.

However, Midtjylland are former Danish league champions after they successfully eclipsed their rivals in 2015, winning their first and only league title to date by four points.

How did Midtjylland become successful?

After some financial difficulty, the club came under the ownership of Matthew Benham. The Englishman became majority shareholder at the club after a £6.3m investment in 2014.

Benham made his fortune with his company, Smartodds, using mathematical models to help predict football results and soon sought to apply similar logic to Midtjylland.

The club adopted the ‘Moneyball’ system. A data-driven approach to developing players and the system has already seen the gamble pay a title-winning dividend.

What are Midtjylland’s strengths?

The Danish side are known to have success with set pieces and this has attributed to their specialist coaching in this area.

The club uses similar maths models that majority owner Matthew Benham used in his gaming career, looking to register value that others might miss.

There is even a mind coach at the Danish club to deal with the psychological aspects of the game.

How have they done recently?

The club have been unable to replicate their league triumph of 2015, but have finished respectfully in their domestic league over the last two seasons.

In 2016 the Danish outfit finished in third in the Danish Superliga and most recently finished in fifth position.

Last month Midtjylland defeated their native counterparts Randers 3-0 in a Europa League playoff game to reach the first qualifying round against Derry City.

In recent years the former Danish league champions beat Manchester United 2-1 in the first leg of their Europa League last 32 clash in 2016 before Louis Van Gaal's side progressed after winning the second leg 5-1 at Old Trafford.

Who are their star players?

Former Ajax, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rafael van der Vaart joined the club in 2016 and has made over 18 club appearances, scoring two goals in his time so far at the club.

The 34-year-old former Netherlands international, has scored 21 goals in 70 European appearances for four of his six clubs and has made over 109 appearances for his native Holland.

Paul Onuachu could be another player that causes Derry City problems in the forward line. The Nigerian-born forward was Midtjylland’s top goal scorer last season and finished the season with ten league goals.