On paper, Dundalk should have an open goal to a second Europa League group stage adventure in four years.
Opponents from the Faroe Islands - whose league is ranked 53rd of UEFA’s 55 nations - stand in their way at Aviva Stadium in a winner-takes-all showdown.
For a team used to some rotten draws at pivotal stages in Europe, this is as good as it gets and there can be no excuses.
Yet Dundalk have been warned not to take their opponents for granted because playing KI will be “like facing Stoke City under Tony Pulis”.
That’s the view of Dubliner Christopher Harrington who was head coach of KI’s league rivals B71 and then assistant at the biggest club in the country, HB.
Harrington - brother of Irish boxing star Kellie Harrington - joined B71 with six games to go last season and achieved his goal of keeping them up with a game to spare.
HB - who are leading KI by seven points in this season’s title race - then pounced and made him head coach of their women’s team and assistant manager of the men’s.
But he left three months into a two-year deal after a work permit issue led to a pay dispute and Harrington is now boss at Icelandic women’s side Fram.
He is well placed to assess the team putting Faroese football on the map, as no club side from there has reached this stage of Europe before.
But KI have had their share of good fortune along the way.
They received a walkover in their opening Champions League qualifier when Slovan Bratislava - who dumped Dundalk out last season - were rocked by a Covid outbreak.
That paved the way for a second round clash with Swiss side Young Boys - well versed at this level - who won 3-1, but it was no stroll in the park.
And after dropping into the Europa League, KI then raised eyebrows when they obliterated Dinamo Tbilisi of Georgia 6-1 in the Faroes last week.
“This is a dangerous game for Dundalk,” Harrington told Mirror Sport. “I watched KI against Dinamo and they completely dismantled them. It was like a training session.
“I know them well and they remind me of a Stoke City team under Tony Pulis, but that’s a compliment.
“They’re well drilled, hard to break down and feed off second balls. That’s their identity and they make no apologies for it because it’s what they do - and they do it well.
“They’re known for it throughout the Faroes and they have big, physical players.
“Yes, they got lucky against Slovan Bratislava but I saw the Young Boys game and KI were well in it for long periods.
“If Dundalk haven’t done their homework, they’re in for a surprise because KI will come with a game plan.
“The game changer will be if Dundalk score early. KI would have to come out and play and with the players they have, Dundalk can open them up.”
As an Irishman, Harrington wants to see League of Ireland clubs competing at the highest levels in Europe.
But although based in Iceland since February, he still has strong ties with football in the Faroe Islands and is rooting for KI tonight.
Klaksvikar is a town of 5,000 football fanatics
And Harrington jokes that he met most of them on the only road from Torshavn to Klaksvikar when they beat B36 to clinch a first league title in 20 years last season.
“I was going to the airport after the game but you couldn’t move an inch on that road! The whole of Klaksvikar was in Torshavn for the day.
“Cars and busses everywhere with blue flags draped over them. The club means so much to the town, they’re football mad.”
But, according to Harrington, the entire 50,000 population of the Faroe Islands will be cheering for KI.
“Teams from the Faroe Islands or San Marino used to get picked off after 20 minutes because they weren’t fit or tactically astute,” he said.
“But it’s not like that anymore. The coaching has evolved and the players have improved because of it.
“Look at B36 for example, they had a great run in Europe this year. They beat Levadia Tallinn, The New Saints of Wales and went out to CSKA Sofia.
“The league and the coaches have come a long way and Faroese clubs have done a lot better in Europe of late than, say, Icelandic clubs.
“Look at the national team (in the Nations League). Three or four years ago, you couldn’t imagine Faroe Islands winning two games in a week (Malta and Andorra).”
KI have six of those internationals in their squad and also have recruits from Nigeria, Poland, Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, Norway and Denmark.
“On paper it’s probably the best draw Dundalk could get but I doubt people have been following what’s going on in the Faroes and it’s improving rapidly,” added Harrington.
“They’ll give Dundalk a game and the whole country is behind them. But the two concerns are the venue, as Dundalk have won Cup finals there, and if they score early.”
