Zenit St. Petersburg will be up against Romania’s Unirea Urziceni as they attempt to make the group stage of the 2010/11 Champions League.

The first match in the third qualifying round will be played in Romania on July 27 or 28, with the return fixture in St. Petersburg on August 3 or 4.

Current Russian Premier League leaders Zenit have only once previously taken part in Europe’s elite club competition, finishing behind Juventus and Real Madrid in the 2008/09 tournament.

“Unirea are a good, serious side with powerful, fast players,” Zenit’s Slovakian defender Tomas Hubocan was quoted as saying by Sovetski Sport.

“They finished second in their league last year, just three points behind the winners,” he went on.

The winners will go forward to a final play-off against the lowest-ranked qualifier from England, France, Italy, Germany or Spain. The losers will have to make do with a play-off for a spot in the less lucrative and prestigious Europa League’s group stage.

MOSCOW, July 16 (RIA Novosti)