Birkirkara or Heart of Midlothian will be facing FC Krasnodar of Russia in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.

The first leg between Birkirkara and Hearts ended in a goalless draw with the second leg scheduled for next week in Edinburgh.

FC Krasnodar were founded in 2008 but after being promoted to the Russian First Division in 2009, they were promoted to the Russian Premier League in 2010.

They took part in the UEFA Europa League in season 2014/15. They successfully completed three Europa League qualification phases after defeating Sillamäe Kalev, Diósgyőr and Real Sociedad on aggregate. The team then advanced to the Group Stage, where they were drawn into Group H alongside Lille, Wolfsburg and Everton, eventually finishing third.

The following season, Krasnodar got to the Europa League group stage for the second time in a row. Their group consisted of Borussia Dormund, PAOK and Gabala. They won all their home games and even pulled off a surprising 1–0 win against Dortmund. They finished first with 4 wins (1–0 against Dortmund, 2–1 against PAOK, 2–1 and 3–0 against Gabala), 1 draw (0–0 against PAOK and 1 loss (1–2 against Dortmund). They were eliminated in the round of 32 by Sparta Prague.