CELTIC learned their Europa League fate on Monday when they were pulled out of the hat alongside Zenit St Petersburg.

The Gazprom-backed Russian giants are one of the dark horses to win the tournament, ten years on from their UEFA Cup final victory over Rangers in Manchester.

Here, we take a closer look at the team the Hoops must get past to keep their European dream alive when they meet next February.  

Watch: Ahead of the Game: Celtic paired with Zenit, Rangers continue winning run and fears for Partick Thistle

The star men

Fans of English football will be familiar with Branislav Ivanovic, who joined the Russian side in February after nine years with Chelsea. His former Blues teammate Yuri Zhirkov is also on Zenit’s books and the pair are two of the most experienced players in Roberto Mancini’s squad, along with Italy international left-back Domenico Criscito. 

Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes has been pulling the strings in midfield since signing from Roma for €23 million back in July and the 23-year-old is a creative force who has already provided five goals and six assists from the centre of the park this term.

Up front, Aleksandr Kokorin has been the main danger man this season, scoring 18 goals in 28 games so far. The 26-year-old found the net five times during the group stages and started the season in lethal form by scoring six times in his first seven league games.

It is an experienced squad, with eight players boasting more than 200 top-flight appearances. But with the likes of Paredes, highly-rated 21-year-old centre-back Emanuel Mammana and youthful winger Emiliano Rigoni coming through, Mancini has built a balanced side.

Read more: Celtic's Europa League opponents Zenit have been forced to close part of their stadium as punishment for "racist behaviour"​

The manager

Roberto Mancini is a familiar face on these shores, having led Manchester City to their first league title in 44 years back in 2012. The Italian, who also guided Inter to three Serie A championships between 2005 and 2008, had spells with Galatasaray and back at the Nerazzurri before moving to Russia in the summer.

The 53-year-old took the reins at a difficult time, with Zenit having failed to qualify for the Champions League for the second year running, a major setback for a wealthy side that had become accustomed to Europe’s premier competition.

Mancini signed a three-year deal in St Petersburg that is reportedly earning him €4.5 million per year, but that didn’t stop him being linked with the Italy job after Gian Piero Ventura quit in the wake of the Azzurri’s World Cup play-off defeat to Sweden.

Watch: Ahead of the Game: Celtic paired with Zenit, Rangers continue winning run and fears for Partick Thistle

The stadium

Zenit’s home ground is the Saint-Petersburg Stadium, which also goes by the Zenit Arena. It was only opened this year for the Confederations Cup during the summer.

With a capacity of 68,134 it is the second biggest stadium in Russia and the 20th largest in Europe. The ground hosted four matches during the Confederations Cup, including the final, and will hold four group games and three knockout matches during the World Cup in the summer.

Travelling Celtic fans won’t see the stadium at capacity though, as Zenit face a partial stadium closure after falling foul of UEFA due to racist behaviour during the group stage clash with FC Vardar of Macedonia.

Fans unveiled a banner praising Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic, who was found guilty of war crimes by a U.N tribunal the day before the match and sentenced to life in prison.

Zenit have since been told that they must close the entire sector where the banner was unfurled and display a banner with the message ‘#EqualGame’ and the UEFA logo.

Read more: Celtic's Europa League opponents Zenit have been forced to close part of their stadium as punishment for "racist behaviour"​

European pedigree

Zenit will be best known in Scotland for their UEFA Cup final victory against Rangers in 2008, when they beat the Gers 2-0 in Manchester to lift their first European trophy. A UEFA Super Cup win against Manchester United followed, but since then the deepest they have got into a competition was to the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2014/15.

The Russian side have become Champions League regulars in the last 10 years, appearing in the group stage six times and progressing to the last 16 on three of those occasions.

Last season, Mircea Lucescu’s side finished top of their Europa League grouip ahead of Dundalk, Maccabi Tel-Aviv and AZ Alkmaar before being knocked out on away goals in the last 32 by Celtic’s recent Champions League rivals Anderlecht.

Watch: Ahead of the Game: Celtic paired with Zenit, Rangers continue winning run and fears for Partick Thistle

The season so far

Things have gone more smoothly in Europe than in the league for Zenit this season, as they cruised to the top of Group L. Mancini’s side won five of their six matches, beating La Liga outfit Real Sociedad home and away but missing out on a 100 per cent record by being held to a draw away to Rosenborg. They finished the group stage with an impressive goal difference of +12, scoring an average of almost three goals a game.

In the Russian Premier League, Zenit travel to Akhmat Grozny today looking to leapfrog Krasnodar and Spartak Moscow into second place ahead of the international break. They occupy fourth place in the table going into the game, with 10 wins, six draws and three defeats from 19 matches so far.

Three points would take them into second and within three points of leaders Lokomotiv, but that could increase to six if the Moscow side also record a win away to Tosno.

Russian football packs it in for three months after today’s games and therefore Zenit’s next fixture will be in Glasgow against Celtic on 15 February. The club will have played both legs of the Europa League last 32 tie by the time they return to league duty on 4 March against Amkar Perm’.