The winner of the second round Champions League qualifying tie between Shelbourne and Qarabag will take face Romanian side FCSB or Macedonian outfit KF Shkendija in the next round.
The draw was made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon this morning, ahead of Joey O'Brien's side hoping to cause a big upset to overcome the Azerbaijani side.
The Reds begin their second round tie at Tolka Park on Wednesday before travelling to Baku next week.
FCSB are the modern equivalent of Steaua Bucuresti, having changed name due to ownership issues, and would be favourites to progress to round three.
They reached the last 16 of last year's Europa League before losing to Lyon.
Coincidentally, Shels came close to drawing FCSB in the first round, but were instead paired with Linfield.
If Shels were to lose, they would drop into the Europa League third round qualifying, and they were unfortunate in the draw which took place at noon.
They would face the defeated team in the tie between HNK Rijeka of Croatia and Ludogorets 1945 from Bulgaria.
It represents one of the more difficult draws at the stage.
A win in the Europa League tie would guarantee a place in the Conference League outright.
Losing would see the Premier Division champions move into the Conference play-off.
St Patrick's Athletic have been handed a nightmare draw should they reach round three in the Conference qualifying.
They will face the loser of Turkey's Besiktas and Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Turkish outfit are currently managed by former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solsjaker.
Pat's are at home to Estonian outfit Nomme JK Kalju to begin their second round tie.
Shamrock Rovers would face the winner of the Ballkani from Kosovo or Floriana of Malta if they reach round three in the Conference qualifying.
The Hoops visit Gibraltar this week to take on St Joseph's in the second round.
Champions League third round qualifying draw:
Winner of KF Shkendija (Macedonia) / FCSB (Romania) v Winner of Shelbourne / Qarabag (Azerbaijan).
Europa League third round qualifying draw:
Loser of HNK Rijeka (Croatia) / Ludogorets 1945 (Bulgaria) v Loser of Shelbourne / Qarabag (Azerbaijan).
Conference League third round qualifying draw:
Winner of St Patrick's Athletic / Nomme JK Kalju (Estonia) v Loser of Besiktas (Turkey) / Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
Winner of Ballkani (Kosovo) / Floriana (Malta) v St Joseph's (Gibraltar) / Shamrock Rovers
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
