Mainz 05 host Strasbourg on Thursday in the first leg of their Conference League quarter-final at MEWA Arena, with both sides arriving in winning form and with a place in the last four now within reach. Mainz are chasing a fourth straight win. Strasbourg are chasing a third.
For Mainz, the timing is sharp. They beat Hoffenheim 2-1 on Saturday, with Phillip Tietz scoring twice, and that followed a 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on March 22. The result lifted them to ninth in the Bundesliga and extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to eight matches, a stretch that has pulled the club away from the relegation danger it faced when Urs Fischer was appointed in December.
Their European home record gives them another reason for belief. Mainz reached this stage by beating Sigma Olomouc in the round of 16 after a 0-0 first leg and a 2-0 return-leg win at MEWA Arena, and they have won all five of their home matches in UEFA's third-tier competition this season. That makes Thursday more than a first leg. It makes it a test of whether Mainz can turn a solid domestic revival into a European edge.
Strasbourg arrive with a record that is just as hard to dismiss. They topped the Conference League league phase before beating HNK Rijeka 3-2 on aggregate in the round of 16, winning 2-1 away on March 12 before drawing 1-1 at Stade de la Meinau a week later. They are unbeaten in Europe this season with six wins and two draws from eight matches, and that run includes victories over Crystal Palace on November 27.
Gary O'Neil's side have carried that form into the league as well. They beat Nantes 3-2 before the international break and followed that with a 3-1 win over Nice on April 4, leaving them unbeaten in 10 games. O'Neil has been beaten only twice in his 16 matches in Strasbourg's dugout since taking over after Liam Rosenior's departure to Chelsea.
The away record is the one figure that complicates the picture. Strasbourg have won just two of their last five away matches, which leaves room for Mainz to make the first leg awkward even with injuries limiting their options. Stefan Bell, Andreas Hanche-Olsen, Maxim Dal, Anthony Caci and Robin Zentner are out, while Nadiem Amiri is sidelined with a heel issue. Benedict Hollerbach and Silas Katompa Mvumpa are also unavailable.
Mainz may again lean on Danny da Costa, Stefan Posch and Dominik Kohr in a back three in front of Daniel Batz, with Silvan Widmer and Phillipp Mwene as wing-backs. That shape has helped them steady themselves at the right moment. Strasbourg, though, have spent months showing they can handle pressure in Europe and carry results across different settings. Thursday's match should tell which run is more real: Mainz's home force or Strasbourg's unbeaten European habit.
