Strasbourg – Mainz 05

The home team will avenge the defeat in Mainz.

Over the past twenty years Strasbourg has made its second appearance in European competitions. A few years ago the team failed even to get through the Europa League qualifying, ending its journey as early as August. The current Strasbourg run has already been far more successful than the aforementioned one. The French side reached the quarterfinals without much difficulty, where they for the first time found themselves in a precarious position. Strasbourg put itself on the edge of elimination by the result of the first leg of the Conference League quarterfinal in Germany. The match between the opponents at the Mewa Arena began with two defensive lapses by Strasbourg, which led to conceded goals. For Mainz, Sano and Posh scored on the 11th and 19th minutes. However subsequent events of the match showed that what happened at its start could be attributed to a brief moment of mental fog among the French players. Going forward the teams played on equal terms, and Strasbourg created sharper moments that could have ended in goals. However the referee recorded Mainz's 2-0 victory, and after his final whistle a scuffle broke out on the field, further straining the relations between the rivals. Bookmakers made the home side the favorites for the return match, offering odds of 1.90 on their victory. Unlike its opponent, Strasbourg entered the return quarterfinal with a boost. The French Football Federation moved the May match of the Ligue 1 round involving the team in Brest to give Gary O'Neil's charges a chance to properly prepare to host guests from the Bundesliga. Mainz were forced to host Freiburg at their stadium, losing 0-1 in a rather dull match with few goal-scoring opportunities. In the previous round of the Conference League Mainz failed to beat Sigma Olomouc away, who were regarded as the weakest representative of the Round of 16. Now the Germans must travel to the stadium of a Ligue 1 side that is very lively and capable, with nowhere to retreat. Only in recent months Strasbourg, at home, have dealt with clubs such as Crystal Palace, Lille, Monaco and Nice. Mainz will not escape being counted among the losers.