Conference League quarter-final first leg: Mainz vs Strasbourg facts
Thursday, April 2, 2026
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The UEFA Conference League quarter-final first leg brings a first European meeting between Mainz and Strasbourg in Strasbourg.
A 2-0 aggregate victory over Sigma Olomouc (0-0 a, 2-0 h) in the round of 16 sent Mainz into their first-ever European quarter-final, the German club having won four of their six games in the league phase (D1 L1) to finish seventh on 13 points.
Strasbourg advanced from the round of 16 courtesy of a 3-2 aggregate success against Rijeka (2-1 a, 1-1 h) after an unbeaten league phase campaign (W5 D1) in which they finished top of the table on 16 points.
Last match
This is the teams' first meeting.
It is the third time Mainz have faced French opponents after two draws against Saint-Étienne in the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League group stage (1-1 h, 0-0 a).
Strasbourg have won just one of their four games with German teams, 1-0 at home against Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2019/20 Europa League qualifying play-off first leg. They went on to suffer a 0-3 second-leg defeat in Germany – their most recent meeting against a Bundesliga side – to lose the tie 1-3.
Strasbourg have lost both matches in Germany without scoring, the other a 0-4 defeat at Duisburg in the 1978/79 UEFA Cup third round second leg (0-4 agg).
The first German club to reach the quarter-finals of the Conference League, Mainz are competing in their first European campaign since they finished third in Group C of the 2016/17 Europa League with a record of W2 D3 L1.
Their UEFA competition debut came at the 2005/06 UEFA Cup, where they lost 0-2 on aggregate to eventual winners Sevilla in the first round (0-0 a, 0-2 h).
The 2005/06 UEFA Cup – in which they were eliminated 2-4 on aggregate by Basel in the round of 16 (0-2 a, 2-2 h) – was also Strasbourg's last involvement in a knockout stage of European competition, although they did reach the qualifying play-offs of the 2019/20 Europa League, where they suffered that defeat by Frankfurt.
The French side's only previous major UEFA quarter‑final came in the 1979/80 European Cup, where they lost 0-4 on aggregate to Ajax (0-0 h, 0-4 a). They also reached the quarter‑finals of the 1995 Intertoto Cup, winning their single‑leg tie 2-0 at domestic rivals Metz.
Strasbourg are the fourth French club to reach the UEFA Conference League quarter‑finals after Marseille (2021/22), Nice (2022/23) and Lille (2023/24). Only Marseille went on to reach the semi‑finals.
Key stats
Mainz have lost only two of their last 12 European matches (W7 D3).
The German club have not conceded a goal in their last three UEFA Conference League games.
Mainz are unbeaten in their last ten home European fixtures (W7 D3), winning the last six.
Strasbourg are unbeaten in their ten Conference League matches this season (W7 D3), winning all five away.
The French side have won six of their last eight two‑legged European ties.
Strasbourg have won the first leg in nine of their last 12 ties in UEFA competition (D1 L2).