Lausanne, Switzerland, July 13, 2017 - Reigning Olympic champions take on Italy in Macau Friday in a rematch of their opening week clash which the Asians won in four sets at home in Kunshan. Italy last beat China at the 2015 FIVB World Grand Prix, but China tied their overall head-to-head count in the competition at 12-12 last week.
Head-to-Head• China have won four of their last five meetings with Italy at world level.
• Italy's last major victory over China came at the 2015 World Grand Prix (3-2).
• These teams also met last weekend in their opening match to the 2017 World Grand Prix season. Hosts China won by 3-1.
China• China won their first two matches in their opening weekend, against Italy and Russia, before suffering defeat against United States.
• China have now lost four of their last seven matches at the World Grand Prix.
• China have won 10 of their last 12 World Grand Prix matches in Macau.
Italy• Italy started off their World Grand Prix season with defeats against China and United States before recovering with a 3-2 victory against Russia.
• Italy have lost their last two matches against Asian opposition at the World Grand Prix.
• Against Russia, Paola Egonu paced her team with 39 points. None of her teammates contributed more than 16.