Lausanne, Switzerland, June 4, 2017 - Russia have the historical edge when they host Bulgaria Sunday in Kazan, having won 15 of their last 17 encounters, though the Balkan side will be looking at breaking with tradition for their first win of this season.
Head-to-Head• Russia have won 15 of their last 17 major encounters with Bulgaria.
• Bulgaria have won just one of their last 13 World League matches against Russia, the 3-1 intercontinental round victory on 30 June 2011.
• These nations met twice in the World League last season. Russia beat Bulgaria 3-1 at home in Kaliningrad and 3-0 in United States (Dallas).
Russia• After beating Argentina 3-0 on Friday, Russia failed to beat France in front of a home crowd in Kazan (3-1 defeat).
• Russia's last 15 World League matches have ended after three or four sets. Their last encounter that went the distance was a 3-2 defeat against Poland on 20 June 2015.
• Saturday's 3-1 defeat against France broke a streak of five matches involving Russia ending in straight sets (3 wins, 2 defeats).
• Russia could lose consecutive World League fixtures for the first time since a 12-match losing run in 2014-2015.
• Maxim Zhigalov has led his team in scoring in both encounters this weekend, with 18 points against Argentina and 17 against France.
Bulgaria• Bulgaria have started their 2017 World League campaign with back-to-back defeats losing 3-0 against France on Friday and 3-2 against Argentina on Saturday.
• Bulgaria have lost 11 of their last 12 in the competition.
• Their only victory in this run was the 3-2 triumph against Australia on 3 July of last year.