Lausanne, Switzerland, June 17, 2017 - China host Japan Sunday in Kunshan for a classic Asian derby which is the 28th time the two sides come head to head in the history of the FIVB World League. Japan lead the series 17-10, including winning the last two, in 2008 and 2016.
Head-to-Head• This will be the 28th match between China and Japan in the World League. Japan won 17 and China 10, including the last two, in 2008 and 2016.
• Last year China won 3-0 in Xuancheng.
• China have won six of their last seven encounters with Japan, at Asian Championships, Asian Games, Olympic Qualifying tournament and World League.
• Japan's win in this run of seven matches was a 3-0 victory at the 2014 Asian Games.
China• After their 3-1 win over Australia on Saturday, China now have collected four victories and four defeats in the 2017 World League.
• China have won their last two fixtures in the World League and could win three in a row for the first time since seven straight in 2014-2015.
• China could suffer their 150th defeat in the World League. They have 64 wins and 149 defeats thus far.
• Chuan Jiang, China's top scorer in the 2017 World League, improved his tournament total to 140 points after his 23-point effort against Australia.
Japan• Japan have won five of their last six World League matches, including a 3-2 win over Turkey on Saturday.
• They could win at least six World League matches in a single season for the second time, after 1993 (10) when they finished in sixth place.
• Japan have never booked six victories in a stretch of seven consecutive World League matches.
• They could play three consecutive five-setters in the World League for the first time.
• Yuki Ishikawa was Japan’s top scorer against Turkey with 22 points, while Masahiro Yanagida produced five aces.