Lausanne, Switzerland, June 8, 2017 - Slovakia and Australia meet again in the 2017 FIVB World League Friday in Helsinki, after the European side won 3-1 in their very first meeting in the history of the competition last week.
Head-to-Head• Last week on 3 June, Slovakia recorded a 3-1 World League victory over Australia in these nations' first ever meeting at world level.
• Slovakia have won four of their last five World League matches against AVC opposition, including each of their last three.
• Australia have lost eight of their last nine World League matches against CEV nations, with last week's five-set victory over Portugal as the only exception.
Slovakia• Slovakia's 3-0 defeat against Finland in their first D2 fixture came after they had won their opening three 2017 World League matches for the loss of only one set.
• Slovakia could claim four wins in a single World League edition for the first time. They recorded exactly three victories in each of their previous three participations.
• Matej Patak (53) is Slovakia's leading scorer in this year's World League, 23 more than next best Emanuel Kohut (30). Australia have four players to have amassed more than 30 points in the 2017 edition.
Australia• Australia have already beaten Portugal and China in the 2017 World League. They could win more than two matches in a single edition for the second time, after 2014 (7).
• Australia's 2014 World League campaign included a run of four victories in a row. That is the only previous occasion they have won consecutive World League matches.
Australia have provided the best scorer in all four of their 2017 World League matches – Paul Carroll (v Japan and China), Nathan Roberts (v Portugal) and Lincoln Williams (v Slovakia).