Head-to-Head
• This will be the 18th WGP match between Japan and Italy. Japan have won seven, including three of the last four.
• Italy won the most recent encounter 3-2 in last year's WGP, on 8 August in Hong Kong. That match was alsIo the first match for both teams in their second preliminary weekend.
• Later in 2014, Italy defeated Japan 3-0 in Bari in the second round at the World Championship.
Japan
• Japan lost their opening match against Brazil (3-1) last week, but they beat Thailand 3-0 and Serbia 3-1 in their next two matches.
• Japan have won 10 of their last 12 WGP matches, only suffering two defeats against Brazil.
• Japan have won the opening set in all three matches this season.
• Miyu Nagaoka and Sarina Koga have scored 44 points each.
• Koga scored a team-high 23 points in their 3-1 win against Serbia.
Italy
• Last weekend, Italy bounced back from a 3-1 defeat against USA by beating Belgium and Turkey in straight sets.
• They can defeat a host country for the second time in a row after their 3-0 win against Turkey last week.
• Italy can win three matches in a row. They have recorded three-match-winning streaks in all their participations from 2004 onward.
• Indre Sorokaite is Italy's top scorer this season with 43 points, including a team-high 18 in their 3-0 win against Belgium.