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Italy are two points behind and have one less victory compared to Russia, but are in no way behind in their performance in this final tournament, quite the opposite in fact. The Italians lost against Belgium in a marathon five set match although they were superior on offense and had a +11 point advantage in the final point tally. That same Belgium team demolished Russia by 20 points the next day. Less than two months ago, Italy hosted three control games against Russia, winning two matches 3-1 and losing one 2-3 after the Italians had a 2-1 lead in sets. The timing of those matches favored Russia, as those were their main tests prior to the third qualification tournament for this EC, while the Italians just started their preparations in that period. Italy are missing two of their starters here, setter Malinov and middle blocker Bonifacio, who was not even a part of the team during preparations, while Russia don't have their starting receiver Cheremisina and middle blocker Konovalova, who played back then. Cheremisina was even one of their best. If we also look at the statistics for this EC, even with the two starting defeats they still have one of the most efficient offenses in this tournaments with 42% realization, while Russia are at 34%. Italy also have slightly better reception, while they are about equal in serving and blocking. The Italian opposites, two excellent players Nicoletti and Egona, are what should make the difference, as they're both in great form unlike the up-and-down performances of Russia's Grechanaia and Lazareva. Another balance changer is Guerra on reception for Italy, the MVP of the cadets EC last year, who has yet to shine at this tournament. It's about time she flashed today, as well as the entire team, as Italy have no more room for errors.