8: Throughout the years Dinamo Moscow has collected a perfect record against Greenyard MAASEIK : 8 victories in 8 games. In three consecutive Champions League editions (‘07-‘08-‘09) and in 2017, Moscow preserved this unbeaten status against the Belgians, especially with two hard fought tiebreak victories in Maaseik (‘09 and ‘17).

3: With its 2-3 victory on the 1st of March 2017, Dinamo Moscow was the last Russian team emerging victoriously from a regular game in the Steengoed Arena in Belgium. Since then, Maaseik beat 3 other Russian teams: 3-0 vs. Lokomotiv Novosibirsk in 2018, 3-2 vs. Zenit Kazan in 2019 and 3-0 vs. Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2021.

2: This is the second game in a European competition Greenyard Maaseik has to play in its Steengoed Arena without spectators, due to COVID measures. Last year the Belgian vice-champion made it tot he semi-finals of the CEV-cup after away tournaments in Amriswil (Swi) and Las Palmas (Spain). The first game went clearly in favor of Maaseik: 3-0 against Zenit Saint Petersburg. Yet in the Golden Set, the Russians denied Maaseik a spot in the finals after saving 4 match points.

Sokolov: For Tsvetan Sokolov, Greenyard MAASEIK is nothing new. He will make his 8th appearance against Greenyard Maaseik, his 4th in the Belgian home base. The Bulgarian did this with 4 different teams: Itas Diatec TRENTINO in 2014, Halkbank ANKARA in 2015, Zenit KAZAN in 2019 and Dinamo MOSCOW this year.

Likhosherstov: Next to Sokolov, Vadym Likhosherstov is the only player on the Dinamo roster who has already played in Maaseik, when both players were teammates in Kazan two years ago.

0: Since the last encounter between Maaseik and Dinamo, almost five years ago, both teams underwent a complete make-over. Not a single player of the 2017 teams is still present on the 2021 rosters. 

Finland: The game has a special meaning for Dinamo’s libero Lauri Kerminen. In Maaseik he will battle it out with Maaseik’s headcoach Joel Banks, who is Kerminen’s boss in the national Finnish team.

Banks: Joel Banks started his career in Maaseik in 2016 as assistent-coach of Daniel CASTELLANI. He made his very first Champions League appearance in MOSCOW, against Dinamo.