Manuel Chávez
Dailysports's expert
Czechia
Hungary
On May 15, in the elite division of the Ice Hockey World Championship, Czechia and Hungary will face off. Should we expect a blowout in this clash? Here is my prediction for the encounter.
Czechia
The Czech national team arrived at the tournament as the defending champions and are, of course, among the frontrunners for the title. They kicked off with a hard-fought comeback victory over Switzerland in overtime—5:4—despite trailing 0:2 and 3:4 during the game. In their second outing, they narrowly edged out Norway with a 2:1 win. Only in their most recent match did they cruise past Denmark without much trouble, thrashing them 7:2.
Boston Bruins’ star forward David Pastrňák is in fantastic shape, having already racked up 6 points in this tournament, contributing offensively in every game. Czechia currently sits second in the group, behind only Germany, who have won all their games in regulation.
Hungary
Hungary are newcomers at this championship, and their main objective is to avoid relegation from the division. They started off with a heavy defeat to Germany—1:6—and were unable to put up a fight against the USA, losing 0:6.
Hungary got their first chance to earn points in a clash against Kazakhstan. Despite being underdogs, they pulled off an upset with a 4:2 victory. This success lifted them to fifth place in the group; they're three points behind the top four, but the focus should remain on avoiding last place rather than dreaming of the playoffs.
Match facts
- Czechia is averaging almost 5 goals per game at this tournament.
- Hungary is conceding nearly five goals per match on average.
- The odds for the upcoming battle are as follows: W1 – 1.03, Draw – 16, W2 – 32.
Prediction
Statistics show that these teams have never played each other before. When the defending world champions meet division newcomers, the favorite is clear. Czechia should cruise to victory here; the only question is by what margin. I don't expect much of a contest—I'm backing the favorites with a -4 goal handicap.
