Sweden U20 vs Kazakhstan U20: prediction & betting odds December 27, 2024

The Matchday 2 clash of the World Junior Championship 2025 between Sweden and Kazakhstan will take place on December 27 at the TD Place Stadium in Ottawa. Sweden vs. Kazakhstan: prediction and betting odds, statistics.

Sweden National Team

The Swedes kicked off the World Junior Championship with a 5-2 victory against Slovakia. The team had a productive final 20 minutes, scoring three times. Notably, Sweden capitalized on two power-play opportunities. Axel Sandin-Pellikka stood out with four points (3+1). After the first matchday, Sweden is second in Group B.

• Sweden has not won by more than four goals in regulation time in their last six World Junior Championship matches.
• The team has conceded at least two goals in 60 minutes in their last five games in this tournament.
• The Swedes have not scored more than one goal in the first period in 6 of their last 7 World Junior Championship matches.

Kazakhstan National Team

The last time Kazakhstan participated in the top division of the World Junior Championship was in 2020, where they lost all their matches and finished without any points. Last year, they topped Group A in the first division and returned to the elite level after five years, replacing Norway, who lost to Germany in the relegation match at the previous championship.

The core of the team consists of players from the Snow Leopards. Among them, Kirill Lyapunov, who has 32 points (16+16) this season, and Adil Beysembayev (10+13) are noteworthy.

• No more than seven goals have been scored in regulation time in 16 of Kazakhstan's last 18 official matches.
• The team has won at the end of three periods in 7 of their last 9 official matches.
• Kazakhstan has conceded no more than three goals in regulation time in 9 of their last 11 official games.

Sweden vs. Kazakhstan: Match Prediction

The first two periods of Sweden's opening match, in which they scored only two goals, were not entirely convincing. Skill eventually played its part, but it became clear once again that Sweden will focus on defense. Despite looking good in attack, their finishing was not as impressive, considering they kept the opponent in their zone for long stretches.

Kazakhstan is clearly less skilled than Sweden, making the outcome of the upcoming match apparent. However, I don't think the Swedes are ready to expend much energy, especially since they are already the favorites. In the history of the World Junior Championship, the opponents have met only twice, and both times the Swedes did not score more than six goals against Kazakhstan in regulation time. It's worth noting that Sweden's scoring did not exceed this number in their last eight matches in this tournament over three periods.

My prediction: Sweden Individual Total Under 6.5