France vs Austria Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for 2023 IIHF World Championship Game (Don't Expect Much Offense)

The 2023 IIHF World Championship continues on Saturday, May 13, featuring a Group A matchup between France and Austria.

France vs Austria Game Info

• Date: Saturday, May 13, 2023
• Time: 5:20 a.m. ET
• Venue: Nokia Arena -- Tampere, Finland

France and Austria are looking to begin the tournament on a high note after being left disappointed in 2022. Neither country advanced beyond the group stage last year. In other words, a victory here is important to both sides if they hope to avoid a similar outcome.

France vs Austria Odds & Spread

• All IIHF World Championship betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: FRA: (-144) | AUS: (+118)
• Spread: FRA: -0.5 (+114) | AUS: +0.5 (-140)
• Total: 4.5 -- Over: (-130) | Under: (+106)

France enters this contest as the favorite on the moneyline while the spread is a pick 'em scenario per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This group stage clash also features an over/under of 4.5 goals with the Over being favored at -130 odds.

France vs Austria Betting Trends

• France is 0-0-0 in the 2023 IIHF World Championship group stage.
• Austria is 0-0-0 in the 2023 IIHF World Championship group stage.
• France was eliminated in the group stage of the 2022 IIHF World Championship.
• Austria was eliminated in the group stage of the 2022 IIHF World Championship.
• France is 6-4 straight up in its last 10 head-to-head matchups against Austria.

France vs Austria Prediction & Pick

I expect a competitive affair between two teams without a ton of talent. Austria really only has the Minnesota Wild's Marco Rossi, who spent the majority of the 2022-23 season in the American Hockey League. Meanwhile, outside of AHLers Justin Addamo and Louis Boudon, France doesn't have much upside either.

Having said that, I do expect France to pick up the victory this weekend. The French team has won six of its last nine meetings against the Austrians and has a slightly deeper roster this time around. It won't be the prettiest game, but I see France escaping due to a lucky bounce or two.

Final Score Prediction: France: 3 | Austria: 2

France vs Austria Best Bet

Regardless of who wins, I don't expect much offense from Austria. There just isn't enough offensive talent there to expect at least three goals even if it's against a weaker team like France. With the game's goal total only set at 4.5, I'm comfortable taking the Under on Austria's projected goals.

Bet: Austria Total Goals — Under 2.5 (-176)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.