Sweden vs Germany Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for 2023 IIHF World Championship Game (Swedes Don't Break a Sweat)

The 2023 IIHF World Championship begins on Friday, May 12, featuring a Group A matchup between Sweden and Germany.

Sweden vs Germany Game Info

• Date: Friday, May 12, 2023
• Time: 1:20 p.m. ET
• Venue: Nokia Arena -- Tampere, Finland

Sweden and Germany are hungry for success at the 2023 IIHF World Championship after being left disappointed in last year's tournament. Germany found itself bounced from the quarterfinals with a 4-1 loss to Czechia while Sweden was also eliminated during that round, falling 4-3 to Canada in overtime.

Sweden vs Germany Odds & Spread

• All IIHF World Championship betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: SWE: (-550) | GER: (+390)
• Spread: SWE: -2.5 (+120) | GER: +2.5 (-148)
• Total: 5.5 -- Over: (+110) | Under: (-134)

Sweden enters this contest as the favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This group stage clash also features an over/under of 5.5 goals with the Uver being favored at -134 odds.

Sweden vs Germany Betting Trends

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

Sweden vs Germany Prediction & Pick

Germany is at an extreme disadvantage from a skill perspective. The country's two best players — Leon Draisaitl and Tim Stutzle — aren't playing in this year's tournament. That leaves the trio of Mo Seider, Nico Sturm and John Peterka as the country's only current NHL players

Sweden, meanwhile, has no shortage of high-end talent. While they're missing some of their bigger names, they're still rostering a nice mix of young and veteran players with names like Lucas Raymond, Jakob Silfverberg, Patrik Nemeth and Fabian Zetterlund.

Sweden also has the advantage in goal with the option to call on Jesper Wallstedt or Lars Johansson. Wallstedt is seen as one of the top goalies outside of the NHL, leading his country to five different medals at various international competitions. Meanwhile, Johansson was one of the Swedish Hockey League's top goaltenders in 2022-23.

Germany might push and even make it interesting at times, but this is clear Sweden's game to lose.

Final Score Prediction: Sweden: 5 | Germany: 2

Sweden vs Germany Best Bet

Taking the Over on the 5.5-goal total is a no-brainer as far as this game goes. After all, Sweden and Garmany averaged 5.9 combined goals in their previous 10 meetings, going over this game's projected total seven times.

Sweden may have more NHL talent, but Germany still has enough skill to pot a few goals. In other words, they shouldn't have any issues combining for more than 5 goals.

Bet: Over 5.5 Total Goals (+110)

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.