Switzerland vs Germany Prediction
📣 Will the "Eagles" continue to delight their fans in the coming days? Harold Kreis's squad has confidently handled the underdogs of Group B, but now they face a true test of their mettle. Between May 15 and 19, the team in black and yellow will take on the national teams of Switzerland, the USA, and the Czech Republic.
Head-to-Head
The "Crusaders" and the "Eagles" have faced off 12 times in World Cup head-to-heads in the 21st century. Looking at their last four encounters in the tournaments, each team has secured two victories, with two of those games extending beyond regulation time. For two consecutive years, the "Red and Whites" and the "Black and Yellows" have clashed in the quarterfinals. In 2023, thanks to the efforts of John-Jason Peterka and Nico Sturm, the German team advanced to the semifinals and then the final, where they fell to Canada. In 2024, fortune favored the "Crusaders" as 30-year-old Christoph Bertschy scored twice. A year ago, the Swiss also reached the final but were defeated by the Czech Republic.
H2H Stats Matches and Previous Teams Results
Switzerland Team Overview
Patrick Fischer's squad currently sits in 4th place in Group B with seven points. They endured a thrilling 5-4 overtime loss to the Czech Republic in their opener, confidently defeated the Danish Lions 5-2, and shut out Team USA with a commanding 3-0 victory. In Monday's clash against the Americans, the Crusaders fired 27 shots on target, matched the Stars and Stripes with 21 face-off wins, and incurred two penalties. All three goals came at even strength. Notably, defensemen Jonas Siegenthaler and Dean Kukan each found the back of the net. So far, Nico Hischier and his teammates have been impressive offensively, scoring at least three goals against every opponent.
Match Results: Switzerland
Germany Team Overview
The German national team sits atop Group B with nine points, having confidently outplayed mid-level opponents and netting a total of 15 goals over three matches. On Tuesday, the Eagles fired 30 shots on the Norwegian goal, won 32 face-offs (two more than their Northern European counterparts), conceded once while shorthanded, but managed to score twice themselves in power-play situations. Ottawa forward Tim Stützle made his World Championship debut and immediately tallied two assists. Forwards Wojtek Stachowiak and Dominik Kahun extended their point streaks to three consecutive games. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Lukas Reichel suffered a shoulder injury and logged just eight minutes on the ice on Tuesday.
Match Results: Germany
🏒 Projected Lineups
Switzerland: Genoni - Kukan, Siegenthaler - Fiala, Hischier, Moy
Germany: Grubauer - Seider, Müller - Schütz, Stachowiak, Kahun
🥅 Goalies
The experienced Leonardo Genoni played 7 games in last year's World Championship, achieving an impressive goals-against average of 1.39. In the final match against the "national team" on May 26, he made 30 saves with a save percentage of 96.77%. On May 9, Leonardo conceded 5 goals against the Czech Republic but redeemed himself against Team USA by stopping all 23 shots from the American players.
At 33, Philipp Grubauer is no stranger to the World Championship in the black and yellow jersey. In the 2024 tournament, Grubauer played 6 games, allowing an average of 3.01 goals per game. During the NHL regular season, Philipp played 26 games for Seattle with a less-than-stellar goals-against average of 3.49. In the opening game against Hungary, the netminder stopped 18 of 19 shots from the Hungarians, and on Tuesday, he made 29 saves against Norway, conceding 2 goals.
Editorial Prediction
Our main bet for Thursday's match is on Switzerland's team total over 2.5 goals. The Crusaders have achieved this total in all three of their World Cup games so far, as well as in two of their last three head-to-head encounters with the Eagles. Nico Hischier and his squad have had two days to prepare and recuperate, and they look poised to break through a less-than-sturdy German defense led by goalie Philipp Grubauer, whose reliability has been questionable at best.
Betting Tips: Switzerland - Germany
in last 8 games (World Championship).in 7 of last 8 games (World Championship).
in last 6 games (World Championship).in last 11 games.in last 8 games (World Championship).in 19 of last 21 games (World Championship).in 13 of last 14 games.in 8 of last 9 home games.
