USA - Kazakhstan predictions and free betting tips [19/05/2024]

World Hockey Championship 2024. Group B. Another opening match of the game day and, unlike Group A, here we have a clash between the favourite team and the underdog team. It seems that this match will be quite predictable as the teams are of completely different levels. The USA national team will play against the Kazakhstan national team.

USA

The Americans arrived at this tournament with a surprisingly decent line-up. Usually, teams from the USA include a few NHL players, and the rest of the squad is composed of players from the AHL, Europe, or even college teams. This year, however, almost all players in the USA team represent the National Hockey League. But so far, their results leave much to be desired.

After five matches, the USA has three wins, one loss in overtime and one loss in regulation time, accumulating 10 points. While their defeat against Sweden can be understood—given that Sweden also has a very strong line-up—the 2:5 scoreline seems reasonable. However, losing to Slovakia in overtime with a 4:5 score looks extremely bad. Currently, the USA might end up outside the playoffs if Latvia pulls together for the end of the tournament, and the Americans start losing to everyone.

Kazakhstan

The Kazakhstan national team finds itself in an interesting situation. This is their second tournament without naturalised players. Last year, the team had no issues retaining their spot in the elite division of hockey. This year, problems are beginning. They started the tournament epically, defeating France—an elite middle-tier team—for years with a 1:3 score.

However, then came four consecutive defeats. As a result, after five matches, Kazakhstan has only three points, just one point ahead of Poland, which is in the last place. After their match with the USA, Kazakhstan will face Poland, which will likely determine which team will leave the elite division. Currently, Kazakhstan sits in seventh place in Group B. Their goal difference is -12, with only eight goals scored. Only the French have scored fewer goals at the time of writing. They have conceded 20 goals, placing them fifth in this regard on the tournament table.

Head-to-Head 

The USA and Kazakhstan have faced each other four times. In all these matches, the USA emerged victorious.

Prediction

Of course, the favourite for this match, according to Betsiti, is the USA, with a winning odds of 1.07. In contrast, the odds for Kazakhstan's victory are 24.00. It is evident that you should bet on the USA's victory. Even nandciap 1 (-3.5) is offered at only 1.68, which is quite low but at least something with a higher coefficient.