Sweden vs Italy Preview & Prediction | 2026 IIHF Men’s Ice Hockey World Championship | Group Stage

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A lop-side contest on paper sees knockout stage chasing Sweden take on Group B bottom-dwellers Italy.

Kick-off date/time:

How to watch on TV: UK – Not Televised / US – NHL Network

How to watch online: UK – IIHF.TV / US – NHL Network digital platforms

Sweden vs Italy prediction

Sweden have probably been frustrated by their results so far in this competition. A nation whom you would expect to reach the knockout stage, they’ve so far won two and lost two, showing a high level of inconsistency. A squad of their ability though should be able to click into gear at some point and string a number of wins together at once. This could be the starting point after shutting out Slovenia last time out.

Italy remains toothless from an offensive point of view, their 3-1 loss at the hands of Czechia meaning that after four games they are still yet to score more than one goal in a single fixture, accumulating just two overall with 17 conceded. Such production isn’t going to cut it at this level and Sweden should take advantage of facing poor opposition by recorded back-to-back victories for the first time in Group B.

Sweden vs Italy tip: Sweden to win