Slovenia vs Slovakia Prediction: Slovenia and well-coordinated lineup

Prediction for the IIHF World Championship Slovenia vs Slovakia match which will take place on May 21st. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

The Slovenian national team is getting closer to going back to the second-strongest world division. They showed an excellent lineup at the 2023 World Cup, but the main star did not reach the tournament - Anze Kopitar refused to participate. Without the forward of Los Angeles, the team shows very poor results. They have not scored a single point in the five opening games so far, and they succeeded in the match with the Czechs when they led 2-0 but eventually lost 2-6. Now the Slovenes have last place in the standings, while they are already four points behind the nearest opponent, and therefore the relegation to the elite is close.

Slovakia's national team at the 2023 World Cup is also not impressive, but they can achieve the playoffs. Craig Ramsey's wards made a mistake the day before when they lost to the Kazakhs – 3:4, even in overtime. Moreover, before that, there were defeats from the Czechs – 2:3, the Canadians – 1:2, and the Swiss – 2:4. So in the five last matches, the Slovaks won only once, but a very important one over the Latvians – 2:1, who are their main opponents in the fight for top 4. So far, Slovakia is in fifth place in the Group B standings, three points behind Latvia.

Slovenia is failing the 2023 World Cup without points in all five opening matches, so it has no chance of staying in the elite world division. But the Slovaks still have an excellent opportunity to achieve the playoffs, but for this, they need to score maximum points in the two remaining games in the group stage. They are the undisputed favorites in the upcoming game, having a much more robust and well-coordinated lineup, and Craig Ramsey is much more experienced and successful than Matjaz Kopitar.

Slovenia played their best match at the 2023 World Cup against Canada when they even managed to lead in the score and a total of two goals against the Maple Leafs - a good achievement. After that, the triumph of Slovenia in the attack has become more modest. Now Craig Ramsey's players need to play for the result, pick up three points and prepare for the next game.