Finland vs Switzerland: Suomi will stop the Swiss

The Swiss beat the Finns 3-2 in their last meeting against each other. Will Jukka Jalonen's side be able to avoid another defeat for the Swiss? We predict that this time, Suomi will get a comfortable win!

The Finnish team is one of the main contenders to win the hockey tournament at the Beijing Olympics. In recent years, Jukka Jalonen has developed a formidable squad, playing with more or less the same backbone at every major tournament, winning the World Cup in 2019, and coming up one game short of the title at the 2021 World Cup. Now, Suomi have had a great group stage at the 2022 Olympics. They crushed Slovakia 6-2 in the first game, then left no chance for Latvia 3-1, and in the third game, they lost to Sweden 0-3 but managed to level the score at first and won in overtime altogether, winning 4-3. Three successes in a row allowed the Finns to reach the tournament's quarterfinals.

The Swiss team at the 2022 Olympics appeared to have decided to follow the pattern of the German team at the 2018 Olympics. Both teams failed in the group stage of the tournament. Patrick Fischer's charges started with a 0-1 loss to Russia, then lost on a shootout to the Czech Republic 1-2, and in the third game, they sensationally lost to Denmark 3-5. From the last place in the group, they took on the Czechs in the quarterfinals, where they fought the favorites and beat them 4-2. The Swiss benefited the most from a power play, scored by Andres Ambühl and Denis Malgin, which propelled them into the quarterfinals of the 2022 Olympics.

Finland are the favorite to win the Beijing Olympics, and they have already proved their worth in the tournament's group stage by winning all three games. Suomi were particularly impressive against Sweden when they turned the tide in a three-goal deficit. Yes, the Swiss national team managed to knock off the Czech Republic the day before sensationally, but don't overestimate the importance of that success because the Czechs today are not a top team, as they claimed. As a result, we are forced to choose Finland's victory with a handicap (-1.5) for 2.15.

At the group stage of the Olympics, the Finnish national team showed surprisingly attacking and productive hockey, which is untypical for it. There's little doubt that in the playoffs, we'll see the usual Jokka Yalonen team, which plays brilliantly in defense, appearing rarely, but effectively, on the attack, and then withdrawing once again to defend. The Swiss team has also proved in Beijing that they can defend well, so we do not expect a productive battle, and we see Total Under 4.5 pucks for 2.24 as the best option.

Harri Pesonen has a very decent tournament in Beijing. In the three held meetings for the Finnish team, he has already managed to write on his account two pucks. Such a productive game by the 33-year-old hockey player should hardly come as a surprise as he has had an excellent season with the Langnau Tigers. He's tallied 42 points (20 goals + 22 assists) in 43 games in Switzerland, and now he'll be playing against the Swiss national team in whose league he plays. In such a situation, Harri Pesonen's Total Over 0.5 points for 1.90 is worth a closer look.