Germany vs China: Olympic hosts will suffer another crushing defeat

Germany and China started the Olympics with devastating defeats. Who will score the first points of the Beijing Olympics in their clash? Our prediction: Toni Söderholm's side will get a convincing win!

Germany was the finalist in the last Olympics and came to Beijing to win medals again. In the first game, they would try to give decent resistance to Canada, but in fact, everything turned out quite differently. Already to the tenth minute of the first period, the Germans conceded the Maple Leafs with a score of 0:3, after which they failed to recover, having suffered the final defeat (1:5). The German national team also lost all three matches in the group stage in PyeongChang, but it did not prevent them from reaching the final.

China has never competed in the Olympics and has not featured in an elite group of the world championships before. However, the home games are an excuse to play in such a high-profile tournament finally. They even formed a club called Kunlun, whose players were supposed to hone their skills in the KHL, but there they were hopeless outsiders. In Beijing, the Dragons debuted exceptionally poorly. In the first period, they offered decent defence against the American national team, losing 0:1, but then they lost with a score of 0:8. Ivano Zanatta's side has no prospects, but they have three more games at the 2022 Olympics to savour the momentum.

The Chinese team is the host team at the Olympics, but that has not prevented them from being the favourites. Before the first game, there was some hope that the Chinese could perform a miracle in the main event of their life, but the devastating defeat by the United States answered all the questions. Of course, Germany was a different team, and some of their players had played in the final four years earlier in the 2022 Olympic Games. The Germans need to rehabilitate after their defeat by the Canadians. That's why we suggest betting on a German victory with a handicap (-3.5) for 2.45.

The Chinese team comprises Kunlun in the KHL, where the Dragons play some fun and mischievous hockey and score a lot and concede a lot more. At the Olympics, they tried to play similarly, but the resistance level was too high, which is why they were outscored 0:8. There is no doubt that Ivano Zanatta's men will continue to play in the same open fashion because they can't get away with anything, but they can delight their fans with a spectacular display. With that in mind, we suggest betting on a total over for 1.78.

Germany needs to open the scoring quickly in the upcoming match. China is a team that does not boast a high skill level, but they certainly have character. If the Chinese team feels they can take the points, they will be defending their goal. The Germans wouldn't want to see that happen, so they'll try to get off to a flying start to take a quick lead and then develop that advantage systematically. As a result, we suggest betting on the first goal from 1 to 10 minutes for 1.65.