With two days of World Juniors preliminary round action in the books, all ten teams have played at least one game out of their four-game group stage schedule.
Unlike those first two days of the tournament, Sunday's action will only see two games taking place. This will be the first of just two preliminary round days where only two games are set to take place.
The first game will see Switzerland take on Sweden in Group A action, with puck drop at the Grand Casino Arena set for 1:00 PM CST. Then, Finland will look to make it two wins out of two when they play Latvia at the 3M Arena; puck drop in that game is set for 3:30 PM CST.
Here are my predictions for each of the two games on Sunday's World Juniors schedule.
Switzerland vs. Sweden
Despite winning 3-2, there were times in the Slovakia game where Sweden looked to be heading for disaster. One moment in particular was the game-tying goal from Tobias Tomik, which would put the Slovaks in position to steal a point with just nine minutes left in the third. However, Ivar Stenberg would get the game-winning goal with just about four minutes left, saving Sweden from being the first upset victim of the 2026 World Juniors.
This time around, they'll play a Switzerland team that might be looking at that Slovakia-Sweden game and seeing a road to an upset. To do so, they'll have to play a strong game defensively, one that makes the Swedes try to break Switzerland down in their own end. Considering that Sweden didn't do the best job keeping Slovakia from creating chances, particularly in the end of the second and the first twelve minutes of the third period, if Switzerland can be within three goals after the first thirty minutes, there might be an avenue to an upset.
I don't think Switzerland will win this game, but they will make life miserable for Sweden as the game goes on.
The pick: Sweden 3, Switzerland 1
Finland vs. Latvia
Unlike Sweden, Finland was able to overcome their tournament opener with relative ease, putting Denmark away in the opening half-an-hour of what was ultimately a 6-2 victory.
Like the game against Denmark, the key for Finland here will be to score early and often in order to keep the opposition at arms length and prevent any chance of a goaltending masterclass for Latvia.
Considering how well Finland play on offence against Denmark, a win against Latvia should be on the docket for the Finns. While it likely won't be a six-goal offensive masterclass, I do see Finland winning comfortably against Latvia.
The pick: Finland 4, Latvia 1