Group G hosts Kazakhstan will be competing against Great Britain, Mexico and Poland with the four-day round-robin competition set to begin tomorrow at the Barys Arena.

Action in Group H is due to start on Friday (November 4) at the Palacio del Hielo Txuri Urdin as home nation Spain do battle with The Netherlands, Italy and Slovenia.

The winner of Group G will go through to preliminary round three and take up the one remaining spot in Group E, which already features France, Latvia and China.

The triumphant nation in Group H will also advance to preliminary round three, earning the last place in Group F alongside Norway, Slovakia and Hungary.

Group E is scheduled to be played out in the French town of Cergy-Pontoise from December 15 to 18, while Norwegian city Stavanger is set to stage Group F from December 16 to 18.

Mexico qualified for Group G by winning Group J in preliminary round one at the Ice Dome in Mexico City.  

First up for them tomorrow is an encounter with Britain, while Poland meet Kazakhstan.

The opening fixtures in Group H see Slovenia go up against The Netherlands and Italy face Spain.

Six countries have already booked their place in the Pyeongchang 2018 tournament, including hosts South Korea.

The remaining five are assured of a spot due to their International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) world ranking, and include Canada, the gold medallists at the last four Olympic Games.

United States, Russia, Finland and Sweden have also qualified automatically, with two places available to join them.