Two games where the starting situation does most of the talking. In Suwon, a rested home side meets a visitor that has just come through a five-game series; on the pitch in Chiba, a high-volume home team faces a visitor playing on short rest.
Korean Series Game 1: KT Wiz have not played a real game since mid-October, but they bring Davis Daniel, who has been in good form since arriving, against Samsung's Choi Won-tae, whose last playoff start ended in the second inning. Samsung also lack their closer Kim Jae-yoon and two other relievers on the entry list, and Jurado is not available until Game 3. KT won the last three meetings by clear margins. The layoff is the real counterweight, but the starter gap and the thinner Samsung bullpen are the heavier facts, so I'm siding with KT to win.
Kashiwa Reysol host Daejeon in the Champions League. Kashiwa average well over six shots on target a game and have already shown they can rotate and still win big, beating Urawa 4-0 with a changed XI. Daejeon's coach has openly worried about fatigue two days after their league game, and they have failed to score in two of their last three. That's why I'm siding with Kashiwa to win the match outright.
