UCL final marquee matchup: Can Henderson tame Isco's wobbly wizardry?
From an artful Andalusian who dribbled balls on the sands of the Costa del Sol and then looked up to David Villa and David Silva from Valencia's B team, to a Mackem forced to mature quickly at the revolving door that is Sunderland. There are few starker contrasts at the top of the European game than the one that exists between Isco and Jordan Henderson.
If you believe the transfer rumours, Isco will be nagged by doubts surrounding his Real Madrid future while contending with Henderson snapping at his toes in Kyiv. However, if Henderson finds his own space with the ball, he could prove pivotal to Liverpool's own upfield surges.
Isco's wonky wizardry
Cristiano Ronaldo stole the headlines and Marcelo wooed viewers with his buccaneering explorations from left-back, but Isco was arguably the most influential member of Real Madrid's victorious Champions League run last term.
Operating from the tip of a diamond - a position reminiscent of his boss' role in Real Madrid's Galacticos era - Isco choreographed much of his team's play with his awkward, bent-legged gait, and necessitated Los Blancos' full-time shift from 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 diamond. He's a truly unique footballer, and last season appeared to be Zinedine Zidane's prized asset. His selection also meant Gareth Bale dropped further in the Frenchman's plans.
Except Isco found himself shunted to the periphery once more this term, voicing his concerns to the press after pocketing a hat-trick in a March meeting with Argentina.
"(Spain manager Julen) Lopetegui gives me confidence with minutes, with games," he said after the international friendly.
"With Madrid I do not have the confidence that a player needs, maybe the problem is me, that I have not won Zidane's confidence with the good players there."
The Benalmadena ballet dancer hasn't played a full 90 minutes since the second leg of Los Blancos' semi-final with Juventus - and that, as a standalone fixture, didn't go so well - but he should be given the nod against Liverpool. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos can flatten the midfield to offer sufficient defensive cover for the full-backs, and Casemiro has nipped in with 35 tackles over the Champions League term - 10 more than any other player. Isco, therefore, should have sufficient protection and space between Liverpool's adventurous midfield and defence to cast spells beneath Karim Benzema and Ronaldo.
Amid rumours that he could leave Real Madrid in the summer, Isco may be playing for his future in Kyiv - and he obviously has the assets to succeed.
Henderson taming Isco while unleashing Salah
Isco is regularly lavished with praise. Henderson, on the other hand, is not.
There just isn't anything really sexy about the Sunderland product. He's often dismissed as someone who provides sideways passes here, and a token encouraging clap there - he just doesn't glide and probe in the manner of the chief protagonists of Saturday's showpiece.
But he could be instrumental in the Ukrainian capital. His 2009 loan spell with Coventry City was huge in giving him a formal introduction to playing professional football on a weekly basis, and he undoubtedly picked up on the great emphasis then-manager Chris Coleman puts on teamwork.
The positioning and communication have been developed further with Sunderland and Liverpool, and will be key in stymieing Isco. No Liverpool midfielder has weighed in with as many interceptions (14) and tackles (22) as Henderson in the current Champions League campaign, and this weekend he should be particularly mindful of sliding into the pocket ahead of Dejan Lovren and Virgil van Dijk to clog up the space where Isco prospers.
However, just like the rest of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, Henderson has attacking weaponry. It was probably those early days as a winger that gave him the whip and accuracy on crosses and cross-field balls that have been so vital to his team's game plan this season. When Marcelo goes on a wander, that gulf that can open up behind the Brazilian will be eyed by Mohamed Salah. One lash of the leather spheroid from Henderson's right peg, and the Egyptian will be careering off the right flank and hurtling towards Keylor Navas' goal.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)