Two centre-backs formed in different football schools now share one defence in Manchester. De Ligt is a Dutchman with experience in Europe's top leagues, still in his prime; Lindelöf is older and knows all the nuances of English football. On the pitch they're used to understanding each other without words, but in this match each will be defending his country's honour, and that synchronicity could crack.

Two Liverpool players meet on opposite sides of the barricade: van Dijk in his familiar centre-back role against Isak, who in a year in the Premier League has learned to use pace and physicality in the conditions of English pressing. The Dutchman's experience against the audacity of a young striker — a classic scenario where each will play on his own field: one holds the line, the other hunts for gaps in the defence.

De Jong is used to dictating the tempo from deep, building play in the Barcelona way — methodical and precise. Kulusevski, meanwhile, is a more impulsive figure, accustomed to English pressing and counter-attacks where instant reaction is needed. A collision between the style of positional control and the energy of direct play could determine who seizes the initiative in midfield.