The-AFC.com spoke to two greats of the Asian game to get their views on how things will pan out when teams from the Islamic Republic of Iran and Korea Republic come together in the biggest Continental club clash of the year for just the second time in the competition's history.

Eleven months and five days since Bahrain’s Riffa SC beat Chennai City of India 1-0 in the first preliminary round, it is down to two iconic sides and one clash that will determine the winners of the 18th edition of the AFC Champions League.

Both Persepolis and Ulsan Hyundai are appearing in their second final, with the Koreans having defeated Al Ahli Saudi FC to win the 2012 title and Persepolis having lost the 2018 final to Japan’s Kashima Antlers.

Having lost the 2017 AFC Champions League semi-final 6-2 on aggregate to Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal SFC, Persepolis went one better the following year by making the final - only to come up short against Kashima Antlers, who followed up a 2-0 win in Japan with a stalemate at Azadi Stadium in Tehran.

Under normal conditions, the Korean club and West zone semi-final winners Persepolis FC would be gearing up for 90 minutes each in front of their own fans, but apart from a few lucky fans in Doha, the 2020 decider will be run and won in one night, and experienced largely through screens everywhere from Ulsan to Tehran.

Both sides have produced remarkable runs since the Continental competition resumed in Qatar with Ulsan winning all eight of their games to progress to their first final since winning the competition in 2012, and Persepolis coming out on top in seven of their eight matches to return to the showpiece event for the second time in three years.

Now, as the countdown continues to Asia's biggest club fixture of the year, the-AFC.com takes a statistical look at the key players from each side, starting with those in the heart of defence.

Ahead of Saturday’s final, the-AFC.com takes a statistical look at key players for Ulsan and Persepolis in defence, midfield and attack.

Having compared defenders Dave Bulthuis and Persepolis’ Hossein Kanaani, our attention turns to two men creating magic from midfield.

Ahead of Saturday’s final, the-AFC.com is shining the spotlight at some of the key players in defence, midfield and attack.

Having compared defenders and midfielders from the two sides, we conclude with the two men most likely to get on the scoresheet.