Isco Form Offsets James Rodriguez Injury for Real Madrid Champions League Hopes

Real Madrid beat Sevilla 2-1 on Wednesday night to move four points clear at the top of La Liga, but they suffered bad news, too, as James Rodriguez was taken off injured, as well as Sergio Ramos.

The Colombian midfielder suffered the worst, with news of a broken metatarsal being reported by BBC Sport, with Real Madrid stating the playmaker would be having surgery "in the coming hours."

While James has been in fantastic form this season, and his absence will certainly be a negative for Real to deal with over the next two months, La Liga's leaders can take plenty of solace that Isco's huge season will mean it isn't an insurmountable problem.

James and Isco

Whether in a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2, Real's two main systems this year, James Rodriguez typically takes up clever positions in the channels, looks to receive the ball in space and then link with the front men. He has proven well capable of contributing to the scoresheet, too, but his primary function, of course, is to create chances for the likes of Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of him.

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Alongside him centrally, or opposite when they occupy flank roles, Isco has almost been a mirror image at times: Clever footwork, creative play and an ability to find the final ball inside the penalty area.

If anything, Isco's drive and willingness to attack the byline makes him an even bigger danger for Real Madrid, as he looks to get ahead of play and behind the defence more than James usually does, with the Colombian's late runs into the box being a more notable factor of his game.

With either on the pitch, Real have craft and ingenuity. With both, Carlo Ancelotti has had to shift his team around to fit all his star names into a starting XI.

Return to 4-4-2

One trait of Real this term has been to change from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 when one of the attacking talents is unavailable. We could see that come into play in the weekend derby against Atletico Madrid, given the return from suspension of Cristiano Ronaldo.

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In this system, Isco has been near-unstoppable, roving infield to create central overloads and getting behind opposition midfielders to take possession in dangerous areas. Add into the equation that Jese Rodriguez is working his way back toward full fitness, and Luka Modric is getting slowly closer to a return, and it's not hard to see why this lineup appeals to Ancelotti.

Real looked at their best earlier in the season when they played this 4-4-2 rather than the 4-3-3, looking balanced, dangerous in attack and scoring plenty of goals.

Champions League

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Winning the UEFA Champions League last term, Real are aiming to be the first team to retain the trophy in its current format. News that Norwegian youngster Martin Odegaard was added to their European squad list this week gives them yet another attacking option.

Facing German club Schalke shouldn't give Real too many problems if the gulf between the sides is as big as it was last season, and James should be back by early April for the latter stages of the competition—assuming Real make it that far.

On their form so far this season, most would suspect they will at least reach the last eight and, with the likes of Isco and James proving capable of taking down the best opposition around, there's every chance the injured star will return to play a key role in winning silverware later in the season.

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