How Bayern Munich Will Line Up Against CSKA Moscow

On Tuesday night, Bayern Munich begin their European campaign in the Champions League with high hopes of becoming the first side to ever retain the famous Continental competition under new coach Pep Guardiola. 

It is this very competition that defines the great club and the admired coach who guides it, and as they take on their first opponents of the tournament, Russian side CSKA Moscow, at the Allianz Arena, Guardiola and his side will be hoping for a comfortable win to set them on their way. 

The Bavarian champions returned to domestic action last weekend with a pedestrian 2-0 win over a Hannover side that had initially looked to cause problems in Munich. Alas, it was not to be, and a goal apiece from Franck Ribery and Mario Mandzukic late in the second half proved more than enough to keep the reigning Bundesliga champions' pressure on league leaders Borussia Dortmund.

Whether or not this week's Champions League opponents from the distant leagues of Russia will prove as timid at the Munich fortress is still to be seen, yet it would be fair to assume that the new coach won't be taking any precautions. 

Defence

The main issue with Guardiola's back line is, of course, whether or not Dante will be regarded as fit enough to start alongside Jerome Boateng in the middle of the defence. The Brazilian defender was limited to a spot on the bench in Saturday's win over Hannover but came on in the 68th minute and picked up a vital 20 minutes of game time. 

As such, the Catalonian coach is likely to start Dante alongside his aforementioned partner with David Alaba at left-back and Rafinha on the right-hand side of a basic back four. A formation and lineup that Bayern have played regularly under this season. 

Midfield

The real omission from this side will of course be playmaker Bastian Schweinsteiger, who was also limited to a spot on the bench against Hannover, due to an ankle injury the midfielder picked up against Freiburg in the previous round of fixtures, but was unable to pick up any game time at all. 

This suggests Guardiola is unlikely to start the midfielder, who will not have played a minute of competitive football in three weeks come Tuesday, at the risk of exposing his fitness levels, with Philipp Lahm likely to take his place while Javi Martinez, Thiago Alcantara and Mario Gotze remain injured. 

Alongside the multipurpose captain, Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller will most likely form the midfield pairing tasked with dictating play across the Bayern attack. Although Lahm is an exceptionally gifted dribbler and passer, his methods of creating chances simply don't compare to Schweinsteigers', and as such, he is usually deployed as a basic defensive midfielder. 

Following Matthias Sammer's comments after the Hannover win, when he described the side as lethargic and playing with no emotion, it will be vital to Guardiola and the impression his side will be hoping to make following the criticism that this midfield trio work perfectly and create a lot more than it did at the weekend. Not an easy task in the absence of Bastian Schweinsteiger. 

Attack

The Bavarian front line is ironically the only part of the side that seems settled at the moment, with Mario Mandzukic scoring yet again at the weekend to bring his goal tally to three in five appearances. 

Likewise, the attacking duo of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben continues to grow from strength to strength and is likely to continue as Bayern apply it to some fresh European opponents. 

It was this front three that worked so well under former coach Jupp Heynckes in their run to the Champions League trophy last season, and Guardiola will be hoping for much of the same and that his stars up front can make up for the patched up midfield and defence. 

Of course, such a lineup is merely an educated guess, and as we may see, Guardiola could well choose to start Schweinsteiger in a game that the side will desperately be hoping to pick up three points from. Equally, Dante may well be forced to start the game on the bench, in which case Daniel van Buyten is likely to be drafted in as replacement. 

Whichever way Guardiola chooses to start his side off in this opening match, he'll know fine well that a comprehensive win will be the only acceptable conclusion for a club with high expectations in this season's competition.