Manchester City vs. Bayern Munich: Key Lineup Decisions in Champions League Duel

Manchester City will kick off their fourth Champions League campaign on Wednesday as they visit Bayern Munich. The five-time champions are a familiar foe for City, this being the second time in a row and third time over the last four years the two have been in the same group.

Last season, each team lost only a single group game—the home games against one another. City's win at the Allianz Arena last December tied them with the Bavarians on 15 points, but were a goal shy of grabbing the tiebreaker of head-to-head goal difference.

Captain Vincent Kompany told David Hytner of the Guardian of his feelings heading into this game:

"

This is the first game of the Champions League, an away game against one of the hardest teams to play in the world right now. But we should take confidence out of the last game we played in Munich. We’re up for the challenge.

"

Manager Manuel Pellegrini echoed those sentiments in the same report, stating "Bayern are the most strong team but my team has a great personality to try to win everywhere. We showed that against Arsenal."

His squad may have a great personality, but who exactly will be in that squad come Wednesday?

As a refresher, here are the 21 players Pellegrini has to choose from (via MCFC on Twitter):

"

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SQUAD (1/2): Hart, Caballero, Sagna, Kompany, Zabaleta, Kolarov, Mangala, Clichy, Demichelis, Boyata, Fernando #mcfc #ucl

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) September 5, 2014"

"

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SQUAD (2/2): Milner, Nasri, Navas, Lampard, Silva, Fernandinho, Toure, Dzeko, Aguero, Jovetic #mcfc #ucl

— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) September 5, 2014"

Two players that definitely won't feature are Fernando and Stevan Jovetic. Both are dealing with injuries that kept them out of action at the weekend against Arsenal—the Brazilian left the league clash against Stoke while Jovetic was injured on international duty with Montenegro.

There are a few key areas where Pellegrini will have some big decisions to make.

One such area will be the center of his defense. It goes without saying that Kompany will be playing every important match City have. But who his partner will be may be up for debate.

Martin Demichelis' resurgence to form after some shaky outings last season sees him as the top option here. But Eliaquim Mangala, he of the £32 million transfer fee, is seemingly ready for his City debut as noted by Chris Wheeler at the Daily Mail.

Paulo Duarte/Associated Press

The France international has a good bit of European experience under his belt, having duelled with the likes of Diego Costa's Atletico Madrid and Gonzalo Higuain's Napoli last season. And perhaps Pellegrini will want to not only integrate his big-money signing into his rotation but to also allow the veteran Argentine a rest.

City do, after all, face Chelsea in league play on Sunday.

Pitted against an attacking force with the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze available, does Pellegrini opt for experience or dynamism? Either way, Kompany will certainly have to step up and lead by example.

A second area that may be up for consideration is left-back.

Between Aleks Kolarov and Gael Clichy, Pellegrini has two fantastic options to choose from to fill this spot. They perform their duties in two different ways, of course, which makes the decision a bit trickier.

Clichy got the start against Arsenal, playing the full 90 minutes quite well. His defensive capabilities stood firm and he got forward enough to help support David Silva on the left-hand side.

Kolarov, on the other hand, was a late sub for Fernandinho. This saw the Serbian take up a role ahead of Clichy where his more attacking mindset could be better utilized while keeping solidity further back.

It would seem likely that Clichy might get the nod here, if only due to the wide range of versatile attacking threats that Bayern boast. Arjen Robben may miss out due to a lingering knee issue, meaning that the most direct threat on that flank will be absent.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Perhaps this will cause Pellegrini to think of the attack since there's relatively less danger waiting on his team's left side. But the bevy of stars taking the field in the red-and-blue kits will surely still be enough to give the Chilean pause for thought.

Indeed, it could come down to who he pairs with Kompany as the deciding factor at left-back. The experienced Demichelis could hold down the fort while Kolarov bombs away, or Clichy could be more settled to aid his countryman Mangala.

Finally, the striker situation must absolutely be addressed. With Jovetic injured and Alvaro Negredo and John Guidetti both departed, that leaves just two players to deploy up top for Pellegrini.

Sergio Aguero got the nod in the Arsenal clash, scoring the game's opening goal before being replaced by Edin Dzeko after 67 minutes. The Argentine now has three goals in league play, putting him among a large group of players that trail only Diego Costa in the scoring charts.

Dzeko, meanwhile, has yet to open his account for this season.

Again, though, the Chelsea match looming not too far away means Pellegrini does have to be mindful of how he rotates his players around.

Against Pep Guardiola's side, the defense will likely feature Dante and Jerome Boateng, both of whom are on the tall side. Will it be Aguero's trickery and pace that will attack this duo, or will the Bosnian's size be used to try to battle it out in the air?

Really, he could utilize both at once, with Aguero playing a withdrawn role between David Silva and either Samir Nasri or Jesus Navas. And if a change is necessary, one striker can be withdrawn and replaced by another midfielder to introduce a different threat.

While there are a few locks for City's starting XI—Joe Hart, Kompany, Silva and Yaya Toure, if he's fit enough—there are many lingering questions with little time to answer as Bayern await their visit.

Pellegrini will be looking to engineer the best solution to get his team's European adventure off to the best start.

Feel free to share your thoughts below in the comments section.

Follow me on Twitter:

Follow @agruber6