5 Bayern Munich Players to Watch on International Duty Week of October 6

The club football season has taken a brief pause, but few among Bayern Munich's star-studded squad will be able to relax in the coming days—there are international friendlies and European Championship qualifiers to be played.

No team sent more players to the World Cup than the Bavarians, who had more representatives at every knockout-round stage than any other club. And although some have retired from international football since then and others will miss the international break due to injuries, there are currently a substantial number of Bayern players on international duty.

Ahead of this weekend's matches, B/R takes a look at the Bayern players to keep an eye on when the action begins. Click "Begin Slideshow" for our picks of the top five.

Robert Lewandowski

Adam Nurkiewicz/Getty Images

During the last international break, Robert Lewandowski broke out of what had been a goalscoring rut at Bayern with a four-goal haul in Poland's 7-0 hammering of Gibraltar.

Bayern's star summer signing returned to poor club form after his brilliant display for his national team, but he had a real breakthrough on Saturday as he scored twice and perhaps was unlucky not to score a hat-trick against Hannover.

Lewandowski will have much bigger tasks against Germany and Scotland during the international break, and the pressure will be on him to score the necessary goals for Poland.

He has proved capable of finding the target against even elite opponents many times in the past, though, and will bring plenty of confidence into the international break after his brace against Hannover.

David Alaba

Getty Images/Getty Images

These days, there are few players who actually raise their level of performance when they put on the shirt of their national team. David Alaba is one of them.

Although a great player at Bayern Munich in a somewhat muted role at left-back, the Austrian has long taken on greater responsibilities for his country. In 2014 World Cup qualifiers, for example, he scored in all but two matches, finding the net six times and assisting three more goals. He also began his Euro 2016 qualifying campaign on a good note, finding the net against Sweden.

Alaba this season has shown more of his range of talent at club level, playing in roles both in defense and in midfield. The 22-year-old is a truly rare and supremely adaptable talent and plays at his very best for Austria.

He's certainly one to watch.

Arjen Robben

Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press

Even as he approaches his 31st birthday, Arjen Robben remains the Netherlands' most dangerous player attacking from deep areas of the pitch.

The winger is as explosive as ever and is clinically efficient in front of goal. He showed as much at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when he scored and assisted three goals apiece and won the Bronze Ball award.

Robben has spent much of the 2014-15 campaign thus far injured, but when he's played, he's often been excellent. He netted a brace in Saturday's win against Hannover and, having missed his country's recent matches against Italy and the Czech Republic—both of which ended in losses for the Dutch—he will be keen to lead his side back to winning ways.

If there's any player who can take the game into his own hands, it's Robben.

Mario Gotze

Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

Although he was rested in Saturday's 4-0 win against Hannover, Mario Gotze has been Bayern Munich's most in-form player in recent weeks. And now he'll aim to translate his form for his national team.

Since the last international break, Gotze has scored four goals and assisted three more in six appearances in all competitions. In Franck Ribery's absence, he's really stepped up to deliver for the first time since joining Bayern in the summer of 2013.

Joachim Low has always held Gotze in high regard; the Germany trainer capped the prodigy for the first time when the player was still 18. Gotze, as of yet, has been unable to impress on a regular basis, perhaps in part due to his often being used as a striker.

Gotze scored the winner in the World Cup final this summer, earning him high praise in the German camp. He was a substitute in the high-stakes match with Argentina, but especially considering his outstanding form, the 22-year-old may well be named to the starting XI in at least one of Germany's upcoming qualifiers.

Juan Bernat

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

Juan Bernat recently earned his first nomination to Spain's senior team for upcoming European Championship qualifiers. And as his national side prepare to take on Luxembourg and Slovakia, there's a good chance the 21-year-old may feature at some point.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque is quoted by Heath Chesters on InsideSpanishFootball.com as saying: "Bernat is included because of his characteristics, for all that he can offer on the left flank, both at the back and going forward." The trainer added that Bernat and fellow debutant nominee Rodrigo Moreno "Can be Spain players for many years to come."

Bernat is one of two left-backs nominated by Del Bosque, along with Barcelona's Jordi Alba.

Now at Bayern, the debutant has the platform to make him a star player. He has some catching up to do in order to reach Alba's level of recognition, but could well make a big step in that direction this week.