The Key Issues Bayern Munich Need to Work on During International Break

With most of his players away on international duty for the next week-and-a-half, Bayern Munich's Pep Guardiola will finally have some time to return to his office and address some of the problems that have bothered him this season. 

Although the Bavarian club look good atop of the Bundesliga table, with a 100 percent record in the Champions League to boot, there are some niggling troubles at Bayern that need to be addressed.

Disaster and poor form are only around the corner for even the largest and well funded clubs around Europe and if Bayern hope to continue their strong start to this season's campaign they'll need Guardiola on top of his game and in control of any potential disasters just waiting to happen. 

Here are the key issues facing the German champions over the international break. 

Bastian Schweinsteiger's Successor

Hassan Ammar/Associated Press

More bad news came down the line for Bastian Schweinsteiger this week when German paper Bild reported (h/t Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN FC) that the 30-year-old may now be out of action for the remainder of 2014. 

Although the German midfielder has just taken over captain responsibilities for the national team from fellow Bayern team-mate Philipp Lahm, the prospects of Schweinsteiger ever playing another full season for club and country seem less and less likely by the day. 

As such, Bayern and Guardiola will have to sit down and discuss a long-term plan to replace or at least combat the absence of Schweinsteiger from the Bayern team. 

The most obvious candidate would be Thiago Alcantara, yet he is generally believed to play the old Toni Kroos role of an attacking midfielder. And obviously lacks the physicality that completed the German's hold on most games. 

With Javi Martinez all but confirmed as a centre-back under Guardiola for the foreseeable future, that leaves us with just Xabi Alonso; an excellent addition to Bayern's team this summer but at 32 years old he may have fewer seasons left in him than the man we're hoping he could replace. 

Left are Sebastian Rode and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg; two young, talented midfielders who could fulfil Schweinsteiger's role in both a technical and physical sense. 

Both Rode and Hojbjerg have slowly made their way into the first team of late—Rode through a summer transfer and Hojbjerg via the youth team—but will need time to adapt. As well as a clear plan from their coach and their club. 

Bayern's Defensive Frailties

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

Although Bayern have managed to keep a clean sheet in their last five consecutive Bundesliga games, there are still some worries with regard to how Guardiola has set up the defensive line this season. 

Reverting to a back three at times in this campaign, we've often seen the Catalan coach raise eyebrows with the likes of David Alaba, Philipp Lahm and even Rafinha playing as one of the three centre-backs. 

Similarly when the Bavarian side do tend to play with a back four it usually involves two very attacking full-backs who often convert to wide midfielders and allow Alonso to slot in as a third central defender. 

This may seem fine in theory but, at times, we've seen Bayern play with something akin to a 3-4-2-1 formation; a system that may work against lower Bundesliga opposition but not a water-tight setup against genuine opposition. 

For all the defensive stats that suggest all is well, Guardiola's team have conceded whenever they've come up against tougher sides, such as Borussia Dortmund, Wolfsburg and Schake. While also coming a little too close to dropping points against Manchester City in the Champions League.

This defence may be ticking along at the moment, but Guardiola may need to make preparations for the business end of the season.  

Preparing for Tougher Champions League Challenges

Pavel Golovkin/Associated Press

We've already noted Bayern's opening Champions League tie against Manchester City as one that could have quite easily gone another way for Guardiola's side, but it is worth stating just how average the team have looked in Europe this season. 

There's very little to argue with when a team has picked up two wins from two—and granted Bayern can only beat what is put in front of them—but it has been the manner of such victories that has bothered fans and critics alike. 

The most notable game was the weary 1-0 win over CSKA Moscow in Russia at the end of September, which saw the German side take all three points following a solitary goal from a penalty kick. The Bundesliga champions picked up all three points, but a dismal effort was almost undone on a number of occasions from pacey striker Ahmed Musa and midfielder Georgi Milanov. 

This is, of course, the same Russian side that had previously lost 5-1 to Italian team AS Roma; the very opposition that Bayern must now confront in a fixture double bill after the international break. Here we should see the very best of the surprise Serie A side and just what Guardiola's team can do against some genuine European opposition. 

Yet even if the Bavarian champions can overcome Roma and finish top of their group, the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea all offer greater threats that could prove too much for this Bayern side. At least as we see them now. 

Accommodating All Bayern's Attacking Stars

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

In a scenario that only a club the size of Bayern Munich could possibly find themselves in, Guardiola now undoubtedly faces a number of headaches when he tries to consider fitting all his returning stars into a starting XI. 

Arjen Robben's return to the first team has proven to be a vital catalyst to the side's attacking productivity, while Mario Gotze has enjoyed a rich vein of form due to the absence of Franck Ribery and the added attention he's found in Bayern's build up play this season. 

Ribery was expected back earlier in the season, after making a brief appearance against Stuttgart back in early September, but he has since returned to the injury list. Yet what happens once the Frenchman is finally fit and ready to start games for Bayern?

With Thomas Muller and Alcantara also demanding first team football, Guardiola will undoubtedly have to juggle appearances between such stars, which could ultimately affect their form and performances for the club. 

The last thing any Bayern fan would want to see at the moment is Gotze or Robben being resigned to the bench over basic principles of allowing Ribery or Alcantara equal time on the pitch, but as the season goes on and these players return it may be something that Guardiola simply has to do. 

Star players will begin to return after this international break and it is then that we'll see how well Guardiola can keep them all content.