What Will Borussia Dortmund's Strongest Midfield Be in 2015/16 Season?

Thomas Tuchel may have only arrived at Borussia Dortmund a few months ago to pick up where his predecessor, Jurgen Klopp, left off, but the new coach has wasted little time putting his mark on this side.

We've only seen the former German champions in one competitive game so far this season, yet they already look like a new team under the former Mainz manager. It may be the same colours and the same faces from last year's dreadful campaign, but this side look fresh and ready to move on from the ills of Klopp's final season in charge.

Yet before the Bundesliga season kicks off, fans and critics alike will be desperate to know which players Tuchel will be playing where ahead of the club's clash with Borussia Monchengladbach—specifically the midfield, which can so often make or break Dortmund's fortunes from one year to the next.

The first thing we need to distinguish is just what formation Tuchel will use this season. Although Dortmund have a distinctive style of play, the new manager has played a number of different systems and tactics throughout pre-season.

The most likely will be a simple 4-2-3-1 in a similar style to that we saw under Klopp last season. It's the formation the new manager played in his first competitive game against Wolfsberger in the Europa League and perhaps offers the most going forward.

Alternatively, we have seen Tuchel shake things up on a number of occasions this summer, starting with a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2 diamond, which notably brings an extra body in to the centre of the park and forms a midfield trio, while the diamond itself offers another attacking midfielder to play behind the two strikers. 

Although Tuchel has only used the 4-2-3-1 in competitive games, it seems as though he's far more interested in what a 4-3-3/4-4-2 diamond can offer this coming season. If were to make an assumption on what tactic he'll use, it'll be this one.

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As such, we'll begin with the very foot of the midfield, where Tuchel's holding player will sit and look to dictate the pace of Dortmund's counter-attacks and possession on the ball. If he's fit, this is most likely a position Nuri Sahin would happily take up for the duration of the season, yet the new manager simply can't assume his Turkish talent will be available for the entire campaign.

That means he'll have to turn to either Julian Weigl or indeed Sven Bender to shore up the position and guard Dortmund's back line against the Bundesliga's many attacking threats. Although the latter central midfielder has far more experience than the former, there is a suggestion Tuchel will instead go with Weigl in the coming campaign.

The former 1860 Munich youngster has been a fresh of breath air in the middle of the park after signing this summer and has wasted little elbowing his way to the front of Tuchel's plans. Rather than asking if Weigl will replace Bender in the middle of the pitch, it would seem as though a more astute question relates to when will he replace his team-mate. Weigl is the future, and Tuchel may be tempted to embrace the starlet sooner rather than later. 

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We then turn to the two central midfielders who will playing in front of the holding player, which will undoubtedly be Ilkay Gundogan and Gonzalo Castro.

The former has looked like star reborn after finally committing to a new deal at the club and regaining his fitness and should prove, once again, to be a real inspiration in the middle of the park, while Castro will look to do exactly what he has been doing at Bayer Leverkusen for a number of years: running the length of the park tackling and creating chances in equal measure. 

The opportunity to play both of these players alongside one another is perhaps the most obvious reason for Tuchel to go with a 4-3-3 formation. With Weigl or Bender behind, both can venture forward without fear of leaving the defence exposed and really showcase the best of their talents. 

It will be the attacking-midfield position in front of these two that will perhaps offer the most variety throughout the coming season. Sure, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will most likely remain Dortmund's target man, but from one week to the next, everything around him could constantly be in flux. 

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The two men who'll be at the heart of this are Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Shinji Kagawa, who will probably find themselves swapping and changing for one another from one game to the next. Marco Reus will always start when fit—either as a winger or as a second striker—but depending on the formation Mkhitaryan will either be the right winger or Kagawa the traditional No. 10.

Others will of course play their part. Jonas Hofmann has a big fan in Tuchel and has already featured heavily this summer under the new coach, but as an out-and-out winger, he'll most likely be used as cover. Similarly, Jakub Blaszczykowski offers plenty when he's fit, but unfortunately, such a scenario is very rare over the course of the season. 

Ultimately, such tactical debate comes down to pure speculation and, in turn, may prove to be rather futile. Pinning a constant formation or tactic on a coach renowned for his flexibility in such a field may ultimately offer very little in terms of accuracy, but it does showcase the options available to Dortmund this season.

Tuchel has a job on his hands to turn Dortmund's recent luck in the Bundesliga around, but he has a strong midfield full of players who could potentially prove crucial to reaching whatever goals he has set for his side this season.