Bayern Munich will return to Bundesliga action on Saturday, where the Bavarians welcome SC Freiburg to the Allianz Arena, with a new man sat in the dugout.
Following the club’s decision to sack Carlo Ancelotti after the Italian’s disappointing start to the season, club icon Jupp Heynckes has returned for his fourth spell in charge of the club in a bid to close the gap between Bayern and league-leading Borussia Dortmund.
Here’s how Heynckes could set up for his first game back.
Goalkeeper
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Ulreich26
After a disastrous performance against VfL Wolfsburg, in which some tame goalkeeping and a helping hand from the woodwork saw Bayern throw away a 2-0 lead, Sven Ulreich needs to buck up his ideas in the Bayern net.
Defence
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Kimmich32
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Hummels5
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Boateng17
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Alaba27
David Alaba was believed to be suffering from an ankle injury, however, the Austrian has trained with the first-team and Heynckes will be keen to test out what is (on paper) his best back four.
That will see versatile midfielder Joshua Kimmich stay at right-back and a central partnership of Mats Hummels and Jérôme Boateng.
Midfield
Box-to-box midfielder Arturo Vidal could be forced to miss Bayern’s clash due to a strain on his calf, meaning Heynckes will look towards either Sebastian Rudy or Corentin Tolisso to sit next to Thiago in the middle, the latter of the two summer arrivals likely to get the nod.
Arjen Robben and Kingsley Coman will provide Bayern with a lot of variety out wide, while Thomas Müller should sit just behind the No. 9.
Forwards
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Lewandowski9
Not that there needs to be any justification as to why Robert Lewandowski will be leading the line on Saturday, but with 12 goals across all competitions this season there is no one in Bavaria to rival the Polish star.
Fresh off the back of an impressive international campaign, Lewandowski will be hoping to get a few more goals under his belt at the weekend.
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