Carlo Ancelotti is the man in charge of Bayern this term after Pep Guardiola – who won the league title in each of his three seasons at the helm in Bavaria – left the club to take over from Manuel Pellegrini at Manchester City in the summer. Midfielder Renato Sanches and central defender Mats Hummels have been acquired to strengthen what was already the best-equipped squad in the division, with the likes of Thomas Muller, Douglas Costa, Jerome Boateng and Robert Lewandowski all enjoying superb seasons last time out.
Winning the Bundesliga has come to be seen as the minimum expectation for Bayern, who now judge their campaigns on whether or not they have been successful in the Champions League. Ancelotti’s appointment as Guardiola’s successor was probably at least in part based on the Italian’s terrific record in European competition – the former midfielder has won the continent’s primary continental club tournament three times as a coach, twice with Milan and once with Real Madrid – and the club’s supporters and hierarchy will be aiming to go all the way for the first time since 2013 this year. That could potentially lead to Bayern taking their eye off the ball when it comes to domestic matters, but even if that does prove to be the case Ancelotti has more than enough quality at his disposal to guide the Bavarians to the summit of the German top flight once more.
Werder Bremen had a rather disappointing year in 2015/16, finishing down in 13th place and only avoiding the relegation play-off spot by a slender margin of two points. They will be eyeing an improvement this time around, particularly after adding the likes of Max Kruse, Florian Kainz and Niklas Moisander to the ranks during the close-season, although Jannik Vestergaard and Anthony Ujah have left for Borussia Monchengladbach and Liaoning Whowin respectively. Club legend Claudio Pizarro will be aiming to defy logic once again by continuing to score goals despite being well past his prime: the 37-year-old Peruvian struck 14 times in 28 league appearances last term.
Bayern are simply formidable in the Bundesliga and should have little trouble brushing Werder Bremen aside this weekend. The hosts will inevitably dominate possession at the Allianz Arena but it will be interesting to see whether there are any notable changes in terms of Bayern’s style of play under Ancelotti, who also encourages attacking football but is somewhat less innovative than Guardiola – it would, for example, be surprising to see the new boss follow in his predecessor’s footsteps by deploying Philipp Lahm and David Alaba as underlapping full-backs who move into central midfield during phases of established possession.
Even allowing for a few initial teething problems, Bayern will surely have too much for their opponents on Friday. A 3-0 victory could be the best betting option in the correct scoreline market, with Muller a safe but sensible choice to find the back of the net in Bayern’s opening encounter.
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