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A reactive tactician, Carlo Ancelotti's (c.) sides have nonetheless had some common threads throughout the years.
A reactive tactician, Carlo Ancelotti's (c.) sides have nonetheless had some common threads throughout the years.

How might Carlo Ancelotti's FC Bayern München line up in 2016/17?

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Carlo Ancelotti's FC Bayern München record so far reads: fives games played, four won, 30 players used. His squad at the Allianz Arena is bursting at the seams with talent, though a look back over the Italian tactician's recent sides could shed some light on whom might play where for the champions next term…

Whilst Ancelotti is a versatile coach, his Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid CF teams - which picked up a total of five trophies in his four combined seasons at the helm - have invariably lined up in a 4-3-3 formation (or a 4-2-3-1, depending on how advanced the number 10 position is).

- © DFL DEUTSCHE FUSSBALL LIGA

So what might Ancelotti change? An obvious starting point is the fact that Bayern have bolstered the squad with two standout talents in Mats Hummels and Renato Sanches. Allowed to leave Bayern in 2008, the former returns as the fulcrum of world champions Germany's back-line and is set to re-establish his central-defensive partnership with Boateng at club level. The latter should feature prominently in midfield after becoming the youngest player ever to win the UEFA EURO, with Portugal, this summer.

Ancelotti has always preferred a partnership of head, heart and lungs in his three-man central midfield, meanwhile. At PSG Marco Verratti pulled the strings, at Real that job went to Xabi Alonso. Reunited with the decorated Spaniard, it is hard to imagine anyone else being given that role next season. In Sanches and Arturo Vidal, Ancelotti has two lung-bursting players, each of whom won titles over the summer, with Vidal mirroring Sanches' success with his own Copa America Centenario triumph with Chile.

- © DFL DEUTSCHE FUSSBALL LIGA

However it shakes out, it promises to be another exhilarating season at the Allianz Arena. With the embarrassment or riches above, it would not be safe to count against Bayern winning a first UEFA Champions League title since 2012/13 - and what would be a sixth European title for the Italian - by the end of the campaign.

Watch: FC Bayern München's magnificent home, the Allianz Arena: