Bayern search for starting point

Anything but winning is considered unacceptable for Bayern Munich these days. After soaring to the historic heights of a treble in the 2012-13 season, the club appointed football's most wanted coach, Pep Guardiola. A change in style and more trophies followed, but this year more changes have come at Bayern's Säbener Straße headquarters as Pep's evolution continues.

A 1-1 draw in their last Bundesliga game against Schalke was, following the standards Bayern have set themselves, not enough. While the season is young and the team is still finding their rhythm, Bayern will need to be watchful. Schalke deserved their point and pushed Bayern for extended periods. This weekend in Stuttgart, things look set to be different. They have to be.

Franck Ribery is back from injury to help the club find its winning way. The Frenchman, who's controversial decision to retire from the French national team will have no doubt pleased Bayern, is available for selection after recovering from his knee injury. Arjen Robben trained with the team on Thursday and is also expected to be in the starting line-up, but it seems unlikely both will play the full 90 minutes.

Benatia time

Along with the club's leading Frenchman, new central defender Mehdi Benatia is expected to slot into an ever-evolving defensive line this weekend too. Guardiola could stick with the three-man back line that he has so far favored, Holger Badstuber and Jerome Boateng likely to partner Benatia with David Alaba and Philipp Lahm as wingbacks in a 3-5-2 formation. Although the signing of Benatia does give Bayern four center backs, it's still unlikely that Guardiola will choose a four-man backline.

The mystery deepens in Bayern's midfield though, both in terms of personnel and structure. With Javi Martinez probably out injured until January, Thiago and Bastian Schweinsteiger still some way off top fitness and Xabi Alonso still looking to shake a foot injury, Guardiola looks like he has found a solution though. Lahm, or Alaba as has been Pep's preference of late, looks set to take up the defensive midfield mantle should Alonso not recover in time.

Making assumptions about Bayern's starting eleven is a risky business, particularly after an international break and an influx of new signings. Perhaps even riskier though is the path that Pep is taking. Bayern are being questioned openly in the German press of engaging in a "Spanish revolution" of sorts, in light of the now five Spanish players at the club.

Espanol Bayern

New chairman of Bayern Munich's supervisory board Karl Hopfner has dismissed this, saying to German sports channel Sky Sports News HD: "It's a just phase where everyone now thinks that we're 'Espanol Bayern'. I consider that to be false."

False or not, coach Pep Guardiola is cut from very proud Catalonian cloth. When he first arrived, it was clear the club didn't want to swap their Bavarian heritage for a Barcelona one. Since then though, Guardiola's power has undoubtedly increased and, even with the loaded smile of Matthias Sammer joining Guardiola in the dugout, Bayern's current style bears the markings of only one man.

While this path of a foreign coach bringing his nation's style to a club isn't a new phenomenon - look at Arsene Wenger at Arsenal for example - the defending Bundesliga champions should be accustomed to an inquisition all the same. The fact that it has brought a curt response already does suggest some agitation. Then again, can Bayern be blamed for having a ruthlessly effective transfer policy in a market offering some top Spanish players this summer?

Every single member of this squad will have to contribute this season, particular over the next 22 days as Bayern cram in seven games. A win against Stuttgart will get the Munich machine humming again, but more important than those involved is the manner of victory. Vamos Bayern?