There have been talks of the Bundesliga turning into a one-sided affair with Bayern Munich cruising to four consecutive league titles. Possessing the financial muscle to recruit some of the best in the business – both players and managers – and having gifted players coming through the academy ranks every few years, it has now come down to whether the Bavarian outfit will bottle it at the end of the season.

History and pedigree is certainly on their side and over the last few years, Bayern have poached some of the best talents from their nearest rivals for the title, Borussia Dortmund. Built by Louis van Gaal, polished by Jupp Heyenkes and drilled to perfection by Pep Guardiola, Bayern have given the impression that they can canter to the league title even on auto-pilot mode.

At least since their last Champions League title, which came in 2013, anything less than a win in the Europe’s biggest football tournament is deemed as an underwhelming season. That is how high the bar is set and even a manager as good as Guardiola couldn’t deliver the Big Ears during his time at the club.

Being the only manager to win three Champions League titles, new boss Carlo Ancelotti’s challenge in the forthcoming season will be to make it four. The side is used to playing a certain way: dominating possession and pinning opponents in their own half. Such is the versatility of Bayern that they can easily switch to a style that has them seeing less of the ball midway through a game.

Bayern’s rivals for the title, Bayer Leverkusen and Dortmund, have strengthened over the summer. The story, though, will continue to be whether the wheels of the winning juggernaut of Philipp Lahm and Co. begin to fall off.

The Carlo Ancelotti era

One of the best facets of the Italian is that he has never gone into a club and tried to upset a winning combination. A major hit with his former players for being non confrontational and an excellent player-manager, Ancelotti allows his players to express themselves by being adventurous without losing shape and discipline. Adaptable under different circumstances, there is no defined philosophy with Ancelotti.

In his 20-year career on the touchline, to Ancelotti’s credit, he has managed a wide range of strong personalities in the game – be it Zinedine Zidane, John Terry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Cristiano Ronaldo, every one of them has sung the 57-year-old’s praises.

The former AC Milan, Chelsea, and Real Madrid manger moves into an arena where anything less than a league title at the end of the season will be adjudged as a failure. Having worked in demanding work environments before and armed with success in Italy, Spain, England and France, Bayern have got one of the finest in the business.

Tactics

Unlike Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, Ancelotti chalks out a formation that will revolve around the players playing in their best positions and is anything but rigid. He has deployed a two-striker system from a midfield diamond with Milan and Chelsea, while only making slight tweaks to an already established 4-2-3-1 formation at Madrid.

However, it is highly unlikely that Philipp Lahm will be tossed and thrown across the park in the manner that Guardiola did. The current Manchester City manager also showed a stiff upper lip towards fielding an outright No. 9, persisting with a false nine up front. A striker as good as Robert Lewandowski was confined to the bench despite scoring heavily. Here, the Polish striker is expected to be a regular starter having become indispensable, amassing 42 goals last season. It will be interesting to see where Kingsley Coman, a player who was handed his debut at 16 by Ancelotti, and Douglas Costa fit in.

The engine room of the side, Arturo Vidal, will be one of the first names on the team sheet. After an excellent start in his first season at the club, Costa has cemented his place in the side. Spanish playmaker Thiago Alcantara though faces a crucial season after being plagued by injury problems in recent times.

Signings

It came as a surprise to many to see Dortmund have a busier transfer market than the 26-time champions. Despite having a good season, Die Schwarzgelben finished 10 points behind Bayern in 2015-'16. However, with an eye on the future, Bayern have invested in the prodigious 18-year-old Portuguese, Renato Sanches, for a whopping 48 million pounds. The midfielder, despite his tender age, was one of the standout players in Euro 2016, playing a crucial role to take his country to its maiden international crown.

Completing their yearly ritual of snapping up Dortmund players, defender Mats Hummels is the latest addition to the side. The 27-year-old was a Munich youth player. Hummels should seamlessly fit into a backline, which has three of his World Cup-winning colleagues already in Lahm, Jerome Boateng and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

Weaknesses

Across the two decades that he has managed clubs, Ancelotti has only three league titles to show for it. There has been criticism in the past about the Italian not able to shuffle things quickly during a game – an apparent lack of a plan B. The Liverpool-AC Milan Champions League final of 2005, where his team dramatically collapsed from being 3-0 up at half-time to lose the contest, is a case in point. Where Ancelotti thrives is in setting his team up for a win going into the game.

One of the finest hours of Ancelotti's detailed pre-match strategy working well was his Real Madrid team's thumping win over his current club in the Champions League a couple of years ago. Real had ripped Bayern apart with lightning-quick counter-attacks from Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Angel di Maria.

However, Bayern’s biggest strength can also turn out to be detrimental for the side as the season progresses. With a galore of world-class talent, in the centre of the park at least, there are bound to be a couple of unhappy players in the side.

Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery, who are 32 and 33 respectively, are no longer the flying wingers they once were. The "Robbery" wing-play led the side to trophies aplenty in the last few years, but the time has come for them to be carefully phased out. Both players have had several injury worries in recent years and will prove counter-productive if the manager decides to revolve his team plans around them. Xabi Alonso is also well into his thirties. The challenge will arrive when they face their title rivals, Dortmund, whose destructive front four can rip any top team to shreds with their pace.

For the first time in four years, Bayern find themselves slightly vulnerable, but this is a well-oiled unit that knows how to string wins together. If the side is injury free, it will take something truly world class to stop them. The imprint of the Guardiola era will still remain. Even Ancelotti stated that there will be anything but an overhaul in the style of play that the team is used to.

The manager’s poor league return will be under severe scrutiny. With a slightly jaded team, which can be caught out at the back by a quick side, Bayern’s rivals have their best chance in years. It’s a different story if the side’s frighteningly talented midfield and frontline decide to show up.