After suffering their first defeat of the season in the German Super Cup against Dortmund, Bayern Munich is set to kick off the 2013-2014 Bundesliga season this Friday against Borussia Mönchengladbach. This marks a significant moment for Pep Guardiola, who faced criticism from some players in the past week.
Guardiola is feeling the pressure as he aims to replicate the success of his predecessor Jupp Heynckes, who led Bayern Munich to a Championship-Cup-Champions League treble last season. Despite the pressure, Guardiola is focused on maintaining composure.
For his first Bundesliga lineup, Guardiola did not include his protégé Thiago Alcantara, opting to start with Ribéry. The starting lineups are as follows:
Bayern Munich: Neuer – Dante, Alaba, Boateng, Lahm, Müller, Schweinsteiger, Robben, Ribéry, Mandzukic, Kroos
Mönchengladbach: ter Stegen – Jantschke, Stranzl, Dominguez, Daems – Herrmann, Kramer, Xhaka, Arango – M. Kruse, Raffael.
