Dortmund vs. Bayer Munich, 2016 German Supercup: Lineups

Carlo Ancelotti has released his first official lineup as Bayern Munich manager, and we now know who is starting in the German Supercup against Borussia Dortmund. It is, quite frankly, what most people expected.

With five players that have the ability to start out due to injuries, Ancelotti’s choices were fewer than he can expect to have in the coming weeks.

Starting XI: Manuel Neuer; David Alaba, Mats Hummels, Javi Martinez, Philipp Lahm; Arturo Vidal, Thiago Alcantara, Xabi Alonso; Franck Ribery, Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller

Substitutes: Sven Ulreich, Juan Bernat, Rafinha, Julian Green, Kingsley Coman, Joshua Kimmich, Nicolas Fedhahn

Out: Arjen Robben, Holger Badstuber, Jerome Boateng, Douglas Costa, Renato Sanches

With Jerome Boateng injured, the back five picks itself. Martinez slides in next to Hummels, while Lahm and Alaba patrol the flanks. The midfield is a trio consisting of Vidal, Alonso and Thiago. The big goal threats are Ribery, Müller and last season’s leading scorer Lewandowski.

While it’s always tough to know the exact formation the players will take on the field, it looks like a 4-3-3, but it could change depending on specific game situations.

Dortmund XI: Roman Bürki; Felix Passlack, Sokratis Papastathopolous, Marc Bartra, Schmelzer; Gonzalo Castro, Sebastian Rode; Ousmane Dembele, Shinji Kagawa, Adrian Ramos, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Substitutes: Roman Weidenfeller, Emre Mor, Mario Götze, Andre Schürrle, Julian Weigl, Raphael Guerreiro, Lukasz Piszczek

Join us over in the gamethread for the discussion of today’s German Supercup between Bayern and Dortmund.