#9 Bayern and Dortmund will start their campaigns at home vs Werder Bremen and Mainz respectively
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Bayern Munich became the first German club to win the Bundesliga for four consecutive seasons as they beat Borussia Dortmund to the title with two games to spare. The Bavarians earned their 26th German league title last season but there had been tough competition from Dortmund as they did not give up on the title until the end.
There have been big changes at the two sides this season with Pep Guardiola having taken off for the Premier League. Carlo Ancelotti has taken over the reigns at Bayern and brought in two great players in Renato Sanches and Mats Hummels. The latter will be of great help for the club as they had been facing problems in defence throughout the last season. But there have also been many players who have left Munich this transfer window and have gone to their rivals.
Dortmund have made two acquisitions in the form of Sebastian Rode and Mario Gotze from Bayern whereas they have also strengthened their squad in defence by bringing in Barcelona’s Marc Bartra and Lorient’s Raphaël Guerreiro. The signing of Andre Schurrle from rivals Wolfsburg has been brought in more strength in midfield as Dortmund look to resume life without Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Also Read: How will Dortmund line up for the 2016-17 season?
The Bundesliga title will again be chased by these two clubs as Wolfsburg and Schalke do not have any big name players who can do the job. Dortmund look like a team who can challenge for the title and coach Thomas Tuchel will be hoping to take his side to glory even though they are considered the second favourites to win the title. On the other hand, Ancelotti will look to start off the campaign on a high note by getting a victory over Werder Bremen. It will also be interesting to see what style of play the Italian will look to bring to the Allianz Arena.
Bayern Munich will host Werder Bremen in a 12 AM IST, Saturday (August 27, 2016)
Borussia Dortmund will host Mainz in a 7 PM IST, Saturday (August 27, 2016)
#10 Juventus, Roma and Milan will look to maintain their run but can Inter bounce back?
Reigning champions Juventus started their campaign for the new season without the likes of Alvaro Morata and Paul Pogba last weekend with a 2-1 win over Fiorentina in what marked a debut late-winner for new signing Gonzalo Higuain. The Italian champions have done very good business in the transfer window thus far and have gathered some exciting players.
The defence looked solid in the first game, however, the midfield was not wholly dominant throughout the game. Little improvements in the team are required for the champions to defend their crown. It was also a good start for AS Roma and AC Milan in the opening weekend of the Serie A as the two teams won their respective encounters. The former were the most impressive winners from last weekend as they beat Udinese 4-0 while, on the other hand, Milan beat Torino 3-2 in what could have been anyone’s game.
The latter will need to pull up their socks if they are to challenge for the title this season, however, chances of them winning look bleak from the outset.
Inter Milan were one of the biggest disappointments from the opening weekend as the club lost to Chievo Verona by 2-0. The club seems to have lost its confidence and the players have not been performing up to the required standards. Napoli were also the ones who seem affected by the sale of Higuain as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Pescara.
All the clubs will look to improve on their form this weekend, but the stand-out will be the crunch encounter between Napoli and AC Milan.
Lazio vs Juventus – 9:30 PM IST (27 August 2016)
Napoli vs AC Milan – 12:15 AM IST (28 August 2016)
Inter Milan vs Palermo – 9:30 PM IST (28 August 2016)
Cagliari vs Roma – 12:15 AM IST (29 August 2016)
