1. Break Through The WallA forward line which features the likes of Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Thomas Muller and the rest is always likely to attract attention, but the difference between Bayern of this year and last is at the back. Jupp Heynckes's team have not conceded a goal since Aug 7, in their very first Bundesliga game of the season, a club-record run of nine games - or 838 minutes - without a breach. They have not, of course, faced a forward line as gifted as that available to Roberto Mancini, but Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero and their cohorts will have to be at their best if they are to end Manuel Neuer's invincible spell.
2. Hope For Regression
A centre-back pairing of Holger Badstuber and Jerome Boateng would not, it is likely, inspire much fear in City's expensively-assembled squad: the weak link in Germany's assault on the World Cup last season and a player who is hardly a mourned presence in the Etihad Stadium dressing rooms.
But the turnaround in both players in Bavaria has been remarkable: not least Badstuber, now playing in his preferred central role rather than as a makeshift left-back, and excelling to such an extent that he is now statistically rated as the best defender in the Bundesliga. He is likely to line up alongside Boateng - a man with a point to prove after an abortive single season in England - and present a rather more considerable barrier to Dzeko et al than reputation may suggest.
3. Stop Super Mario
Among Bayern's galaxy of attacking stars, it is perhaps the least famous who will warrant the most attention. Mario Gomez may not have the profile of Ribery and Robben, but his form merits close attention: after a poor first season in which he seemed to struggle with the weight of expectation brought about by his £30 million transfer from Stuttgart, Gomez finished as the Bundesliga's top scorer last year - with 28 goals - and has started this campaign in exactly the same vein.
He has eight already this season, although there is solace for Mancini in the fact that seven of those have come in just two games: the 26 year-old managed four against Freiburg and three against Kaiserslautern.
4. Cope With Pressure
Long nicknamed FC Hollywood for their rather dramatic penchant for self-destruction, under Heynckes's astute leadership, Bayern have thus far resembled a team for the opening salvos of the campaign. The veteran coach - winner of the Champions League with Real Madrid as far back as 1998 - is likely to play with Anatoliy Tymoschuk and Bastian Schweinsteiger in deeper roles in midfield, with three players roaming forward in support of the prolific Gomez.
The difference to the dishevelled rabble Louis van Gaal sent out last season is that the likes of Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos and even Ribery have won plaudits for their work-rate, with Philipp Lahm at pains to point out how unsettling they have been to their opposition.
5. Silence the Bayern Munich Stadium
Munich's space age dome cannot just change colour, but identity, too: Uefa's stringent sponsorship rules mean referring to the ground by its name, the Allianz Arena, is a no go for midweek European ties. The visit of a club which represent all that Bayern dislike - a slew of stories about Financial Fair Play have been appearing in Munich's press in recent days - will turn a usually taciturn crowd into a raucous mob.
With good reason: Bayern have lost just once at home in Europe since 2007, when van Gaal's team - and his regime - collapsed completely against Inter in last season's last 16 after what had appeared a creditable first-leg victory in San Siro.
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