January
After the winter break, Bayern face two teams who are expected to finish mid-table. Freiburg and Werder Bremen won't be a difficult test and a goal fest is expected in the new year.
February
Away games to Ingolstadt and Hertha must yield six points for the champions as the Munich club approaches the business end.
Home games to Schalke and Hamburg are going to be close as always and will provide a stern test, with Champions League and cup games to also played in the month.
March
March features one home game against Frankfurt which should see Bayern running away with all 3 points. The away trip to Cologne too won't be much of an issue for the Bavarians.
The next away game against Monchengladbach will be a test, as they along with the likes of Schalke and Leverkusen, will fight for the Bundesliga along with the usual favourites, Bayern and Dortmund.
Expect Munich to surge ahead of their rivals as a result of their easy fixtures in the beginning of 2017.
April
This is the busiest month of the season as it features six games, which are going to decide where the league title is going to go. Away trips to Hoffenheim, Leverkusen and Wolfsburg will not be easy, as all three are tough places to go and win all three points.
The home game against Mainz is expected to be all three points for the Champions.
The remaining home games of this month will decide the champions of Germany for the 2016-17 season. This maybe the closest Bundesliga title race in years and it may be decided in the final few weeks of the season as Borussia Dortmund visit Allianz Arena.
If Bayern lose this game, they may find it tough to retain the title that they have won four times in a row.
May
An away trip to Red Bull Leipzig will be a challenge as Leipzig have a hostile atmosphere at their home ground.
Home games against Darmstadt and Freiburg are the kind of fixtures that Bayern would have hoped for to end their season, as these two teams won't offer much resistance to the mighty Bayern.
Predicted finish: 1st
Though Dortmund have invested well and Ancelotti is a better cup manager than a league one, Bayern have too much firepower in their arsenal to blow away their opposition.
Dortmund have bought youngsters who will take time to settle into the demands of a big club. The likes of Mario Gotze and Andre Schurrle have to find themselves after indifferent spells at Munich and Wolfsburg respectively.
With a solid defence, creative midfield and one of the best strikers in the world, on paper, Bayern should easily win the Bundesliga.
But games aren’t won on paper and a team’s past reputation is not how a team wins any league.
