Themes to Watch in the 2013-14 Champions League Group Stages

The Champions League group stages are upon us and, once more, that means there will be talking points galore as wealth and talent continues to spread around the continent with the increase in outside investment.

Last season saw Shakhtar Donetsk, Malaga and Paris Saint-Germain all reach the latter stages of the competition off the back of significant investment, while the rise of the Bundesliga continued with an all-German final played between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich at Wembley Stadium.

Was it the end of Barcelona's dominance? Was English football in irreversible decline? All such questions were widely raised by observers of the Champions League last season, with no competition drawing such widespread attention from the four corners of the Earth on an annual basis.

UEFA's premier competition is the pinnacle of world football and, whatever the merits of the Copa Libertadores or other such continental tournaments, it is the place where all modern-day players crave success.

In many ways, the tournament has overtaken the World Cup to become the proving ground of the great players of the 21st century and, as such, dominates the footballing landscape.

But, what themes should we watch out for in the tournament this season?

Emphasis on high pressing and utilising transitions

It was a trend that was clear towards the end of last season's competition, with two of the four semifinalists in Dortmund and Real Madrid experts at quickly springing from back to front and tearing opponents to shreds.

In the context of Barcelona having been dominant forces in Europe with their tiki-taka football for a period of four or five years, teams had finally begun to find a method of counteracting their disadvantage in the possession count—by mimicking the Catalans' high-pressing defensive strategy.

Sir Alex Ferguson got it right in the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley, pressing Barcelona intensely and then hitting the Catalans quickly on the counter whenever his side won the ball back. Manchester United, though, could not sustain that intensity.

Under Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid worked on a similar system to eventually establish an upper hand in direct competition with their El Clasico rivals and, last season, Dortmund were electrifying in their use of the tactic to beat Madrid themselves.

Football at the highest level has become a battle for space and, by pressing high up the pitch, teams can ensure that the side with the ball have to conduct their attacks from deeper, as well as having less time to think in possession.

As teams continue to get fitter, it is a trend that only looks set to continue and, arguably, it was a lack of intensity in Barcelona's pressing last season that saw them lose effectiveness in the latter stages. Their opponents were allowed to organise in defence and the chance to strike on the transition was lost.

The emergence of a new Barcelona

Barcelona were not at their best last season and, following their semifinal humbling at the hands of Bayern Munich, were written off by many as being a team in terminal decline.

However, under Tata Martino this season, there appears to be a spring in the step of the Catalan side and, indeed, some new ideas after a few seasons of working off the same tactical systems.

They are now pressing higher up the pitch once more and, as a result are playing more of the game in the opponent's third of the pitch than they did last campaign—currently up to 38 percent from 31 percent per Whoscored.

With Cesc Fabregas, Neymar and Alexis all looking to be big parts of Martino's thinking, there is a move away from the reliance on Lionel Messi in attacking areas. The influence of Xavi, also, is coming under threat.

Barça haven't made any major changes to their style yet and still crush opponents with their domination of midfield areas, but there is a sense that they are more incisive in attacking areas with their new attacking combination at large.

English football to come back fighting

The decline of English football was a major talking point last season as, for the first time in a decade, the Premier League had no club in the quarterfinal stage of the competition.

There was some misfortune involved in that outcome, with Manchester United and Arsenal pushing Real Madrid and Bayern Munich close in the first knockout round. There was no hiding from the fact, though, that it was not a good season for English football.

There have been changes at the helm of three of England's four Champions League entrants this summer and there is already a sense that the quartet are ready to mount much more of a challenge than they did last year.

None of the four sides will feel daunted by their group stage draws and, while they may not have hit top gear domestically, all four are stacked deep in quality after a busy summer.

All four sides should emerge from the group stage unscathed and all will have hopes of reaching the final stages of the competition this year.

The continued rise of the big spenders

As mentioned just now, there is no reason why Manchester City should not progress comfortably to the knockout stages this year. After particularly disappointing performances over the past two seasons, Manuel Pellegrini will hope to guide the Citizens to the knockout stages for the first time.

They should have reached the latter stages in previous years, given the quality of players at their disposal. Under Roberto Mancini, though, they were too often tentative in continental action.

A quarterfinal place should be the minimum expectation given the squad the club has compiled and the same should apply to their big-spending Gallic cousins: PSG.

The Parisiens reached the quarterfinal stage last season, only to fall short in an enthralling encounter with Barcelona. Having spent large sums of money again this summer, they must at least match that performance.

PSG and City will be major players in the Champions League in the coming years, as Chelsea have already become. It takes time to build a squad capable of being Europe's best, but they will inevitably get there if their investors have the patience to see the project through.