Top Match Preview: Could Aguero level the playing field against Barcelona?

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City welcome Barcelona to The Eithad on Tuesday night, attempting to avenge their 4-0 defeat from a fortnight ago having ended a recent slump with a victory by the same scoreline at the weekend. Depending on who you believe, both results were as a consequence of one man for the Citizens, Sergio Aguero.

While the Argentine scored a brace in the weekend win at West Brom, his absence from the XI at Camp Nou two weeks ago was a real talking point from an action packed game. Whether or not you think the result would have been much different had Aguero started, the tale of the night was ultimately told by Lionel Messi, who scored a hat-trick.

The five-time Ballon d’Or victor was at his imperious best on the night to haunt a manager that had such a prominent role to play in his development, not only scoring the first three goals but assisting Neymar’s fourth and even winning a penalty that the Brazilian ultimately failed to convert. His influence was enough to earn a back-to-back WhoScored.com rating of 10 in the Champions League having also struck three against Celtic in September, matching his tally of six from last season’s tournament in just two appearances.

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While Messi would score a brace just three days later, Barca haven’t had it all their own way since. Indeed, though they’ve won both league games following their rout over City, the blaugrana have only secured victories over lowly Valencia and Granada by a single goal. It means that of their last seven La Liga outings, they’ve only by more than one goal twice, which is relatively unheard of by their standards and an indication that Enrique’s side are far from their free-flowing best.

Messi in particular was well out of sorts last time out, with a rating of 6.23 his lowest ever when completing the ninety minutes in the league since WhoScored.com ratings began in 2009. The 29-year old was accurate with just one of four shots, created one chance and failed to complete a single dribble, whilst conceding possession seven times via a poor touch or being tackled. Instead it’s Neymar that has perhaps been Barcelona’s most consistent threat this season, but after the Messi show a fortnight ago, the hosts will be desperate to keep him as quiet as Granada managed at the weekend.

To do so they will need to cut out the sort of errors that cost them any chance of securing a positive result in Spain, with the scoreline not entirely representative of the match as a whole. There were moments, after all, where City were guilty of mistakes at either end. Fernandinho’s slip to present Messi with the glaring chance to score his first was more unfortunate than poor on the midfielder’s part, but there was no excusing Claudio Bravo’s part in the defeat on what was a miserable return to his former club. Sent off for a frankly ridiculous episode early in the second half, the Chilean will miss the game on Tuesday through suspension having ended any chance of a revival for his side in the reverse fixture.

While errors in possession from Gundogan and De Bruyne also ensured that the result was far more emphatic than it might have been, the visitors were guilty of missing chances of their own at the other end. John Stones should have levelled matters late in the first half, while there were a number of chances for City to get on the scoresheet had they been more decisive or clinical in the final third.

That is where the home fans this week will hope that Aguero’s reintroduction can at very least level the playing field.

Guardiola’s decision to leave his star striker out of the line-up last time out was lambasted by the majority, though it’s fair to say City were far from outplayed. Barcelona mustered a modest 12 shots to the Manchester outfit’s 8 but it’s fair to say a decent amount of said chances were handed to the home side on a plate. Meanwhile a possession share of 47% was pretty impressive given the Premier League side spent twenty minutes more than their hosts with ten men - Mathieu was sent off later in the game and will also miss out through suspension.

The performance of Kevin De Bruyne leading the line for the away side did, however, highlight that a more natural front man would certainly have helped matters for Guardiola’s men. Indeed, the Belgian was ineffective at Camp Nou, and while he drew a smart stop from Ter Stegen, the playmaker failed to link up play or create a single chance for those in support.

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While cited as a tactical decision from Pep at the time, Aguero did seem a little short of match sharpness, struggling to have an impact in the three games prior to their Champions League outing. He then flattered to deceive against Saints days later before again being dropped to the bench for the Manchester derby. It’s a period of rest that, if Saturday’s performance at the Hawthorns is anything to go by, has done the Argentina international the world of good.

A run of six games without a goal was broken with a star showing at the weekend, with a WhoScored.com man of the match rating of 10. With two goals - the second of which was a stunner - from five shots, two key passes and eight dribbles, the City fans will hope for a similar showing on Tuesday. With seven goals against Barcelona in the past, the visitors will know all about the threat that Aguero carries, and his impact will undoubtedly be under scrutiny after his omission in the reverse fixture.

Speaking after their win at the weekend, Guardiola was certainly full of praise for his front man. "He is one of the best. And above all that he is one of the nicest people I have ever met." An attempt to build bridges? Perhaps, but if the former Barca boss can continue to get the best from his star man then his old club will surely not have it all their own way at The Etihad.

What are your predictions for Tuesday night's game? Let us know in the comments below