Why Jeremy Mathieu Will Be Key Man for Barcelona vs Man City in Champions League

It seems bizarre to say that Jeremy Mathieu will be the key for Barcelona in their Champions League clash with Manchester City, especially when they have Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez doing the talking for them up top.

However, any of those players could make the difference in an attacking sense. Assuming Suarez has found his feet by then, they will each have fairly equal odds of popping up with a goal.

What will be crucial for Barcelona winning the tie is not who comes up with the goods in attack, but instead, the defender or midfielder that can shut down Sergio Aguero.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

The Argentine is by far Manchester City's best player, and he has been picked out by Sport's Carlos Dominguez as the key threat to Barcelona in the last 16 clash.

He wrote:

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It's Sergio "Kun" Aguero who is the one player that Barcelona need to control when they face Manchester City in the last 16. Despite not reaching the stratospheric levels of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the Argentine "killer" has netted 21 goals this season for club and country.

"

While it won't be a one-man job, there will still be a primary force in stopping Aguero.

Given Mathieu's physicality and speed, he seems the most likely player to be handed the task.

Of course, Luis Enrique's formation at Barcelona always seems to be changing, as do his lineups. Therefore, what will come to pass is hard to predict.

However, if the game took place right now, Mathieu would be the defender to deal with Aguero—assuming the Argentine was fit.

The way City line up means that Aguero is the incisive blade at the top of the team, while support artists Samir Nasri, David Silva and Jesus Navas play deeper.

Jordi Alba would be the man to keep Navas at bay, as he is the quickest player that Barcelona have in a defensive sense.

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Even though Mathieu sometimes looks ungainly, he is phyiscally the best match for Aguero, who is strong despite his size.

Enrique hailed the forward in his press conference on Monday ahead of Barcelona's Copa del Rey clash with Huesca on Tuesday night, per Yahoo Eurosport: "Aguero is amongst the top 10 players in the world, but I'll stick with Messi as the No. 1 ahead of the rest."

Barcelona will be worried about the timing of their second leg with Manchester City, which takes place at the Camp Nou on Wednesday, March 18.

The following weekend, Real Madrid come to visit in La Liga.

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Jon Super/Associated Press

If Barcelona can kill the game in the first leg, as they almost managed to do last season when these teams met, they will be in a much better position.

They clashed at the same stage of the 2013-14 competition, and Barcelona won 2-0 in Manchester, before finishing the job with a 2-1 win at home.

Aguero was injured for the first leg and could only play half of the second before being forced off with another injury at the Camp Nou.

The striker has problems with fitness and is currently out of action for a few weeks, but City will hope that he is fit and firing by February.

Barcelona will be best advised to expect that scenario and make sure Mathieu has the preparation he needs to shut Aguero down.