BIRMINGHAM, England -- Sergio Aguero is as dangerous in the box as Barcelona trio Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, according to Pep Guardiola.
The Manchester City striker ended a six-game goal drought with a brilliant first-half double in the 4-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Guardiola confirmed that Aguero will definitely start Tuesday's Champions League game against Barca after he was surprisingly left on the bench for their first meeting at the Camp Nou earlier this month.
And the City boss says the striker now needs to believe he is as good as Barca's attacking trio.
"In the box he is at that level," Guardiola told a news conference after City's win at the Hawthorns.
"He is one the nicest players I ever trained in my career. It is a pleasure for me to work with nice people and Sergio is one of the best ones by far, but to convince him he has to believe how good he is and how we need him.
"I am talking about he has to feel how important he is for us. When he is happy of course all the team is happy."
Aguero's future was called into question when he was surprisingly dropped at the Camp Nou, with Guardiola repeatedly insisting he wanted more from the striker. But the 28-year-old has responded -- running 10.2km in the win over West Brom compared to an average of 7.8km last season.
Guardiola hailed him as "special player" and says he needs him to play in big part in City's challenge for success this season.
"We need him. Without him we cannot achieve our target, it is impossible," the City boss said.
"Sergio is a special player. We have to convince him how special player he is for us. We need him a lot. When he's in that behaviour and has that hunger in that moment Sergio is decisive.
"He's a big part of the history of this club and we want to help him to become a bigger part of this fantastic club."