It's been a day of bad news for Manchester City. On the same day that they were drawn against Barcelona in the Champions League, they've also got confirmation that ace striker Sergio Aguero will be out for at least month after going off injured during the 6-3 rout of Arsenal.

Aguero has been one of the league's top marksmen this season, and losing him for the Christmas period will hurt City despite the wealth of attacking options Manuel Pellegrini has at his disposal. Edin Dzeko is probably next in line to replace the man who won City their first-ever Premier League title two seasons ago, but the Bosnian doesn't have Kun's ability to play between the lines while maintaining a goalscoring threat. It'll be interesting to see how the club manages -- they should be fine, but there's no doubting Aguero's value as the catalyst behind their vicious attack.

If we assume that Aguero returns mid-January, he'll miss seven games, including a key home tie against Liverpool. That's difficult, but manageable. Much longer, however, and this could be a serious blow to Manchester City's hopes of winning the league. Alvaro Negredo's going to have to step up still further.