Manchester City to appeal Mario Balotelli red card
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has confirmed the club will appeal against the red card shown to striker Mario Balotelli during the 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion over the weekend.
Balotelli played both the hero and the villain during the match over the weekend as he scored a brace before receiving a straight red card for a challenge on West Brom's Youssuf Mulumbu.
"I absolutely do not agree with the referee about this sending-off. A red card for what? He played a fantastic game, he scored two goals, but the sending off was very strange. I want to know why it was
a direct red card. For me this is not correct and the referee must explain," said the City boss.
If the appeal is unsuccessful then Balotelli will miss the Manchester derby this Wednesday, which could force Carlos Tevez to play up front by himself against his former team.
Good and bad
It's unlikely that the appeal for the red card will be successful because there is clear evidence of Balotelli's aggression during the challenge with Mulumbu. This is something that the FA will pick up
and focus on.
The good news for city is that the club isn't hard pushed to find top quality replacement attacking players. Any number of creative midfield players or strikers could come into the team for Balotelli.
However, Mancini may go with Tevez up front on his own for the Manchester derby as he's good enough to carry the attack. This would allow City to pack the midfield with players, which would give Mancini's
men a better chance of controlling the game.
"I think the referee was in a good position on the [Balotelli] sending-off. My player wasn't happy with the challenge and the official was there," added West Brom boss Roberto Di Matteo.
Betting advice
Balotelli's presence in the Manchester City team will not make too much difference for this Manchester derby. However, he is undoubtedly a quality player with a killer instinct in front of goal. If he
does play against United after a successful appeal then back him to score.
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