City to 'crumble' as they face tough decision over Balotelli
Will Roberto Mancini risk a five game ban for his striker by appealing against FA charge?
MANCHESTER City may still be top of the league but the pressure on manager Roberto Mancini shows no sign of abating as he grapples with the question of how to respond to the FA's charge of violent conduct brought against Mario Balotelli after he appeared to stamp on Spurs midfielder Scott Parker on Sunday.
If City accept the charge they will lose the striker for four games, but if they contest it and fail to win the appeal they risk losing him for five, or more, matches. And with Carlos Tevez set to leave the club and no-one lined up to replace him it would leave City reliant on Edin Dzeko, who is out of form, and Sergio Aguero up front for the duration of Balotelli's ban.
City must decide what to do before the Carling Cup semi final clash with Liverpool on Wednesday, which they trail 1-0 from the first leg. If they appeal then Balotelli will be allowed to play in that match, if not then it will be the first match of his spell on the sidelines.
"City will be without their suspended captain, Vincent Kompany, for the semi-final at Liverpool, [as he completes] a four-match punishment that caused consternation at the club, and have Yaya and Kolo Toure away at the Africa Cup of Nations," reports The Guardian. Although Kompany will be available for the next match, against Everton in the Premier League next week.
Meanwhile Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has announced that he fully expects the City title challenge to fall apart over the next few weeks. Employing the kind of mind-games favoured by his manager, Alex Ferguson, Smalling said: "Soon enough, if we keep ticking these wins, then they'll crumble."
He also refused to rule Spurs out of the title race, but took a swipe at Arsenal and Chelsea, suggesting they would "find it hard" to challenge the top three clubs in the division. ·
