Balotelli dilemma for Mancini
Mancini accused Liverpool players of provoking the mercurial forward after he was dismissed for two bookable offences in the Premier League leaders' draw at Anfield last Sunday. It was Balotelli's third red card since joining City 16 months ago and came just 18 minutes after he entered the field as a second-half substitute. Mancini has warned the 21-year-old he will need to wise up to avoid having his temperament tested on the field, something which has proved costly in the past. The City manager said: "Mario has improved but he can do this in every moment. "I don't think he deserved the second yellow card against Liverpool but I hope he has finished doing this because I am sure if Mario was on the pitch we would have won the game against Liverpool. "He did this against Dynamo Kiev last year. "Maybe I should have paid attention to the situation properly in the game against Liverpool, it was a tough game. "I think if you start him on the bench it is better to put on another striker, but he can improve in this way." Mancini also hopes referees will realise players could target Balotelli but he wants the former Inter Milan prodigy to make changes himself. Balotelli has shown greater consistency this season and scored nine goals but he remains unpredictable. Mancini said: "Mario has a lot of faults but I think the referee should understand that sometimes there are some players that provoke him."