Soccer:Mario Balotelli will miss the Manchester derby after accepting his red card against West Brom but Manchester City have lodged an appeal against the automatic three-match ban.
The Italian striker was given a straight red card for violent conduct after clashing with Youssouf Mulumbu following his two goals against the Baggies yesterday.
City are now appealing against the three-match ban but accept the red card — he had already been booked — meaning he will miss the chance of facing Manchester United at Eastlands on Wednesday.
The FA said in a statement: “The FA can confirm that Manchester City FC have today submitted a claim that, following the dismissal of Mario Balotelli for violent conduct, the standard punishment of an automatic three match ban is clearly excessive.
“The claim will be heard by an independent regulatory commission tomorrow.”
Balotelli is just one of a number of expensive signings made by City since their take over by Sheikh Mansour in 2008, having signed for around €26 million in the summer, and United boss Alex Ferguson believes his fierce rivals will not stop spending until they win the Premier League.
The last piece of major silverware lifted by the blue half of Manchester was the 1976 League Cup, a fact which United supporters take great delight in reminding their rivals of.
United will make the trip across Manchester trailing Premier League leaders Chelsea by two points after an unconvincing but unbeaten start to the season, with Mancini's men three further back having snapped a two-game losing run. While Ferguson believes having their neighbours in the title race adds greater spice to an already fiery fixture, he feels that the thirst for success may add to the pressure on City's shoulders.
"[City's good start this season] does put an edge on [the game]," the Reds boss told Inside United. "I don't believe there's any question about that. We know the kind of money they're spending - they've bought another five or six players in the summer - and they'll keep doing that until they win something.
"You know that's going to be the way it is and you have to deal with it as it comes along.
"They're up there [challenging for the title], and you can't wait until tomorrow when there's something there today. I'm sure they're thinking that way themselves."