Balotelli and Richards square up

The question "why always me", which Mario Balotelli posed on a T-shirt, may never be answered but Manchester City fans will certainly be wondering what is going through the Italian's head after another high-profile incident.

On Thursday, Micah Richards had to be physically restrained by James Milner and Yaya Toure after a training ground flare up between him and Balotelli threatened to turn ugly.

Exact details about what went on between the two players are sketchy, but the fracas took place towards the end of a practice match and witnessed claimed that the pair exchanged words before squaring up.

Anyone looking at the latest Premier league betting will be wondering what sort of impact it will have on their preparations.

Richards was reported to look the most offended by what was said, though it remains unclear as to whether any lasting animosity will be harboured.

Writing on Twitter after the event Richards said: "Me & mario are all good! these things happen in training and we shook hands after. It shows passion!"

Despite this, the incident is far from ideal preparation for what will be a tough clash against Arsenal on Sunday, the match the training session was focused on.

Manchester City lost their unbeaten record this week when they went down 2-1 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and another slip could hand see the title advantage slip from City's grasp.

Arsenal are currently the Premier League's form side and there is no doubt they will be looking to get themselves back in the title hunt with three points.

However, City fans may take solace in the fact that the last time Balotelli was in the headlines for the wrong reasons after missing breaking a curfew ahead of the Chelsea game, he was on the scoresheet minutes after taking to the field.