Bust-up with Balotelli was 'handbags', says Richards

Micah Richards last night tried to play down a training-ground scuffle with team-mate Mario Balotelli. The Manchester City pair were photographed in an altercation during a practice match at the club's Carrington training ground. The pair were said to have traded words before approaching each other, with an incensed Richards having to be held back by team-mates.

After the club insisted that the incident had been resolved once the players had finished training, Richards tried to do the same, posting on Twitter: "Me & mario are all good! these things happen in training & we shook hands after. it shows passion!"

Yesterday's events are neither the first to affect City during training under Roberto Mancini, nor the first to involve Balotelli.

The Italian is as synonymous with controversy as Manchester is with the rain that characterised Monday's defeat at Chelsea. The 21-year-old had to be separated from then team-mate Jerome Boateng just over a year ago after reacting badly to a tackle from behind from the German international in a training session. He was also shown lashing out at club captain Vincent Kompany following a disagreement in training in April.

Centre-back Kolo Touré and striker Emmanuel Adebayor, currently on loan at Tottenham Hotspur, also had to be pulled apart during a practice game in January. Last season also saw a couple of on-pitch disagreements, with Touré's younger brother, Yaya, having a disagreement with James Milner during a league defeat at home to Arsenal last autumn, and a week later Adebayor and Kompany exchanged words during a 2-1 defeat at Wolves.

The incidents failed to affect City on the pitch last season, Mancini's side winning silverware for the first time in 35 years and qualifying for the Champions League. Yesterday's negative publicity comes days after Balotelli broke a pre-match curfew to stay out in Manchester city centre into the early hours of Sunday morning.

City approach this Sunday's visit of Arsenal in the knowledge they could be knocked off the top for the first time since the middle of October, should Manchester United beat Queen's Park Rangers earlier the same day.

City will learn their opponents in the last 32 of the Europa League in today's draw, but may have to play the second leg of their tie in February at 5pm on a Tuesday. City, along with Manchester United, dropped into the Europa League having finished third in their Champions League group. Both teams have therefore been seeded for today's draw, meaning that they will both play their second legs at home in Manchester.

The police and local authorities have ruled out the possibility of both games happening in Manchester on the same night, and as reigning English champions United get priority under Uefa's competition regulations, meaning City would have to move. Uefa would not allow City's Europa League games to happen during Champions League matches, thereby forcing City to choose: either hold the game on a Tuesday or Wednesday at 5pm, to avoid clashing with the evening's Champions League games, which tend to kick off at 7.45pm UK time, or give up home advantage, staging the first leg at the Etihad Stadium and the second at whichever unseeded team they are drawn against, providing their opponents agreed.

Either way, United would as usual play their second leg on the Thursday, 23 February at Old Trafford at 7.45pm.

The situation is a repeat of that between Everton and Liverpool two years ago. Then, the Blues had to play the first leg against Sporting Lisbon on the Tuesday, though they did so with a 5.45pm kick-off on that occasion.