Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has claimed that his teammate Mario Balotelli is ready to learn from his mistakes.

Balotelli is expected to return to action on Monday night against Manchester United for the first time since his red card during the defeat to Arsenal.

Lescott expects Balotelli to atone for his mistakes soon and prove his many doubters wrong.

The England international said: "[Mario] needs to look at his performances and if he sees he's disappointed the lads, it's great that he's realised that.

"He's a young lad, we all make mistakes and it's going to happen.

"When I was his age I was making mistakes in the Championship and it was going unnoticed."

Balotelli recently revealed that manager Roberto Mancini is intent on keeping him at Eastlands.