The German defender has travelled to Italy as part of the squad to face Juventus and he’s hoping to play some part, if not all the game against the Serie A outfit.
Boateng recovered from a knock sustained in training to face West Ham last weekend and he is keen to get as many minutes under his belt as possible as he bids for peak fitness – something he feels he’s not reached since the World Cup in the summer.
“Of course it’s important I play as much as I can,” he said. “I’m hoping with each game my match sharpness will increase until I can show the City fans my true form.
“Juventus will be a good test for all of us and I’m looking forward to the game. We won’t be fielding our strongest team but we didn’t against Salzburg, either and I thought we were excellent.
It proves what a strong squad we have and if we can go to Turin and extend our unbeaten run, so much the better
...Jerome Boateng
Boateng, whose brother Kevin-Prince plays for AC Milan, admits he doesn’t get to see much Italian football, but knows enough to know Juventus will be stiff opposition on their own ground, regardless of the fact they cannot progress any further in the Europa League.
“I don’t look so much at Italian football, only when my brother plays for AC Milan,” he said. “I’ve not asked Kevin about Juventus but we’ve done our homework we’ve watched plenty of videos.
“If we play as well as we did against Salzburg there is no reason we can’t return with a victory, but they are a decent side and they deserved a draw in our first meeting in Manchester.”
