JAMIE Mackie cannot wait for Oxford United’s big game this week – and he is not talking about Manchester City’s visit tomorrow.

The forward will be training with the rest of the squad today as they fine-tune preparations for the Carabao Cup quarter-final at a sold-out Kassam Stadium.

At 34, Mackie admits it could be one of the last times he gets to face a top Premier League side.

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But if he was only able to start one game this week, he would pick Saturday’s clash with Sky Bet League One leaders Wycombe Wanderers to stay in the promotion race.

Mackie said: “I’m looking forward to tomorrow, but to be honest I would be more interested in playing Wycombe than Man City.

“I feel it’s that big.

“We’ll see, obviously if the manager picks me I’ll give my all, but I’d prefer to be in the league team than the cup team.”

He added: “It’s a really hard one because it’s a great night for the club.

“The lads and the fans deserve it on the back of the cup run we’ve had and we’ve been brilliant.

“You go into the game believing there’s a chance, you have to approach the game like that.

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“It’s a great opportunity for our lads, but at the same time I’m thinking ‘we’ve got a massive game on Saturday that in the long run is more important’.

“It’s finding a balance between the two.”

Mackie started the third round tie against West Ham United, when Karl Robinson’s men ran riot with a 4-0 victory.

Manchester City will be a significant step up from that, but have stumbled at times this season and the Scotland international is adamant they will have areas the underdogs can exploit.

Mackie said: “Every single team in the world has some sort of weakness, otherwise they would win everything.

“It’s clear they have struggled at the back in the Premier League, that is probably an issue there for them at the moment.

“We’re not in the Premier League, so it will be a tough test whoever they play at the back.

“But we’re looking for areas we can exploit. We have to be braver on the ball and when we have it try to win the game.”

  • OXFORD City are back in action tonight when they host St Albans City.

They had a weekend off due to their scheduled opponents’ FA Trophy commitments, but would climb into the top ten with a win against the Vanarama National League South basement boys.

City have been boosted by extending the loan of Kyran Lofthouse for another two months, although parent club Oxford United have a 24-hour call-back option.