Sunderland forward Jozy Altidore has said that he is excited by the prospect of facing Manchester City.

The Black Cats travel to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening and Altidore is well aware of the tough challenge that his team will face.

"It will be difficult, but the great thing about this league is that you're playing against great players all the time," he told the club's official website.

"To be honest it's an exciting match to play in. You look forward as a kid to playing against the best players, so it should be good."

"It's been good to play; obviously I want to score but it's been nice so hopefully I can build on it. Whether it's myself, (Steven) Fletcher, Connor [Wickham] or Nacho [Scocco] playing, we will try and help the team."

Sunderland will meet Manchester City again in the League Cup Final on March 2.