World champion Nicki Pedersen goes head to head with bitter Grand Prix rival Greg Hancock at Arlington Stadium tonight.

Pedersen and Hancock were involved in a big bust-up during the Czech Grand Prix last month, and the fact that Hancock is poised to make a bold bid to grab Pedersen's world crown will only add extra spice to the Elite League meeting between Eastbourne Eagles and Oxford's Silver Machine.

Oxford boss Nigel Wagstaff said after the incident in Prague: "Greg is still very angry about the situation, and it's unlike him. It must have taken something dramatic to get him like that."

Hancock is the man of the moment after his British Grand Prix triumph on Saturday at the Millennium Stadium, where Pedersen won last year but failed to reach the final this time.

Hancock, the champion seven years ago, beat Leigh Adams in a thrilling final, with England's Lee Richardson in third place and Jason Crump fourth after battling his way through from the first heat of the competition.

The win propels him into fourth place in the current title race behind joint leaders Crump and Adams, of Australia, and Sweden's five-times world champion Tony Rickardsson.

Pedersen is not out of contention by a long way in sixth place, but he is struggling to make a breakthrough. He has still to reach a Grand Prix final this year, and Hancock helped to eliminate him in Cardiff.

The semi-final was the first time Pedersen and Hancock had met since the race in Prague, where Hancock crashed spectacularly when Pedersen challenged him.

Hancock gained his revenge in the rerun when he forced his way past Pedersen, but he was still fuming a long time after.

The two men should have faced each other a few days later when Eastbourne rode at Oxford, but Pedersen pulled out of the match with a wrist injury, and they avoided each other in the next Grand Prix at Wroclaw in Poland.

Throw in the fact that it was Hancock who replaced Pedersen at Oxford midway through last season and things could get very interesting indeed tonight.

Oxford are on a roll, having recently slaughtered Coventry 71-21 and gone third in the table with a 46-44 away win over Ipswich on Thursday night.

Eastbourne, unbeaten in their last three matches, have hit their best form of the season with wins over Poole and away to Wolverhampton and a draw at Swindon.

Boss Jon Cook said "We have gone from nobodys to somebodys inside a week, and from what I have seen I truly believe we can still win the league.

Eastbourne will have Edward Kennett back tonight while Oxford are likely to be without Sebastian Ulamek, who is recovering from a broken collar-bone.

The start is at 7.30.