Eastbourne Eagles face the first serious test of their Elite League title credentials this weekend.

Two big wins down the line, the Sussex squad are in action at Peterborough tonight and then host one of the pre-season favourites, Coventry, at Arlington Stadium tomorrow.

Eastbourne team boss Jon Cook sees the clash with Coventry as a battle of the heat leaders.

"Coventry were my tip to win the league before the season started and I had marked down Billy Hamill, Lee Richardson and Andreas Jonsson as the best heat-leader trio in the country.

"Now I'm not so sure. I reckon we might have three riders who are better."

Cook's change of view has been prompted by the early-season form of Dean Barker.

"When we signed Mark Loram to link up with Joe Screen, I believed we had the top two in the league, but Deano's form has been a revelation.

"He has been brilliant in all the meetings so far and looks a genuine third heat leader. And from our perspective, the best thing is they are all British."

Barker roared to a paid 15-point maximum in the home win over Peterborough and scored seven points at King's Lynn, plus an add-on of 16 points in the two-leg challenge with Poole.

He was also the only Eagle to gain a rostrum place in last week's Championship of Sussex when he finished third behind Paul Hurry.

If bionic man Barker, who more than once has come back from career-threatening injuries, can maintain that level of consistency, then Cook has high hopes for the Eagles.

"Joe Screen's return to racing has also been remarkable. I don't think anyone could have predicted he would come back so strongly after nearly a year out with a broken thigh."

Eastbourne's big guns will need to be firing on all cylinders against Coventry, who have already completed a league double over Belle Vue and went close to repeating the act against Peterborough at Easter.

Hamill rattled in 14 points last time out, while Richardson has been hot with 41 points in the last three matches, and Jonsson's tally is 45 in the last four.

They were denied, however, in a last-heat decider at Peterborough and surprisingly slipped up 48-42 at home to Ipswich.

That, as Cook points out, hints of deja vu for the Bees, who went into last season as many people's idea of the league winners but missed out in the end by a single point to Oxford after taking time to get going.

"Traditionally, they have struggled for consistency at the beginning of the season, but with the champions being decided this year in end-of-season play-offs that won't be so important."

Cook has other ambitions for his team. He said: "We want to win the league, which will mean we automatically go through to the grand final and avoid the risk of a lottery in the play-offs."

Coventry, who include American teenager Ryan Fisher, shock winner of the Brighton Bonanza, are expected to be without Stuart Robson because of a broken thumb and will use rider replacement.

Eagles will hope to go into the meeting chasing back-to-back wins after tonight's trip to Peterborough, where they can complete an early-season double.

The Sussex outfit blew Panthers away 64-26 at Arlington, but Peterborough have since scored an amazing 52-38 win at Oxford and are on a roll at home.

They have won four out of four, all nail-biters, beating Oxford by one point, Coventry by two, Belle Vue by three and Poole by four.

The match starts at 7.30.

TOMORROW'S TEAMS Eastbourne: Mark Loram, David Norris, Dean Barker, Stefan Andersson, Joe Screen, Savalas Clouting, Toni Svab.

Coventry: Billy Hamill, Billy Janniro, Lee Richardson, Stuart Robson or rider replacement, Andreas Jonsson, Wayne Carter, Ryan Fisher.

SPEEDWAY gets a new-look at Eastbourne this week with the arrival of promoter Terry Russell.

Russell, who has taken over the front line of the Arlington operation from Bob Dugard and Jon Cook, will be in charge for the first time for the match against Coventry.

Among the changes being planned by Russell is to move the presentation of the meeting on to the centre green and out of the referee's box.

It will be accompanied by disco speakers as part of a trend to attract more young people to the sport.

The mechanics will also wear team colours, giving speedway a similar look to Formula One motor racing.