It's crunch time for cup holders Eastbourne Eagles at Arlington Stadium tonight.

The Sussex squad, who lifted the knockout trophy in a blaze of glory last year, face the real prospect of going out of this season's tournament at the first hurdle when they go head to head with high rollers Poole Pirates.

The teams meet twice in a matter of hours in a Good Friday showdown that is guaranteed to turn out to be a bad Friday for one of the arch South Coast rivals.

The early skirmishes take place in a high-noon shootout at Poole's Wimborne Road track, then it's a race back to Arlington for the second-leg decider starting at 7.30pm.

Eagles, who go into the tie on the back of just one defeat in seven matches, will not be overawed by the occasion or by the reputation of their opponents.

The Pirates sent shock waves through the rest of speedway during the winter when they snapped up flying Aussie Leigh Adams while at the same time hanging on to multi-world champion Tony Rickardsson.

They were immediately installed as hot favourites to win the Elite League, and presumably any other silverware on offer in 2003. Only time will tell whether the bookies were right, and the Pirates do in fact plunder the spoils.

Similarly bold moves in the past, notably by Coventry, who for several seasons unleashed a big-gun assault on the rest with Billy Hamill and Greg Hancock, have hit the buffers.

The problem is not with the likes of Hamill and Hancock, or in Poole's case with Rickardsson and Adams, but with the balance of the team taking into account the overall points limits.

Eastbourne, despite the inclusion of riders like Mark Loram and Joe Screen, have always resisted the temptation to put together an arguably top-heavy team.

The Sussex club's boss, Jon Cook, even poured cold water on Poole's team-building exploits before the season got under way by labelling Poole less of a threat than the current Coventry outfit, which was a bit like waving a red flag at a bull as far as the Pirates faithful were concerned.

Cook's contention was given early credibility when Poole were beaten in their first match at home by Coventry, while they have since lost at Peterborough and been held to a draw at Wolverhampton.

All of which won't mean Eastbourne underestimating the Poole cup threat.

Cook said: "It's a massive, massive meeting, real quality stuff, and whoever wins or loses the real winners will be the fans."

There is no question Eagles will struggle to cope with Rickardsson and Adams, especially as they are likely to figure in two of the last three races, but it is what happens elsewhere which may make the teams accountable in the end.

Dean Barker and David Norris should have the draw over riders like Bjarne Pedersen and Krzysztof Kasprzak, while the battle at reserve could be absolutely vital.

Adam Shields and Garry Stead look nailed on to score points for Eagles but David Ruud and Davey Watt are no back-markers.

Ruud scored 14 points in a stunning Arlington debut two seasons back, while Watt did Eastbourne a favour with a paid eight points in Monday's win at Belle Vue as a late guest replacement for the injured Simon Stead.

Eastbourne: Mark Loram, Dean Barker, David Norris, Joonas Kylmakorpi, Joe Screen, Adam Shields, Gary Stead.

Poole: Leigh Adams, Krzysztof Kasprzak, Lukas Dryml, Bjarne Pedersen, Tony Rickardsson, David Ruud, Davey Watt.