Eastbourne Eagles take on top Elite League title contenders Oxford Cheetahs at Arlington Stadium tomorrow night.

The Sussex squad will be aiming to knock spots off the Cheetahs and send a message to the bookies they have got it all wrong.

Oxford began the season as one of the favourites to lift the championship, despite going into the campaign with almost the same team that finished next to bottom last year.

The man geared up to make the difference, according to the pundits, is Aussie Grand Prix star Leigh Adams, who quit cup winners King's Lynn in a shock move during the winter.

Adams was top gun in the Elite League last season, finishing top of the averages and firing 18-point and 17-point salvos on his two visits to Arlington.

He began the new season in equally irrepressible form with an 18-point maximum in Oxford's opener at Belle Vue on Monday night, but it didn't prevent the Cheetahs going down 47-42.

Adams, ranked No. 6 in the world, has teamed up with fellow Australians Steve Johnston and Todd Wiltshire at Oxford, plus Danish star Brian Andersen and the Dryml brothers from the Czech Republic.

Johnston and Co. all figured in the last match of 2000 at Eastbourne when Eagles were in cruise control and won 50-40 in an academic Craven Shield affair.

When it came to the serious business, Eagles beat Oxford home and away in the league, at home again and were only beaten by two points at Oxford fourth time around on the back of a controversial last-heat refereeing decision.

Adams has replaced Jimmy Nilsen, while former Eastbourne rider Mark Lemon is another departure from Oxford, and Andersen has been kept instead of Paul Hurry.

Hurry, who was a vital cog in Eastbourne's title-winning team, is retained by Oxford and would have fitted into their team, but instead he has gone on loan to Wolverhampton.

The only other newcomer is Elite League rookie Andrew Appleton at reserve. Appleton rode one match for Eastbourne last year and finished second with Newport teammate Chris Neath in the pairs event at the Brighton Bonanza.

Eastbourne's bid for back-to-back championships effectively starts here, and they cannot afford any slip-ups against Oxford.

Boss Jon Cook was happy with last week's display in the Arlington curtain-raiser against King's Lynn when Eagles edged out their rivals 48-40 in the Premiership Trophy.

The form of new boys Joonas Kylmakorpi, Marcus Andersson and Brent Werner was particularly encouraging, but Cook knows Eagles must fire consistently on all cylinders in the coming months in what promises to be the most open title race for years.

Eastbourne's possible stars of the future make their first appearance of the season after the main match when they contest the Sussex Junior Championship.

Daniel Giffard, winner of the Arthur Nutley Trophy last year, is the best hope for a home victory, but he faces tough opposition from Reading's Simon Moon and Matthew Etherington, of Arena Essex.