Eastbourne Eagles have a score to settle when they take on Elite League rivals Wolverhampton at Arlington Stadium tomorrow night from 7.30.

Wolves are the only team to have beaten the Sussex outfit on their own track this season and, although Eagles have since won at Monmore Green, revenge is still in the air.

The visitors won a thriller 46-44 at Arlington in the cup in June, and that defeat rankles with Eagles, whose home stadium has been a fortress in the league.

Eastbourne are currently two points clear of King's Lynn at the top of the table with five matches remaining but they cannot afford to lose the momentum or the initiative.

Said Eagles' boss Jon Cook: "I don't think we have been as good at home as we have away this year, and the matches aren't getting any easier.

"We had to do it the hard way by coming from behind last week against Ipswich, and after Wolves we've got Peterborough and then King's Lynn to come at Arlington."

Wolves will be without Sam Ermolenko but have Oxford skipper Steve Johnston in his place.

Johnston rarely has a bad meeting at Eastbourne and scored 14 points, which included a win over the in-form Joe Screen, when Oxford were in town last month.

Ermolenko has still not recovered from a horror crash nearly two months ago when he and lpswich rider Jason Bunyan smashed through the fence.

The rest of the team is the one which beat Eagles in the cup, and that includes the prolific scoring Ronnie Correy, Danish pair Jesper Jensen and Nicki Pedersen and Roman Povazhny.

The diminutive Russian was one of the stars of that victory, scoring in all of his five rides and finishing with a paid ten.

Povazhny and fellow reserve Wayne Carter scored 12 points between them, while their opposite numbers, Petri Kokko and Brent Collyer, failed to beat anyone all night.

What happens among the back-enders might prove crucial again, and Eagles will be looking for a much better performance from Kokko.

Eastboume are plugging the gap at No 7 match by match. Young Australian Rusty Harrison, who rides for Glasgow, is in the hot seat against Wolves.

Said Cook: "He rode for us when we won at Coventry and when we won at Belle Vue, so he is a bit of a lucky mascot for us."

Eastbourne: Martin Dugard, Paul Hurry, David Norris, Stefan Danno, Joe Screen, Petri Kokko, Rusty Harrison.

Wolves: Steve Johnston, Adam Skornicki, Jesper Jensen, Ronnie Correy, Nicki Pedersen, Wayne Carter, Roman Povazhny.