JT/FOX Oxford Cheetahs are on a double mission tonight (Tues) with Sky Sports Elite League and Speedway Star KO Cup honours at stake at arch rivals Ipswich Witches.

Victory in the league match would clinch the Elite title for the Oxford outfit, but they have it all to do, having failed to win at Foxhall since the glory days of the late 1980s.

Main rivals Poole Pirates finished their league programme with a narrow win over Peterborough last Friday and are currently top with 57 points. Cheetahs have two matches in hand, including tonight.

So, even if they fail to pull it off tonight, they have one final chance at home to Coventry a week on Friday.

Cheetahs defend a slender two-point lead in the league fixture and have no advantage in the KO Cup semi-final where the first leg was drawn.

Oxford fans were given a boost at the weekend when Leigh Adams and skipper Steve Johnston both struck form with a vengance in winning the A and B finals in the Czechoslovakian Golden Helmet at Pardubice.

It was Adams's third win in the tournament and he is proving clearly the most consistent rider in the league this season.

However, the Oxford fans will be looking to another Aussie, Todd Wiltshire, to show his true colours tonight.

Wiltshire, signed as a heat leader, has easily been the most disappointing rider of the season for Cheetahs, leaving last season's form way behind.

The fast-gating former world No 3 has had his problems this season, the latest being a shoulder injury.

But with time running out to secure the league title, it will need every rider at their peak if the Oxford fans' dreams are to be realised.

Promoter Vanessa Purchase said: "We have topped the table for most of the season and with the league in full swing, we were going well until a couple of injuries and the Craven Shield and KO Cup fixtures upset the team's momentum.

"It would be lovely to pull it off tonight - it would certainly stop the grey hairs that are beginning to show."

Ipswich will be at full strength and that includes Chris Louis, who has been slow to hit form following a serious head injury.

However, with Jarek Hampel hitting a maximum last time, and Scott Nicholls riding out of his skin, Oxford have it all to do.

Lukas Dryml will have operation on his injured knee in the Czech Republic today and is out for the season. It means Oxford use rider-replacement in his absence.

**Ipswich: Louis, Hampel, Boyce, Doncaster, Nicholls, Clouting, Bunyan.

Oxford: Andersen, R/R, Wiltshire, Johnston, Adams, Appleton, A Dryml.