London, UK - The Olympic 100m champion Justin Gatlin will face the World record holder Asafa Powell in Britain next month at the Norwich Union London Grand Prix - IAAF SGP - meet on 22 July.

Gatlin, the winner in Athens last year, will come 'head to head' at the Crystal Palace with recent World record breaker Asafa Powell in a race that also includes the former World and Olympic champion Maurice Greene, and the Brits Jason Gardener and Mark Lewis-Francis.

It will be the third encounter of the summer between sprinting's two 'top guns', following on from their head to head in Eugene (4 June) earlier this month and their Rome TDK Golden League meeting which is set for 8 July. The first clash ended with Gatlin getting the verdict in a 9.94 windy, dead heat.

The London outing is sure to be a high octane affair, a dramatic World title dress rehearsal, falling as it does just a fortnight before the start of the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

"Last year was a dream for me, but I know that I am the man they all want to beat this year. But that is all part of the pressures of this sport and I am looking forward to the challenge," confirmed Gatlin who won the USATF title last weekend.

"Crystal Palace, without doubt, is one of the best meetings on the circuit, and it carries a great deal of importance for all sprinters given the proximity to the Worlds in Athens."

Both Gatlin and Powell competed in a top quality 100m at Crystal Palace last year, the race won by the Jamaican in 9.91, the fastest time ever run in Britain. Gatlin was a disappointing sixth.

Gatlin has also confirmed that he will return to Britain after the World Championships to run a 200m at the Norwich Union British Grand Prix in Sheffield.