Hull City v Chelsea preview

Drogba: Available for selection

PREDICTIONS:

Skysports.com prediction: Hull City 0 Chelsea 2

SKYBET odds: Hull City 11/1, Draw 4/1, Chelsea 2/7

One to watch: Didier Drogba

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Chelsea will be looking to move four points clear at the top of the Premier League when they face Hull City in a rearranged match on Tuesday evening.

The KC Stadium clash was initially scheduled to take place last month but had to be postponed after heavy snowfall in the area.

Manchester United have kept the pressure on in the title race but Carlo Ancelotti's Blues now have the opportunity to win their game in hand and extend a one-point advantage to something more imposing.

Chelsea have triumphed in their past four league encounters but were below their best against Burnley at the weekend and needed a late winner from captain and man-of-the-moment John Terry.

Hull nevertheless face a daunting task as they look to end a run of nine matches without a win that has left them languishing in the relegation zone.

The bottom half of the table is so congested that a victory over Chelsea would lift the Tigers from 19th to 14th and boost morale ahead of the run-in.

Hull team news

Manager Phil Brown will be pleased with his work in the transfer window after bringing in Egyptian striker Amr Zaki and resisting several bids from Wolves for key midfielder Stephen Hunt.

Hunt, who scored at Chelsea on the opening day of the season and found the target against Wolves on Saturday, will definitely start and Zaki could also make his full debut after building up fitness.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Jozy Altidore and Craig Fagan are also vying for places in attack, but Daniel Cousin has joined Greek side Larissa on loan.

Jimmy Bullard is still a few weeks away from a comeback following a knee injury and Seyi Olofinjana has yet to return from the African Cup of Nations, but Kamil Zayatte (ankle) and Geovanni (knee) could be back in contention.

Chelsea team news

Ancelotti had the luxury of leaving out Ivory Coast duo Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou against Burnley despite their return from international duty.

Drogba and Kalou will both be considered for selection at Hull, meaning Ancelotti is likely to revert to playing two up front.

Midfielder Michael Essien is out with a knee injury, while Juliano Belletti (calf) is also sidelined.

Ashley Cole has recovered from the knock that forced him off in the latter stages at Turf Moor.

Possible starting XIs

Hull City: Myhill, Mouyokolo, Gardner, McShane, Dawson, Mendy, Boateng, Cairney, Hunt, Altidore, Vennegoor of Hesselink.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole, Deco, Lampard, Ballack, Malouda, Drogba, Anelka.