The winners could rise to 13th. The losers could drop into the relegation places. If there were not eight teams involved in the survival scrap, the game would be branded, erroneously, a six-pointer. Phil Brown calls the prospect “mouth-watering”. He has urged Hull, without an away win, to recall such victories as last season, at Arsenal and Spurs. They are buoyed anyway by George Boateng’s availability (red card rescinded). Jimmy Bullard may be on the bench. West Ham are buoyed by their 2-0 defeat of Birmingham. Jeremy Alexander

Venue Upton Park

Tickets £35-51 (0871 222 2700)

Last season West Ham 2 Hull 0

Referee M Atkinson

This season’s matches 20 Y84, R2, 4.30 cards per game

Odds West Ham 5-6 Hull 4-1 Draw 13-5

West Ham

Subs from Kurucz, Stech, Da Costa, Stanislas, Daprela, Collison, Mido, Ilan, Franco, Ngala, Spence

Doubtful Daprela (foot), Franco (hamstring)

Injured Gabbidon (hamstring, 23 Feb), McCarthy (knee, 23 Feb), Dyer (hamstring, 6 Mar), Ilunga (hamstring, 13 Mar), Boa Morte (knee, May), Hines (knee, May), Davenport (legs, unknown)

Suspended None

Form guide WLDDDL

Disciplinary record Y47 R3

Leading scorer Cole 8

Hull

Subs from Duke, Zayatte, Kilbane, Olofinjana, Barmby, Garcia, Bullard, Zaki, Sonko, Ghilas, Marney

Doubtful Bullard (knee), Ghilas (thigh), Marney (calf)

Injured Geovanni (knee, 7 Mar), Ashbee (knee, May)

Suspended None

Form guide LWDDLD

Disciplinary record Y49 R3

Leading scorer Hunt 6

Match pointers

• Hull’s current run of 18 away matches without a win is the worst in the division

• West Ham were the only London side to win at home against Hull in 2008-09

• Jimmy Bullard’s only league appearance for Hull last season came at Upton Park and lasted 37 minutes

• If selected, Robert Green will be making the 350th league start of his career

• William Gallas and Aaron Hughes (2,340) are the only outfield players to have played more minutes in the Premier League than Andy Dawson (2,317) this season

West Ham UnitedHull CityPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk

• ‘If he needs a holiday I will give him a holiday’
• ‘He continues to play a very good game’

Carlo Ancelotti has cleared the way for John Terry to take a break from playing for Chelsea by saying that if “he needs to have a holiday I will give him holiday”, following allegations about his captain’s private life.

Ancelotti insisted after Chelsea dropped two points in the title race by drawing 1-1 at Hull City last night that the furore surrounding Terry had not become a distraction for his team. But he left open the possibility of the defender flying to Dubai in 10 days’ time and missing the FA Cup fifth-round tie against Cardiff City to visit his wife, Toni.

She is in the Gulf state reportedly considering whether to end the marriage following allegations that her husband had an affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the former girlfriend of the England left-back Wayne Bridge. Terry’s position as England captain is in the balance because of the matter.

Ancelotti said: “This is an issue for me and John Terry; it’s not your problem. You will see the line-up for Cardiff. If he needs to have a holiday I will give him a holiday. If he doesn’t need a holiday he will play against Cardiff.” It is understood that Terry, who was booed by Hull fans whenever he touched the ball last night, does wish to make the trip but he is conscious that it is his manager’s decision.

Terry should discover whether he will retain the England captaincy when meeting Capello on Friday. Ancelotti refused to reveal whether he has had a specific discussion with Terry regarding the matter. “No. I don’t like to speak about this,” he said. “This is not a question that I want to speak [about] here.”

Despite what was an uneven performance from his team, which included his captain being partly at fault for Steven Mouyokolo’s 30th-minute opener from a corner, Ancelotti denied the affair was affecting his players, who equalised through Didier Drogba shortly before half-time but wasted the chance to move four points clear of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League.

He said: “No, I don’t think so because the atmosphere is the same, it’s not changed. Nothing can disturb our concentration – the Chelsea team is focused [for] every game. Sometimes we play good football and sometimes we have more difficulty but the concentration is always on top.

“For him [Terry] nothing changed – he continues to play a very good game, every game he is living a very good moment, he is doing every game the best.”

Chelsea’s next game is Sunday’s visit to Stamford Bridge by Arsenal. Ancelotti knows that if Manchester United can defeat struggling Portsmouth, who are bottom, the previous day, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team will lead by a point. That will place the emphasis back on Chelsea to beat Arsenal, who are desperate for a win to maintain their own title challenge.

Ancelotti, though, denied the draw at the KC Stadium had been two points dropped. “I think we are in a very good position now,” he said. “We’re in the top [of the league], we know very well that Manchester is a very good opponent [and] it will be a long race until the end of the season. We weren’t at our best [tonight] but it was a tough game.

“I think Hull played a very good game, with quality. It wasn’t our best but I think it is a good result, we don’t have to be disappointed because sometimes this can happen. We have two points [lead] at the top of the table. So we have to look forward.”

Drogba marked his return following his participation for Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations with a goal from a free-kick. “It is an important moment and we need to have all the players in condition until the end of the season,” added Ancelotti. “Now every game is very, very important. Every game can decide the future of the season.”

Hull’s manager, Phil Brown, was happy with a valuable point as he fights to avoid relegation. He said: “I was disappointed with the goal we conceded. But we played some great football too, we put them under pressure — no doubt. We fully deserved a point and maybe all three.”

John TerryCarlo AncelottiChelseaHull CityPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk