Carlo Ancelotti hopes to welcome back three of Chelsea’s big guns to boost their bid to reclaim top spot in the English Premier League.

After being knocked off the summit for the first time since April, Ancelotti admitted his out-of-sorts side face a huge test of their character to reassert themselves at the head of affairs in an intriguing title race.

With Manchester United thrashing Blackburn 7-1 to take pole position, a 1-1 draw away to Newcastle United on Sunday left Chelsea in second, two points behind their biggest rivals for English football’s top prize.

Ancelotti’s side have won just one of their last five league games, and the Italian said the next few weeks will be a significant test of their resolve.

To add insult to injury, Chelsea’s flight home was cancelled due to blizzard conditions in the north-east, leaving them with a seven-hour coach trip back to London instead.

Defending champions Chelsea have missed injured England duo John Terry and Frank Lampard in addition to the suspended Michael Essien in recent weeks, but all three could be available for this weekend’s home game against strugglers Everton.

Chelsea were quick to discredit reports they are interested in Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola as a replacement for their Italian boss, and Ancelotti said: “Now is an opportunity to show our character and personality.

“Maybe it could be a good motivation to do better. It’s obviously disappointing to not be on the top of the league. But in the last four away games, we have only scored one goal and that’s obviously not good enough.

“This week for both John and Frank will be a very important week. They will start to train with the rest of the team and that’s important.

“We will have to see how they do, but I hope that both, maybe more so for John Terry, will be available to play against Everton.

“That will be a great help. Obviously they are very important players – not just technically, but also because of the personality and character they bring to the team.”