Jesus Navas says Manchester City need to re-discover their focus at Chelsea on Saturday or kiss goodbye to their title hopes.
Jesus Navas says City can't afford to dwell on the FA Cup disappointment
City's form has deserted them as they head into their most important game of the season - defeat at Stamford Bridge would leave Chelsea eight pints ahead with only 15 matches left.
Boss Manuel Pellegrini admits his team have lost their killer instinct at the front and concentration at the back - they have scored only once from 54 attempts on their last three games and have conceded 11 goals in their last six fixtures.
But winger Navas says City cannot afford to dwell on their shock FA Cup defeat to Middlesbrough.
He said: "It is a big disappointment to go out of the Cup. The truth is we have a very important match now. We need to go there with the maximum attitude.
"It would be something very big to win the title two years in a row. But we need three points against Chelsea to close the gap." Navas fears the threat posed by Chelsea striker Diego Costa to City's vulnerable defence.
"Costa is a very important player for them. He's scoring lots of goals and he's always proving his value, both at Chelsea and also in the Spanish national team."
I was expecting to play more games in the FA Cup but now it's gone so it's a big disappointment for me personally
Dedryk Boyata
Joe Hart, Martin Demichelis and Gael Clichy will all be recalled for the Chelsea game after being rested for the cup-tie. And City are hoping that Ivory Coast exit the African Nations Cup on Wednesday enabling Yaya Toure and new signing Wilfried Bony to return to Britain in time for the showdown.
Meanwhile City defender Dedryk Boyata revealed that boss Pellegrini was so stunned by Saturday's defeat he gave his players the silent treatment. And he insisted City did not under-estimate their Championship opponents.
"He didn't say anything, he didn't have to say anything," said Boyata. "We were all in the same mood and we all know what happened.
"They were good but we were expecting them to be good. We always expect teams to be good in the FA Cup but it's not like we played badly. I think we started well, the speed of the game was good and we had the chances to score.
"But that didn't happen and we conceded an unlucky goal. I was expecting to play more games in the FA Cup but now it's gone so it's a big disappointment for me personally.
"The Chelsea game is a big one, it could take us back to two points behind them, so hopefully we can forget the Middlesbrough game really quickly."
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