Chelsea are facing a battle to finish in the Premier League top four after their draw at Nottingham Forest, and two of their stars have accepted they must drastically improve to beat Manchester City this week.
After a frustrating draw at Nottingham Forest, Chelsea sit in ninth, seven points behind Manchester United in fourth. That gap could increase to ten points if United beat Bournemouth on Tuesday, ahead of City's trip to Stamford Bridge on Thursday - with Pep Guardiola's side also in need of three points to keep pressure on Arsenal in first place.
And according to midfielder Denis Zakaria, Chelsea will struggle to win if they play the same way they did at Forest.
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Zakaria said: "We drew [against Forest] and it is not a good result for us but we have to work and be ready for Manchester City. It’s hard to say [what’s going wrong] but we have to play better. Today, we didn’t play well. It was difficult to take the three points here if you don’t play well. We just have to work as a team and it will get better. It’s difficult to say exactly why it is not working.
"I will prepare for it like the other games. Every team is good in the Premier League so you have to prepare. I will be ready like always. We’re looking forward to play in a top football match. Against City, it is always really, really difficult so we will have to play well and score all our chances. We will have to do a big game, if we don’t do a big game against Manchester City then it is hard to win.
"Of course, Chelsea is a big team. We all know that. Yes, it is a difficult time for us but it will improve in the future, for sure."
Zakaria's comments echo those of defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who said after the Forest draw that beating City will be difficult, as will Chelsea's chances of finishing in the top four.
"It's going to be a big challenge [to finish in the top four] but we like a challenge and we always believe in ourselves," Koulibaly said.
"We have to embrace it, we have to believe in ourselves and work hard to improve. We will get ready to face Man City, which will be a tough game but we will do everything to win this match and move forward.
"We're disappointed because we want to win every game but we have to take this point and prepare now for Man City. We have to keep on working hard."
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