Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton believes the club are currently in crisis and that things are in danger of turning "ugly" for manager Frank Lampard if he doesn't oversee an upturn in form.
Chelsea have won just one out of their last five in the Premier League, having recently lost against Everton, Wolves, and Arsenal on Boxing Day.
Their latest performance saw them surrender a lead against Aston Villa to draw 1-1.
Related news
They are one point off the top four, but the two clubs immediately above them, Villa and Man Utd, have two games in hand.
Sutton thinks Lampard needs to turn things around quickly.
"At the moment, they are a crisis club because they are underperforming," he told BBC Radio Five Live.
"They are flat and that's why Frank needs to get a few wins under his belt and extremely quickly because it can, as we know, turn ugly at Chelsea.
"Whether we like it or not, this is a totally different season for Frank. The pressure is on; he has spent the big money. Now the pressure will build.
"I don't want to go too early on Chelsea and Frank because if they win three on the spin, they will be up into second place and we'll be saying 'can they win the title again?' and that's the way it is.
Sutton, a pundit for BT Sport and the BBC, doesn't think his former club has what it takes to win the Premier League in the 2020/21 campaign.
"I don't think Chelsea can win the title," he continued.
"They have to get back to a way of playing where they really find their rhythm."
Lampard and his charges will be looking to get back to winning ways when they take on Man City on 3 January.
However, there are doubts as to whether that fixture will actually go ahead after City's recent fixture against Everton was postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak within the squad.
Timo Werner 
Kai Havertz 
Olivier Giroud 
Chelsea