Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has been told selecting Carlos Tevez could get him sacked.
Rodney Marsh, who played for City between 1972-75, told BBC Radio 5 live that the return of the Argentinian could have recriminations for his manager.
Marsh said: "Mancini will be sacked if Tevez plays and City don't win the title.
"I believe strongly that, if Chelsea win tonight, City won't win the title."
Tevez has not featured for the Citizens since a League Cup match against Birmingham City in September.
The 28-year-old refused to warm up against Bayern Munich in the Champions League group stage game the following week, leading to a five-month exile spent in Argentina.
Comparisons have been made with Tevez's situation to what happened when Marsh joined City.
The club were four points clear at the top but eventually finished fourth, while most recently some have purported that Faustino Asprilla's arrival at Newcastle United in 1996 led to them relinquishing the league to Manchester United.
"The comparison is different," Marsh assured. "Carlos Tevez has played for City before. I came in from cold.
"I was kind of a jinx all those years. My debut was 40 years ago this Sunday. The game was against Chelsea and we won 1-0.
"If he plays tonight and City win 1-0, I will start believing I am a jinx," he added.
Mancini vowed in the aftermath of the 2-0 defeat at the Allianz Arena: "If we want to improve as a team, Carlos can't play with us - he is finished."
In January the Italian further clarified his position on City's top scorer the last two seasons: "It is impossible [for Tevez to play for City again]."
Tevez and his advisor Kia Joorabchian have seen moves to Corinthians, Internazionale, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain collapse over the past year, as the striker sought pastures new away from Manchester.
But now that City have been leapfrogged by neighbours United in the Premier League Table, Mancini has softened his approach towards the number 32.
"I don't think Carlos can have more than 25-30 minutes against Chelsea," he said yesterday.
"In three or four games he could have 90 minutes, easily."
Mario Balotelli recently urged City supporters not to boo Tevez if or when he returned to the club's first-team.