Benitez Chelsea debut to end in unwanted record v Man City
Published:The last thing that Rafa Benitez will want to do in his first game as Chelsea boss is break a fairly long lasting record, but unless he can mastermind a home victory over Manchester City, this is exactly what he will do.
Not since 2008 have Chelsea gone three Premier League games in a row at Stamford Bridge without a victory, but after a defeat against Manchester United and a draw with Liverpool, this is what they are staring down the barrel of.
It is 13/8 that Benitez makes an immediate positive step towards winning the fans over with a victory over the champions and their last four clashes with Manchester City have all ended in home wins.
But it is doubtful that he will have long enough to fix bad habits.
Therefore, with a sole focus now on defending their title, Manchester City are the preferred option to secure maximum points at 17/10, with the draw on offer at 9/4.
As well as Benitez, much of the pre-match talk thus far has revolved around Fernando Torres and how Benitez is the perfect man to get the best out of him.
This may result in Torres being popular in the first goalscorer market and 7/1 is certainly a big price in this market for a lone striker playing at home, who has the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata pulling strings behind him.
In fact, Ladbrokes are guaranteeing best prices on all first scorers and correct scorelines for the Stamford Bridge showdown.
Another player it may be worth considering to open the scoring is Carlos Tevez, who is well rested after starting on the bench against Real Madrid and counts Chelsea among his favourite opposition.
Tevez has netted six times in as many games with Chelsea and is 13/2 to break the deadlock.
All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date
