RAFAEL BANITEZ FAVOURITE TO REPLACE ROBERTO DI MATTEO AT CHELSEA

Rafael Benitez is the favourite to take over from Roberto Di Matteo as Chelsea manager.

The former Liverpool manager is flying to London from Abu Dhabi, where he was speaking at a sports conference, and is scheduled to land on Thursday.

It is understood he will then hold further talks with Chelsea about taking over as manager, initially as a stop-gap appointment.

Di Matteo was sacked following the 3-0 Champions League defeat by Juventus.

Chelsea made contact with Benitez to gauge his interest in taking charge on a short-term basis.

Chelsea managers under Roman Abramovich

Claudio Ranieri: Sep 2000 to May 2004
Jose Mourinho: Jun 2004 to Sep 2007
Avram Grant: Sep 2007 to May 2008
Luiz Felipe Scolari: Jul 2008 to Feb 2009
Guus Hiddink: Feb 2009 to May 2009
Carlo Ancelotti: Jun 2009 to May 2011
Andre Villas-Boas: Jun 2011 to Mar 2012
Roberto Di Matteo: Mar 2012 to Nov 2012

Owner Roman Abramovich is known to be a long-term admirer of Pep Guardiola but it is unclear whether the former Barcelona coach can be tempted back into management.

The club's board met earlier on Wednesday and their next appointment is likely to be a short-term role rather than a long-term replacement for Di Matteo.

In the statement announcing Di Matteo's sacking on Wednesday morning, Chelsea said they hoped to announce a new manager "shortly".

Chelsea, who are looking for a ninth manager since Abramovich took over in 2003, contacted Benitez before Tuesday's defeat in Italy.

Benitez, 52, has been out of work since he was sacked by Inter Milan in December 2010 after just six months in charge, but has made it clear he is interested in the job.

He joined Liverpool from Valencia in 2004 and won the Champions League in 2005, as well as reaching the final in 2007, before leaving Anfield by mutual consent in 2010.

On Wednesday, when asked if Chelsea had approached him, he told Abu Dhabi-based website Sport 360: "You ask directly, I cannot answer directly.

"In football a lot of people are talking so we will see what happens in the next few days. I am looking for a club that can challenge for trophies and Chelsea is one of these clubs."

When Benitez was asked about the prospect of managing on a short-term basis, he added: "I have to talk with my agent and see what he has been doing the last couple of days.

"But I am just trying to go to a team that can win. So we will find ways to have a challenge like this."

Even by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic's sky-high standards, the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo is ruthless. Chelsea's statement claims results and performances have not been good enough - and yet only a month ago they were top of the Premier League after an outstanding 4-2 win at Spurs. The decision makes it even more abundantly clear that Di Matteo was only keeping the seat warm for the first love of Abramovich's footballing life, former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola. Will he ever be able to lure him to a club for which managerial instability is a way of life?

Di Matteo won the Champions League and FA Cup as caretaker manager last season and was given a two-year deal in June.

But following defeat to Juventus, which has left the Blues on the brink of a Champions League exit, he has left Stamford Bridge after just eight months in charge.

Di Matteo's compensation is still being worked out and he is likely to continue to be paid until he finds a new post elsewhere.

After an impressive start to the season, the Blues have won two of their last eight games.

They sit third in the Premier League table, four points behind leaders Manchester City, who they host at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Chelsea could become the first Champions League holders to exit at the group stage of the competition.

Former West Brom and MK Dons manager Di Matteo, 42, who had been working as assistant manager at Stamford Bridge, replaced Andre Villas-Boas in March.

The ex-midfielder won the FA Cup twice and made 175 appearances for the Blues between 1996 and 2002, and took over as boss in the wake of Chelsea's 3-1 defeat to Napoli in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

But they overturned that deficit with a 4-1 win at Stamford Bridge and secured a 2-2 draw at Barcelona in the semi-final second leg despite having John Terry sent off in the first half at the Nou Camp.

After beating Liverpool 2-1 in the FA Cup final, they beat Bayern Munich in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in the Champions League final.

They finished sixth in the Premier League and Abramovich waited until June to give Di Matteo the job on a permanent basis.

And after the arrivals of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Victor Moses, they suffered just one defeat in their opening 12 matches.

Although Chelsea enjoyed an impressive opening to the campaign, Di Matteo faced constant questions about Terry, who was banned for four matches and fined £220,000 by the Football Association for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand last October.

There was further controversy when the Blues accused referee Mark Clattenburg of using inappropriate language towards midfielder John Obi Mikel in their 3-2 home defeat by Manchester United in October.

At 262 days in charge, Di Matteo lasted longer than previous Abramovich managers Villas-Boas (256), Avram Grant (247) and Luiz Felipe Scolari (223).