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Championship odds: Newcastle hot favourites to make an immediate return to the Premier League

Alex Constantinou

in association with BetVictor

Friday 29 July 2016 10:51 BST

Rafa Benitez will hope to take Newcastle back to the Premier League at the first attempt (Getty)

Rafa Benitez’s decision to stay on as manager of Newcastle has the bookmakers running scared ahead of the big Football League kick-off.

Before the Spaniard's announcement, Newcastle were 5-1 to win the Championship. Now they are 7-4 with BetVictor for the title and 4-7 to make an immediate return to the Premier League.

Newcastle also feature prominently in the Championship top scorer betting, with new signing Dwight Gayle priced at 8-1 and team-mate Aleksandar Mitrovic next best at 10s.

Aston Villa and Norwich were the two other relegated sides from the Premier League and they are expected to be Newcastle's closest challengers for outright honours at 8-1.

BetVictor are producing enhanced ante-post specials in the run-up to the new season and they offer 10-1 on Newcastle winning the Championship and Manchester City being crowned Premier League champions.

In League One, Sheffield United are favourites at 4-1 to be crowned champions and their striker Billy Sharp has been price-boosted to 9-1 to be the division’s top marksman. There should be a strong London challenge, with Charlton (8s) and Millwall (10s) among the front-runners for glory.

Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

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1/15Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

3 June 2015 – Appointed Real Madrid manager

Real Madrid announce Benitez as their new manager, with the Spaniard returning to Spain to replace Carlo Ancelotti on a three-year deal after leaving Napoli at the end of the season.

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Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

23 August 2015 – Low-key start sets the tone for Benitez

His Real Madrid career begins with a lacklustre 0-0 draw with Sporting Gijon, resulting in Real immediately conceding ground to rivals Barcelona in the battle for the La Liga title.

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Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

4 October 2015 – Madrid derby draw starts the pressure cooker

Real concede a late equaliser in the derby with Atletico Madrid to draw 1-1, having failed to build on their lead generated through Karim Benzema’s ninth-minute goal. The first signs of discontent are shown from the crowd, who have not warmed to Benitez’s style of management.

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Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

8 November 2015 – Sevilla inflict first defeat

Real suffer a 3-2 defeat by Sevilla to halt Benitez’s 14-match unbeaten start to his Real career, having gone 10 league matches without a loss. However, Benitez’s life is about to get much harder.

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Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

21 November 2015 – Barcelona hammer Real to draw fans’ ire

After the international break, Real are blown away in the first El Clasico of the season as they succumb 4-0 to Barcelona. The defeat is even harder to take for Real fans given that Barcelona were without Lionel Messi for the first hour, with the Argentine only just fit enough to return to the bench. Isco is sent-off in the closing minutes having come on in the 55th minute as a substitute.

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Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

2 December 2015 – Cheryshev ineligibility sees Real thrown out of Cup

Real beat Cadiz 3-1 in their Copa del Rey round of 32 clash, but it soon emerges that Real fielded an ineligible player in midfielder Denis Cheryshev, who should have been serving a ban picked up the season before while on loan with Sevilla. Real are thrown out of the Copa del Rey and fail with their appeal, leaving Benitez with one less trophy to target.

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Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

13 December 2015 – Villarreal defeat puts Benitez on the brink

A 1-0 loss to Villarreal heaps the pressure on Benitez, even though the result is sandwiches by an 8-0 win over Malmo in the Champions League and a 10-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga. Reports emerge that the Spaniard is one bad result away from the axe.

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Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

3 January 2016 – One bad result arrives to bid bye-bye to Benitez

Gary Neville’s Valencia battle from behind to secure a 2-2 draw, leaving Real four points behind La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, though Barcelona can stretch that to six points due to holding a game in hand. It’s claimed Benitez will be sacked within 24 hours.

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Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

4 January 2016 – Benitez sacked by Real Madrid

The reports prove true as Real president Florentino Perez holds an impromptu press conference to announce that Benitez’s contract has been terminated, with club legend Zinedine Zidane taking over first-team matters.

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Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

11 March 2016 – Appointed Newcastle manager

After drawn out talks following the dismissal of Steve McClaren, Benitez is named the new manager of Newcastle, again signing a three-year deal.

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Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

14 March 2016 – Losing start to life on Tyneside

Newcastle suffer a 1-0 defeat in Benitez’s first game in charge against eventual Premier League champions Leicester City.

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Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

20 March 2016 – Tyne-Wear derby draw offers glimmer of hope

Aleksandar Mitrovic comes off the bench to salvage a late point against rivals Sunderland, with fans beginning to grow in optimism that the club can avoid relegation with performances notably better on the pitch.

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Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

16 April 2016 – Wait for a win finally over

Despite the initial optimism, back-to-back defeats by Norwich and Southampton leave Newcastle in the bottom three. Benitez has to wait a month before his first victory for Newcastle, coming in the form of a comfortable 3-0 triumph over Swansea.

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Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

7 May 2016 – Missed chance leaves Newcastle on the brink

Despite a run of five matches unbeaten, Newcastle are unable to beat already-relegated Aston Villa, meaning their fate lies in the hands of rivals Sunderland as a win against Everton would relegate the Magpies.

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Rafa Benitez's 2015/16 season - in pictures

12 May 2016 – Relegation confirmed

A 3-0 win for Sunderland over Everton confirms Newcastle’s relegation to the Championship.

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Portsmouth, at 4-1, are BetVictor’s market leaders in League Two while four other sides – Doncaster, Luton, Leyton Orient and Plymouth - are 10-1 or less.

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