Spare a thought for Rafa Benitez tonight. With his job at Everton under serious threat, he could not be going to a worse place.
Goodison Park would have at least had a sprinkling of optimism in the air after Everton's win over Arsenal last time they were at home. Anfield would have offered their former boss some sympathy, and the Etihad sweet indifference. But Stamford Bridge? Hatred. Pure hatred.
If Benitez's side are thrashed tonight and he is 'sacked in the morning', as the song goes, or even in the tunnel after, the Chelsea faithful would be delighted.
Why? Well it all dates back to a remarkable run of fixtures between Chelsea and Liverpool from 2004 to 2010. They played each other no fewer than 26 times in those six seasons when Benitez was Anfield boss, with 10 of those meetings coming at the highest level of all in the Champions League.
The most infamous of those European ties came in the semi-final in May 2005, when Liverpool triumphed via Luis Garcia's 'ghost goal' - and a modern-day rivalry was born. The fans suddenly despised each other - and still do - as fierce battles between the players on the pitch and Benitez and Jose Mourinho in the dugout raged, and the media threw petrol on the flames.
Before a second Champions League semi-final triumph in 2007, Benitez delivered a line still quoted at Liverpool, but one that would not be forgotten in west London. Criticising the Blues for giving away plastic flags to improve the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, Benitez said: 'We don't need to give away flags for our fans to wave - our supporters are always there with their hearts, and that is all we need. It's the passion of the fans that helps to win matches - not flags.'
When asked in the same year if he would ever manage Chelsea, Benitez was unequivocal. 'I would never take that job,' he insisted. 'In respect for my former team at Liverpool, no matter what. For me there is only one club in England, and that's Liverpool.'
Fast forward five years and Benitez did what he said he would never do, as he was unveiled as Chelsea's interim manager to replace the sacked - and loved - Roberto di Matteo in November 2012.
Perhaps he thought his comments would have been forgotten, that those battles with Mourinho were ancient history in footballing terms and that Chelsea and Liverpool were never really rivals, with 180 miles separating them. He was wrong.
Chelsea's fans never warmed to him. They didn't even thaw. Not even after delivering the Europa League, a third-placed finish and two domestic cup semi-finals. With a win rate of 58 per cent from 48 matches in charge, most interims would expect to be appointed permanently, but Roman Abramovich knew he would be chased out of west London if he did so, and turned back to Mourinho instead.
When Benitez returned to Stamford Bridge three times with Newcastle between 2016 and 2019, he might have expected a slightly better reception - but no, they still hated him.
If Benitez was bruised by the whole Chelsea experience he certainly did not show it when he took on the Everton job this summer. He is nothing if not brave.
When it became clear that Everton owner Farhad Moshiri was pursuing Benitez, the opposition from supporters was fierce and vocal. One fan even hung a banner near Benitez's house, which ominously read: 'We know where you live, don't sign.'
In true Benitez style though, he was not perturbed and took the job, getting off to a flyer at the start of the season to quell any early dissent. It has all turned sour of late though, with the Spaniard's Liverpool connections used as a stick to beat him with, as they were always going to be as soon as Everton went on a bad run.
One particular quote from his time at Anfield, where Benitez described Everton as having a 'small club' mentality, will hang over his head throughout his time at Goodison Park.
Every team experiences dips in form, but Everton's is nearing a disastrous level as they travel to Stamford Bridge, with just one win in 10 leaving them 14th in the table. Mercifully for Benitez, up until now much of the fans' anger has been directed at the club's board, with hundreds of millions of pounds wasted on transfer flops amid a succession of failed managers.
Director of football Marcel Brands resigned earlier this month, and Everton's shrewdest summer signings were both Benitez buys - Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend - but the defeat at Crystal Palace last week saw the away fans turn on the manager. They had been placated by the win over Arsenal following Brands' departure, but Benitez is next in the firing line should the defeats keep coming.
Chelsea would dearly love to inflict a heavy one on their old rival tonight.