Napoli instructed to improve

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has demanded a huge improvement from his players ahead of Sunday's game at Lecce.

The Naples outfit lost 3-1 to Atalanta on Wednesday to concede their third consecutive defeat.

The outcome dropped Napoli to sixth place and left them six points behind Lazio, who are third and hold the last Champions League qualifying spot.

With six games remaining, De Laurentiis knows his team cannot afford any further slips if they are to have a chance to finish third in Serie A.

"I have spoken to my players regarding how you face adversity," De Laurentiis said.

"We can still recover because the calendar of the other teams involved in contention for the European qualifying places is much more challenging than ours.

"But we cannot be depleted, we have to do better and rediscover the fighting spirit we showed earlier this campaign."

Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri welcomes back defenders Miguel Angel Britos and Paolo Cannavaro as well as midfielder Juan Zuniga from suspension for Sunday's game at the Via del Mare stadium.

However, striker Goran Pandev must serve his first of a two-match ban this weekend.

Napoli can expect a battle with Lecce knowing that a win could see them climb out of the relegation zone.

Lecce trail two points behind 17th-place Genoa, who take on Scudetto contenders AC Milan at the San Siro on Saturday.

The Salentini, coached by Serse Cosmi, have won their past two games, including Wednesday's last-gasp 2-1 win at Catania.

"I see my players extremely motivated," Lecce president Giovanni Semeraro said. "Now we must beat Napoli.

"It's not going to be easy because Napoli will be eager to bounce back from their recent defeats but we will give our all

"We know how important this game is in our battle to avoid the drop."