Cesena vs Napoli preview - Di Carlo upbeat ahead of Napoli

Domenico Di Carlo insists Supercoppa winners Napoli hold no fear for his "highly motivated" Cesena side.

The Seahorses coach is yet to deliver a Serie A win since replacing Pierpaolo Bisoli in early December but performances have improved and Cesena are only six points shy of safety.

Rafael Benitez's Azzurri will arrive in Emilia-Romagna in high spirits on Tuesday having followed up their festive Supercoppa victory over Juventus with the capture of in-demand striker Manolo Gabbiadini.

The young Italy international had scored eight goals for Sampdoria before moving south.

Neither factor appears to concern a bullish Di Carlo, however, with the visit of the fourth-placed club serving as another valuable opportunity to impress his philosophy on Cesena.

"We are highly motivated to do well," he told a pre-match press conference. "And it will take courage to beat Napoli.

"The boys are getting used to my methods and tomorrow I want to see them playing the game my way by pressing all over the pitch.

"If we do not play as a team then we cannot aspire to reach our goals.

"The guys have responded positively and we must have the belief that we can beat our opponents.

"We have had time to recover and so with determination and desire, I believe we can do it."

Guido Marilungo, Francesco Renzetti and Andrea Tabanelli are all missing through injury while French striker Gregoire Defrel serves a one-match ban.

Napoli, meanwhile, will be unable to show off their new purchase as Gabbiadini must complete a suspension before pulling on the blue shirt for the first time.

Juan Camilo Zuniga, Michu, Lorenzo Insigne and Faouzi Ghoulam are on the treatment table but Benitez is unlikely to tinker with the side that outwitted Juve in Doha.

The Spanish tactician has promised to channel the energy created by the cup win straight back into the league as his quest to secure a Champions League place resumes.

"Clearly we want to harness the enthusiasm of the Supercoppa so we can continue in the league with the same mentality and with a winning team spirit," he told sscnapoli.it.

"As a coach I am becoming increasingly demanding and, while I was satisfied with the great performance, I would like to see my team express themselves with that intensity at all times.

"For that reason we must keep improving and show our full potential even in games like the one tomorrow."