Empoli vs Cesena preview - Di Carlo hopes to maintain momentum

Cesena coach Domenico Di Carlo is confident his relegation-threatened side can extend their good run of form at Empoli on Sunday.

Di Carlo's men endured a dismal start to the campaign but victories against Parma and Lazio in the last two rounds have fuelled hopes the Emilia-Romagna outfit can climb out of the drop zone.

They are second-bottom and go into the encounter in Tuscany looking to pick up where they left off in Sunday's surprising 2-1 triumph over Lazio.

"We are hungry for wins," Di Carlo told the Italian press. "We never stopped believing that we could turn things around.

"We showed a lot of maturity against Lazio and my players gave their all to take the win."

Cesena have shown an improvement both in attack and defence recently, with four goals scored and two conceded in their last two league games.

"We are more lucid, more focused now than last year," Di Carlo said. "My team is now able to strike at the right time.

"Of course victories help the team gain confidence and work in harmony during the week."

With Cesena four points adrift of safety, Di Carlo knows there is still a lot of work to do, however.

"I think our recent run of form is a step forward," he said. "But we cannot dream. We must be realistic and not stop.

"The path to avoid relegation is still a long one and we know we will have to pedal hard."

Rivals Empoli are winless since November 23 but produced a brave display to hold scudetto contenders Roma to a 1-1 result last time out.

The Tuscan minnows are 16th in the standings, just two points clear of the drop zone.

Empoli coach Maurizio Sarri will have to make changes to the team that earned a point against Roma, with midfielders Daniele Croce and Riccardo Sapponara both suspended.

Defender Lorenzo Tonelli and midfielder Tiberio Guarente will miss the match because of injury.