Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri hopes Edinson Cavani maintains his scoring form against Villarreal in their Europa League last-32 showdown.
Cavani scored his 20th Serie A goal of the campaign in Saturday's 2-0 triumph over Roma.
The Uruguay international has struck seven times in the last five league games to help Napoli remain in contention for the Scudetto.
Moreover, Cavani has scored seven times in Europe this season.
"Cavani is the forward we needed," Mazzarri said.
"Just as Milan cannot do without (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic, we cannot do without Cavani.
"He is in great form and we hope that he continues to score many goals for us."
Under Mazzarri, who took over at the Napoli helm in summer 2009, the team have looked impressive.
The Naples outfit currently lie second in Serie A, three points behind leaders AC Milan.
"There is a lot of enthusiasm in Naples," Mazzarri said. "I am happy to see what we have created.
"However, Villarreal has more experience than us in European competition.
"But we will do our best to stop them."
The Italians have reason to be optimistic of taking a positive result at the Stadio San Paolo.
Napoli have not lost in their European home games this season.
Villarreal travel to Italy on the back of 1-0 defeats to Levante and Deportivo La Coruna - losses which dropped Villarreal to third place in the Primera Division.
The Spanish side will look to make amends with a win in Naples.
"We are only thinking about the Europa League," Villarreal midfielder Santi Cazorla said.
"It's an important match for us because we've gone two games without winning.
"There's no need to be alarmed and a positive result would restore morale.
"We need to remember that it's a two-legged tie and, therefore, it is important to be patient. It's going to be difficult, but it's key to score away from home to put you on track."
Villarreal coach Juan Carlos Garrido welcomes back Italy striker Giuseppe Rossi, who missed the defeat to Depor through illness.
Napoli's Emilson Cribari will replace suspended defender Paolo Cannavaro.
