Napoli will attempt to smooth passage into a first ever Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday evening, with their manager, Walter Mazzarri, insisting his players have "nothing to fear" despite confronting a Chelsea team under new leadership.

The Italians arrive buoyed by their 3-1 first-leg success, one of six consecutive wins in all competitions, but wary after witnessing Milan's toils at the Emirates Stadium last week when a four-goal advantage was almost surrendered. That has served to steel resolve, conviction further boosted by Mazzarri's presence on the touchline after the court of arbitration for sport suspended a two-match ban imposed by Uefa for improper conduct during a group game.

Mazzarri had pushed the Villarreal forward Nilmar having grown frustrated at perceived time-wasting tactics in the teams' meeting in December, although his lawyer, Mattia Grassani, has now successfully petitioned for the ban to be temporarily suspended. "It was important for me that I should be here," said Mazzarri. "This is a crucial game. We've made history by emulating what the Napoli of [Diego] Maradona did in the 1980s and it was a big achievement to reach the knockout stage of this competition. But now we can take it on another step.

"Something has changed at Chelsea since the first game. Not much tactically, but behind the scenes. They've won their two games under Roberto Di Matteo, and that will be a big morale boost for their team. That worries me. But I'm confident that, if we play the match we're capable of, we'll have nothing to fear. I want us to be like 11 lions when we don't have the ball, attacking them constantly to get it back, and putting them under pressure when we are in possession. I don't think we'll underestimate our situation. I just want my players to be relaxed, confident and look forward to this occasion."

Arsenal's near miss against Milan has served to guard the visitors against complacency. "We saw from that match that a team full of champions can change a tie in a few minutes," said Edinson Cavani, Napoli's 24-goal leading scorer. "We know what to expect. We dreamt about being in this situation, playing in games like this, and finally we are here. But what really matters now is getting through and qualifying."

"The Milan match was a warning for us," added the defender Paolo Cannavaro. "But on the level of intensity and aggression, we will be there. We will fight to get through. We have an important advantage but we must play as if it were 0-0."