The resumption of the league after the Christmas break has gone almost unnoticed amid endless speculation over who is going where, topped by the long-running saga over the possible move of Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez to AC Milan.
AC Milan's Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato has been the subject of a possible big money move to Paris Saint-Germain, especially after the player complained last week of a "lack of communication" with coach Massimiliano Allegri.
"Before the game, I said hello to [PSG coach] Carlo Ancelotti, as was right and was to be expected," he told reporters. "Was my agent in Dubai? You know better than I do."
Milan said on their website that he "should stay" at the club but there was plenty more elsewhere to fuel the rumour mill.
Roma's Chilean midfielder David Pizarro was expected to be moving on after he was reported to have stormed out of a training session on Wednesday. He was quickly being linked with Juventus.
As for the football itself, Genoa's new coach Pasquale Marino will make his debut after replacing Alberto Malesani, who was fired following a 6-1 loss at Napoli in the last match before Christmas, as they visit Cagliari.
Malesani was the 11th coaching victim of the Serie A season with two of them at Sunday's opponents.
That match will feature a battle between the championship's two leading scorers, Atalanta's Argentine forward German Denis, with 12, and Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is one behind.
"The game is Atalanta versus Milan and not Denis versus Ibrahimovic," said former Napoli and Udinese striker Denis, playing down the personal duel.
The biggest transfer coup so far has been Napoli's signing of 22-year-old forward Eduardo Vargas from Universidad de Chile, although he is unlikely to play at Palermo on Sunday.
