Palermo vs Genoa preview - Sculli set for return

Genoa are set to welcome Giuseppe Sculli back to their starting line-up when they take on Palermo at La Favorita.

The striker made his second debut for the club after rejoining from Lazio in Thursday's Coppa Italia 2-1 defeat at Inter Milan.

Sculli came on as a second-half substitute but could not find the target.

The 30-year-old scored 18 goals in 114 games in his first spell at the club and is looking to get off the mark on Sunday.

"I am happy to have returned," Sculli said.

"This is my home.

"I want to thank Lazio for granting me this opportunity and Genoa president Enrico Preziosi for bringing me back.

"This is a challenge and it feels like I'm reliving my first experience in Rossoblu.

"I cannot wait to give my contribution to the team and score many goals with Genoa."

Sculli is Genoa's second reinformcent in attack this month following the arrival of Alberto Gilardino from Fiorentina.

He is expected to play alongside Gilardino and Rodrigo Palacio this weekend as Genoa look to build on their 3-2 triumph over Udinese last time out.

Trailing 1-0, the Grifoni scored three goals in the second half to clinch their first win in 2012.

The win moved Genoa to eighth in the standings.

Rivals Palermo are desperate to end the rot this weekend.

Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Chievo followed their 3-1 loss to Napoli and extended their winless run to six games.

Their poor run of form has dropped the Sicilians to 14th place and left Bortolo Mutti still seeking his first win since taking over the reins of the team in December.

Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini is nevertheless confident Mutti can turn things around, starting on Sunday.

"Of course some things aren't going right, but we have the quality to get out of this negative moment," he said.

"We still have a lot of work to do, which I have already told Mutti but things can only get better."