Soccer - Familiar story unfolding in Serie A

By Brian Homewood

(Reuters) - A familiar story is already unfolding in Serie A where Juventus are dominant, Napoli are trying to reinvent themselves, Palermo embroiled in chaos and the Milan clubs have made indifferent starts.

Although only two rounds of matches were played before the first international break, there was already enough to suggest that little will change from the previous seasons.

Juventus, runaway favourites to win a sixth successive title, flexed their muscles by winning two difficult opening matches against Fiorentina and Lazio, continuing where they left off last season.

"Today, Juve are on another planet from every point of view," former Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini told Gazzetta dello Sport this week.

Juve host Sassuolo on Saturday (1600 GMT).

Napoli, runners-up last season, are rebuilding after Juve snapped up their prolific forward Gonzalo Higuain, himself hired three seasons ago after Edinson Cavani departed.

Napoli have already scored six goals in two games with Higuain's replacement Arkadiusz Milik, signed from Ajax, grabbing two in a 4-2 win over AC Milan.

It all suggests that, once again, Napoli are the team most likely to give Juventus competition for the title.

On the other hand, AS Roma are suffering the recriminations of their Champions League playoff defeat to Porto.

Daniele De Rossi, sent off against the Portuguese side, has been stripped of the captaincy and there is also the question of how to deal with Francesco Totti.

The 39-year-old, in his 25th and last season at Roma, wants a rousing send off but has yet to get on the pitch.

Inter Milan, enduring their fifth season without Champions League football, have made a stuttering start under new coach Frank de Boer, taking one point in two games.

AC Milan, meanwhile, are unlikely to be a force until their takeover by a Chinese consortium, led by investment fund Haixia Capital and Yonghong Li, chairman of management company Sino-Europe Sports Investment Management Changxing, has been completed.

They have one win and a defeat under their belt and everything points to another season in the middle of the table.

There has also been little change at Palermo, who have already seen their first coaching switch of the season with Roberto De Zerbi, previously at third-tier Foggia, replacing Davide Ballardini, who resigned in protest at a lack of new signings after two games.

Ballardini was among the seven different coaches employed by Palermo last season, when he was sacked in January and re-hired in April, and helped save the Sicilians from relegation.

"I chose De Zerbi because I've always tried to appoint coaches that are young and, above all, with a winning mentality," said club president Maurizio Zamparini.

De Zerbi, however, will be suspended for Saturday's match at home to Napoli (1845) after being sent off in his last game with Foggia.

(Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)