Futsal: main course is Murata v Virtus, Tre Penne chasing their décimo

Spotlight on Murata v Virtus, the standout clash of matchday 23 in the futsal league. The league leaders come into it riding an extraordinary run of 19 consecutive wins, while the side from Acquaviva need to bounce back from their latest defeat, suffered at the hands of Pennarossa, and will have to do so without one of their mainstays, Juri Biordi, forced to sit out through suspension. It is Pennarossa themselves who will be hoping for a favour from Virtus to close part of the gap to the top; but first and foremost, Novembrini’s men will have to focus all their efforts on securing a sixth win on the spin. Standing in their way is Folgore, who, unlike their opponents on the night, are not in sparkling form, having lost their last five games; on top of that, they are having to deal with a double blow in the shape of suspensions for Alan Bacciocchi and Rocco Mularoni, both banned for three matches. La Fiorita quickly put the defeat to Murata behind them and, having caught up with Virtus again, now aim to build on their win over Tre Fiori and continue their climb inside the top-four lounge. Next up for the Gialloblù is Juvenes-Dogana, who have recently surrendered 8th place to Fiorentino and need to halt a negative run that has stretched over two games – or three matchdays if you include their bye week. Tre Fiori are watching closely, three points behind Levani’s Biancorossoazzurri – and just one behind Folgore – and are set to take on bottom side Libertas in one of the two indoor fixtures of matchday 23, the Monday game at the Multieventi Sport Domus. The other, scheduled for Tuesday, will instead be played at the Acquaviva sports hall. Facing off will be a Cailungo side whose cushion over the third-from-bottom has shrunk, and a Cosmos wounded by their draw with San Giovanni. Back to Monday: Faetano – who took three points off Cailungo, reigniting the battle for the play-offs – want to build on their victory over Folgore, but must reckon with the rediscovered spark of Fiorentino, who also returned to winning ways after a lean spell and are keen to shake off direct chasers such as Juvenes-Dogana, Folgore and Tre Fiori, as well as to close some of the gap separating them from Cosmos. Rounding off the picture of the 8th return-round matchday is the only fixture scheduled in Domagnano. On court, a Tre Penne side in scintillating form (nine games unbeaten, eight of them wins) and clearly tempted by the prospect of extending their lead over Domagnano, who are idle this matchday, as well as putting pressure on Virtus and La Fiorita in the table. On the other side will be San Giovanni, who ended a long losing streak with their draw against Cosmos but desperately need a win to jolt their campaign back into life and keep alive hopes of re-entering the play-off race. Here is the matchday 23 league schedule: Click here for the updated standings.

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