League: Battle at the top resumes, fierce scrap at the bottom

Matchday 20 of a gripping league campaign on all fronts kicks off on Saturday. After the last round, packed with head‑to‑head clashes and big games that lived up to expectations, the new weekend of the Campionato Sammarinese BKN301 opens with four fixtures on Saturday featuring both La Fiorita and Cosmos. The yellow and blues of Montegiardino are coming off a draw in the top‑of‑the‑table clash with the green and yellows of Serravalle, a result that allowed Manfredini’s side to stay in front, albeit with just a single‑point advantage. La Fiorita will therefore take the field in Fiorentino (3:00 p.m.) against a Domagnano side in crisis, who have recently dismissed coach Simone Amadori and appointed Nicola Ranocchini as their new manager. The red and yellows are in fact bottom of the group together with Murata and have not won for over a month (4-1 against Faetano on 8 January). At the same time as La Fiorita, Cosmos will also be in action at 3:00 p.m. in Fiorentino against Pennarossa. Nicola Berardi’s green and yellows will be able to welcome back top scorer Matteo Prandelli, suspended for the last round, but Pennarossa can count on a Mattia Stefanelli in outstanding form (currently second in the scoring charts with 11 goals, one fewer than his Cosmos counterpart). The red and whites, who were idle last weekend, are not enjoying a good spell and have not won for more than a month. Alongside the teams fighting for top spot, there is also a fierce scrap in the middle and lower reaches of the table. As mentioned, it is a thrilling league with no fewer than nine teams – from seventh to fifteenth – covered by just five points. Folgore, the leading side in this pack, will face San Giovanni in the 3:00 p.m. curtain‑raiser in Acquaviva. Lepri’s yellow‑red‑blacks, having put last week’s Coppa Titano semi‑final elimination behind them, have taken four points from their last two games and will start favourites against Tognacci’s red and blacks – three points back and without a win since 12 November 2022 (2-1 against Juvenes-Dogana). Rounding off Saturday’s programme is Faetano-Fiorentino (back at Montecchio, 3:00 p.m.). Malandri’s blue and reds are among the form sides in the lower half with seven matches unbeaten, while the yellow and blues – just one point ahead of Fiorentino – are still searching for their first victory of 2023 (five defeats and one draw, the latter coming in the last round). Among Sunday’s postponed fixtures – all kicking off at 3:00 p.m. – the standout game is undoubtedly Libertas-Tre Fiori, a meeting of two of the most decorated clubs in San Marino football. The yellow and blues, currently fourth on 37 points, were beaten in the last round’s big match against Tre Penne, ending an unbeaten run that stretched back to 8 October 2022, when Selva’s side were defeated by Libertas. For their part, the maroons sit sixth in a kind of no‑man’s‑land, with a healthy cushion over Folgore (+9) but six points adrift of Virtus in the upper reaches of the table. Sperindio’s team, however, are coming off an excellent draw – albeit deep into stoppage time – against the neroverdi in the last round, making it eight games unbeaten. Also in action on Sunday are the aforementioned Virtus, who will face Juvenes-Dogana in Fiorentino. Bizzotto’s side have drawn their last three league games, losing a little ground on the leading quartet. In between, though, they secured a place in the Coppa Titano final last week despite defeat to Folgore. Virtus’ opponents, Juvenes-Dogana, are an unpredictable side coming off mixed results, but remain in the play‑off places despite the extremely tight table. Sunday’s programme concludes with an intriguing clash between two of the form teams of the moment. Despite their differing league positions, Tre Penne-Murata – to be played in Domagnano – is a match to watch: the black and whites may be bottom (level with Domagnano on 14 points) but have recorded two wins and a draw in their last three outings; by contrast it has been a perfect run for Tre Penne, who in 2023 have done nothing but win, including against Libertas to book their place in the Coppa Titano final. The biancazzurri are currently third, three points behind leaders La Fiorita – and with a game in hand. This is the schedule for Matchday 20 of the Campionato Sammarinese BKN301. As always, we remind you that all matches will be streamed live free of charge with commentary on the Titani.tv platform:

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