THE struggle for the champions' title in Bulgarian football's A group came to its peak three rounds before the end of the season.

Lokomotiv Plovdiv are leading by five points ahead of Levski, but their programme is much more difficult than that of their rivals.

The clubs have started a mutual war of nerves, accusing each other of fixing matches and corrupting referees.

Levski, known as the Blues, are much more nervous because their ambitions are in the hands of the other team.

The Sofia side expects either Naftex, or Slavia, or CSKA to stop the Plovdiv team with at least a defeat and a draw.

Locomotiv Plovdiv - the "Black-and-Whites" play away in Bourgas, then in Plovdiv against Slavia and will be the guests of CSKA "the Reds" at the Bulgarian Army Stadium. This is the most tricky game, because the Reds are Levski's archrivals, and most of their fans would rather prefer their team to lose to the Plovdiv side, than for Levski to become champions by defeating Lokomotiv.

The Blues have a much easier programme, as they visit Marek which has no ambitions in the current season, then they play a home game against the outsiders Spartak Varna, and in the last round will go to Plovdiv for a match against Botev who are at the bottom of the standings.

Last week, Levski started a major media campaign, accusing Lokomotiv of match-fixing. The said Lokomotiv wanted Litex, a team from Lovech, to reach the final of the Bulgarian Cup, so that Lokomotiv could get from them an easy three points in Plovdiv.

And this is just how it happened. Litex won the first semi-final in Lovech, and very easily reached a draw at Lauta Stadium. Last Saturday, with the utmost ease, the Black-and-Whites beat the Lovech side 3:1 for the championship.

Meanwhile, the battle at the bottom is very tough as well. Five teams are struggling to survive relegation.

Chernomorets are already in the B Group and have no chance of salvation.

Botev, Makedonska Slava, Vidima, Spartak and Rodopa are struggling not to follow the Bourgas side.

The teams with the smallest chances of this are Botev and Makedonska Slava. The team from Plovdiv has to play away to Lokomotiv Sofia, and at home to Levski, and only wins could assure staying in the A Group.

Makedonska Slava will have tough games, at home against Rodopa, away against Belasitsa and at home against Cherno More. Its programme, however, is not as difficult as Botev's. Vidima could survive if Botev fails to win at least seven points from three games. In the last round, Sevlievo-based team, Ideal Standard, will be the guest of its neighbours from Litex, who have no ambitions for the championship and could very easily help their old friends from the nearby town.