IMPEDIMENT:Bayern’s hopes on a knife edgeToday Bayern Munich vs Basel 21:45Inter Milan vs Marseille 21:45ENGLAND and Germany will be left without any teams in the Champions League quarter-finals unless Chelsea and Bayern Munich can overturn first-leg deficits in this week’s ties.By contrast, Italy’s Serie A, often criticised for its crumbling stadiums, falling attendances and written off as a league in perpetual decline, could end up with all three of its teams in the last eight.Chelsea have a 3-1 deficit going into the second leg of their round-of-16 tie at home to a buoyant Napoli team who have won their last five league games, hammering Cagliari 6-3 last Friday.Bayern find themselves 1-0 down to FC Basel, the surprise package along with APOEL Nicosia, and must end the Swiss champions’ unbeaten away record in this season’s competition if they are to progress.Failure to do so would be unthinkable for the Bavarians who are desperate to reach the final which will take place at their own Allianz Arena.In the week’s other ties, Claudio Ranieri’s ageing Inter Milan, the 2010 champions, trail 1-0 to Olympique Marseille before hosting the French side, while Real Madrid should see off CSKA Moscow after a 1-1 draw in freezing conditions in Russia.The eventual winners will join titleholders Barcelona, seven-times champions AC Milan, twice former winners Benfica and underdogs APOEL in Friday’s draw for the quarter-finals.Chelsea’s elimination would leave the English Premier League without a quarter-finalist for the first time since the 1995/96 season.Arsenal went out last week, their 3-0 win over Milan not enough after they were trounced 4-0 in the first leg, while Manchester United and Manchester City fell in the group stage.German champions Borussia Dortmund also went out in the group stage while Bayer Leverkusen sank without trace against Barcelona, losing 7-1 at the Nou Camp last week for a 10-2 aggregate defeat.That leaves Bayern Munich flying the flag for the Bundesliga, which next season will win a third direct place in the group stage at the expense of Serie A.
