Giants ready for crunch German Cup showdown

BERLIN – German Cup holders Borussia Dortmund are ready to fight to retain their title in Wednesday’s quarterfinal showdown at rivals Bayern Munich, according to Germany star Marco Reus.“It will be a really good fight, we’re up for it,” said Reus, after his team drew 1-1 at his former club Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday in the Bundesliga.On Saturday, Bayern rested six of their stars for the cup clash at Munich’s Allianz Arena, but still romped to a 6-1 league win over 10-man Werder Bremen to leave them 17 points clear and running away with the Bundesliga title.“These are the two best teams in Germany. I reckon the whole nation is looking forward to it - and so are we,” said Bayern captain Philipp Lahm.With such a huge deficit in the league, Dortmund have only a mathematical chance of claiming a third straight Bundesliga title, but the quarterfinal is a repeat of last season’s German Cup final.Dortmund romped to a 5-2 win in Berlin last May with a hat-trick from Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, who has been heavily linked to a move to Bayern either at the end of the season or when his contract expires in June 2014.Despite Reus’ confidence, Dortmund laboured at Gladbach on Sunday with both Lewandowski and reserve striker Julian Schieber suspended, but the Poland star will be back in action on Wednesday.The win over Bremen extended Bayern’s unbeaten run to 20 matches since their last defeat, at home to Bayer Leverkusen last October, and came with half a dozen changes from the team which won 3-1 at Arsenal in the Champions League.

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Giants ready for crunch German Cup showdown