A foregone conclusion?

Dortmund are buoyant after having beaten the two best teams in the world within a matter of just a few days: Real Madrid (2-0) in the Champions League and Bayern Munich (3-0) in last weekend's Bundesliga fixture.

"This past week was extraordinary," said Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp. And with its newly found confidence his team are the clear favorites in the German Cup quarterfinal against Wolfsburg on Tuesday (April 15, 19:30 UTC).

Dortmund's star striker Robert Lewandowski already has his eyes on the German Cup final in Berlin.

"We still have the chance to win the Cup this season," the 25-year-old said. And if the opponent were to be Bayern Munich "that would be a very good final," said the Polish national. The Cup final would be Lewandowski's last appearance for Dortmund, before he transfers to Bayern Munich in the summer.

But to get there Dortmund has to beat Wolfsburg first, who in turn are cautiously upbeat.

"We didn't look bad against Dortmund at our last encounter in the Bundesliga," said sporting director Klaus Allofs."It was a narrow 1-2 defeat, and we definitely stand a chance."

And Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking stands defiant: "'Dortmund and Bayern will face off in the Cup Final' - that's what you hear everywhere," he said. "But you shouldn't be surprised to see a different team make it there in the end."

While Hecking concedes that Dortmund is in great shape, he has faith in his team's abilities. "Dortmund may be having a really good run at the moment," he conceded, "But if they give us just a little bit of breathing space, they will really have to watch out. We are also in really good shape."

David meets Goliath

In the second quarterfinal on Wednesday, Bundesliga's record champions Bayern Munich will face off against underdogs Kaiserslautern. But Bayern seem to have run out of steam and lost their last two Bundesliga fixtures. Before last weekend's 0-3 against Dortmund, they saw Augsburg deal them their first Bundesliga defeat in 53 matches, beating them 1-0.

And Bayern's attacking midfielder Thomas Müller admitted that the team finds it difficult to stay focused.

"The current situation poses a real mental challenge," he said in reference to Bayern's clear dominance in the Bundesliga which seems to have taken its toll on the team's fighting spirit. "That is no excuse for our poor performance," he said referring to a perceived motivation problem. "Somehow we can't get a handle on the situation now that the fight for the league title is over."

While Bayern has already won the Bundesliga in record time, they still have a record to break this season: They want to become the first team to defend their Champions League title; and they want to win "The Triple" again: Bundesliga, Champions League and German Cup.

To clinch all three titles Pep Guardiola's team will have to snap out of their little crisis fast. If not, then underdogs Kaiserslautern - currently fourth in the second Bundesliga - may have an outsider's chance on Wednesday to trip them up and spoil the party.