ShareBorussia Dortmund are in the driving seat in the Bundesliga top-four race, and Niko Kovac wants to keep momentum building against Hamburg.Borussia Dortmund look set to clinch a Champions League spot for next season, but Niko Kovac is not getting ahead of himself before they face Hamburg in the Bundesliga.Dortmund enter the gameweek second in the table, nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich, but also 11 clear of fifth-place RB Leipzig, who play on Friday.The Black and Yellow have won their last two matches against Koln and Augsburg, while they have only lost one of their last 19, going down 3-2 to Bayern.Kovac’s side are given a 99.9% chance of finishing in the Bundesliga top four, but Kovac noted there is still work to be done."We haven't achieved anything yet," Kovac said."We may have more points than at the end of last season, but we still have some very difficult matches against direct rivals. We mustn't rest on our laurels."We've made good progress. We need to show that again against HSV. We want to keep improving over the next eight games."Hamburg are sitting mid-table in 11th, nine points clear of the relegation zone, having accumulated 30 points so far.They have struggled of late, though, winning just one of their last five matches – a 2-1 victory over Wolfsburg.Hamburg are unbeaten on the road in the second half of the Bundesliga season so far, and Kovac remains wary of the threat they pose."I expect it to be another very intense match," he added."HSV will certainly sit very deep, just as they did in the reverse fixture, and will try to hit us on the counter-attack."For us, it's about approaching the game with the same focus and concentration as we did against Augsburg."PLAYERS TO WATCHBorussia Dortmund – Julian RyersonJulian Ryerson has the second-most assists in the Bundesliga this season (12), behind only Bayern's Michael Olise (17).Ryerson has bagged seven assists from set-pieces – this is already a standalone club record since detailed data collection began in 2004-05, and in the last 10 years, only Union Berlin's Christopher Trimmel in 2019-20 has managed more assists from set-pieces (eight).Hamburg – Fabio VieiraFabio Vieira is the team's top goal contributor in the Bundesliga this season with five goals and four assists.However, four of his five goals have come at home, with his only away goal so far coming in Mainz during a 1-1 draw in late February.MATCH PREDICTION: BORUSSIA DORTMUND WINDortmund have not lost any of their last six Bundesliga encounters with Hamburg (W5 D1).At home, they have won eight of their last 10 league matches against the visitors (L2), including the last three in a row without conceding a goal.Dortmund have collected 58 points this Bundesliga season, already surpassing their tally from the entire previous campaign (57). This also marks BVB's best top-flight season in seven years; in 2018-19, they had 60 points after 26 games.The Black and Yellow have lost just two of their last 34 Bundesliga matches (W24 D8), with both defeats coming against Bayern (1-2 in October 2025 and 2-3 in late February).Hamburg, meanwhile, have lost only two of their last 10 Bundesliga matches (W3 D5). Away from home, they are also unbeaten in their last four league matches (W2 D2) – they last had a longer such run 14 years ago (eight at the turn of 2011-2012).OPTA WIN PROBABILITYBorussia Dortmund – 63.8%Draw – 19.7%Hamburg – 16.5%Borussia Dortmund are in the driving seat in the Bundesliga top-four race, and Niko Kovac wants to keep momentum building against Hamburg.Borussia Dortmund look set to clinch a Champions League spot for next season, but Niko Kovac is not getting ahead of himself before they face Hamburg in the Bundesliga.Dortmund enter the gameweek second in the table, nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich, but also 11 clear of fifth-place RB Leipzig, who play on Friday.The Black and Yellow have won their last two matches against Koln and Augsburg, while they have only lost one of their last 19, going down 3-2 to Bayern.Kovac’s side are given a 99.9% chance of finishing in the Bundesliga top four, but Kovac noted there is still work to be done."We haven't achieved anything yet," Kovac said."We may have more points than at the end of last season, but we still have some very difficult matches against direct rivals. We mustn't rest on our laurels."We've made good progress. We need to show that again against HSV. We want to keep improving over the next eight games."Hamburg are sitting mid-table in 11th, nine points clear of the relegation zone, having accumulated 30 points so far.They have struggled of late, though, winning just one of their last five matches – a 2-1 victory over Wolfsburg.Hamburg are unbeaten on the road in the second half of the Bundesliga season so far, and Kovac remains wary of the threat they pose."I expect it to be another very intense match," he added."HSV will certainly sit very deep, just as they did in the reverse fixture, and will try to hit us on the counter-attack."For us, it's about approaching the game with the same focus and concentration as we did against Augsburg."PLAYERS TO WATCHBorussia Dortmund – Julian RyersonJulian Ryerson has the second-most assists in the Bundesliga this season (12), behind only Bayern's Michael Olise (17).Ryerson has bagged seven assists from set-pieces – this is already a standalone club record since detailed data collection began in 2004-05, and in the last 10 years, only Union Berlin's Christopher Trimmel in 2019-20 has managed more assists from set-pieces (eight).Hamburg – Fabio VieiraFabio Vieira is the team's top goal contributor in the Bundesliga this season with five goals and four assists.However, four of his five goals have come at home, with his only away goal so far coming in Mainz during a 1-1 draw in late February.MATCH PREDICTION: BORUSSIA DORTMUND WINDortmund have not lost any of their last six Bundesliga encounters with Hamburg (W5 D1).At home, they have won eight of their last 10 league matches against the visitors (L2), including the last three in a row without conceding a goal.Dortmund have collected 58 points this Bundesliga season, already surpassing their tally from the entire previous campaign (57). This also marks BVB's best top-flight season in seven years; in 2018-19, they had 60 points after 26 games.The Black and Yellow have lost just two of their last 34 Bundesliga matches (W24 D8), with both defeats coming against Bayern (1-2 in October 2025 and 2-3 in late February).Hamburg, meanwhile, have lost only two of their last 10 Bundesliga matches (W3 D5). Away from home, they are also unbeaten in their last four league matches (W2 D2) – they last had a longer such run 14 years ago (eight at the turn of 2011-2012).OPTA WIN PROBABILITYBorussia Dortmund – 63.8%Draw – 19.7%Hamburg – 16.5%