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 WATCH
Borussia Dortmund – Julian Ryerson
Julian 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 Vieira
Fabio 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.