WATCH Borussia Dortmund v Hamburger SV LIVE on beIN SPORTS | Sign up to take advantage of our 7-day FREE TRIAL here | AU | NZ

Dortmund enters the gameweek second on the table, nine points behind leader Bayern Munich, but also eight clear of fifth-place RB Leipzig, which thrashed Hoffenheim on Saturday (AEDT).

The Black and Yellow has won its past two matches against Koln and Augsburg, while it has only lost one of its past 19, going down 3-2 to Bayern.

"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 is sitting mid-table in 11th, nine points clear of the relegation zone, having accumulated 30 points so far.

It has struggled of late, though, winning just one of its past five matches – a 2-1 victory over Wolfsburg.

Hamburg is unbeaten on the road in the second half of the Bundesliga season so far, and Kovac remains wary of the threat it poses.

"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."