Niko Kovic has urged his Borussia Dortmund players to quickly put their Manchester City defeat behind them as they prepare to face Hamburg on Saturday.

Dortmund suffered just their second defeat of the season on Wednesday, losing 4-1 to the Premier League side at the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League. 

Kovac's side could move up to second ahead of the international break, and the head coach has enjoyed his previous meetings with Hamburg.

He has managed more Bundesliga matches without a single loss against Hamburg than against any other current Bundesliga team, winning one and drawing three of his encounters.

And as a player, Kovac scored 12 goals in 55 Bundesliga appearances for the Red Shorts, more than for any other club.

After their heavy defeat in Manchester, Kovac is determined to enter the November international break on a high note.

"[We must] quickly put [it] behind us," said Kovac in his pre-match press conference.

"[It] can also help us. We want to develop further and must measure ourselves against the best. We are good, but we need to keep improving.

"Personally, I know the atmosphere in the Volkspark well.

"Tomorrow we want to secure a win before the international break, to have not only three points but also a good feeling for the days after."

Since their 4-0 win against Mainz on October 5, Hamburg have lost each of their last three Bundesliga fixtures.

They are 13th in the league table, just two points above 16th-place Borussia Monchengladbach.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Hamburg – Rayan Philippe

Rayan Philippe has been Hamburg’s main threat this season, scoring three times in nine league games so far.

However, the Frenchman has failed to find the back of the net since their 4-0 win over Mainz, in which he scored twice.

Borussia Dortmund – Serhou Guirassy

Serhou Guirassy scored the opening goal for the fourth time this Bundesliga season on the last matchday – the most in the league.

In the 2022-23 Bundesliga relegation play-offs, Guirassy contributed a goal or assist in both legs for Stuttgart against Hamburg (one goal, one assist), but he has never scored against HSV in the top-flight.

MATCH PREDICTION – BORUSSIA DORTMUND WIN

Dortmund have lost only one of their last 17 Bundesliga matches, a 1-2 defeat at Bayern Munich on October 18 (along with 13 wins and three draws).

Bayern are also the only team in Europe's big five leagues to have suffered fewer defeats (zero) than Dortmund (one) since the end of March.

Dortmund have also kept six clean sheets in the league this season, a joint record with Bayern and surpassed in Europe's big five leagues only by Arsenal (seven), just one fewer than their total from last season.

Hamburg have suffered more defeats in their last three games (three) than in their first six Bundesliga games of the season combined (two). Besides the Red Shorts, only their city rivals St. Pauli have failed to pick up any points in the last three matches.

Hamburg have lost each of their last five competitive matches against Dortmund, marking their longest losing streak against BVB since the Bundesliga's inception (1963).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Hamburg – 23.8%

Draw – 23%

Borussia Dortmund – 53.2%