The Bundesliga title race is over after Borussia Dortmund's recent losses helped Bayern Munich secure top spot, but Niko Kovac says they still have a "duty" to finish strong.

Dortmund suffered back-to-back defeats to Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim, opening the door for Bayern to win the league, and they took their chance.

The Black and Yellow remain second in the Bundesliga table with Champions League qualification well within their grasp, ahead of hosting Freiburg on Sunday.

Kovac has won just two of his 11 top-flight matches against Freiburg (D5 L4), but it is a record he is determined to put right with Dortmund seeking a return to winning ways.

"We want to play the last four games the way we've played for most of the season. We want to pick up wins," he said. "To do that, we need to perform better than we have in the last two games.

"The lads know what's at stake and we need finish a good Bundesliga season in a fitting manner. We have a duty to our club and our fans to pick up more points in the next few games than we did in the last two."

Freiburg come into this match on the back of being knocked out of the DFB-Pokal semi-final by Stuttgart in midweek, conceding a 119th-minute goal in extra-time to lose 2-1.

In the league, they sit seventh, with only an outside chance of clinching a place in Europe next season, as they are nine points behind sixth-place Leverkusen.

But Kovac is still expecting a tough challenge, with Freiburg looking to bounce back from their DFB-Pokal disappointment.

"You've seen all season that Freiburg are a very experienced, very seasoned side who know how they need to play to win," he added.

"I expect a team that will go full throttle for 90 minutes again. We'll have to give it our all. The statistics from recent years mean nothing.

"We need to be on our toes right from the start, and I hope and expect my lads to do just that from the very first minute."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Borussia Dortmund – Serhou Guirassy

Guirassy has scored eight of his 14 Bundesliga goals this season in the second half of the campaign – only Bayern's Harry Kane (12) has more.

With one more goal, he would become the third African player to score at least 15 goals in three Bundesliga seasons, after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Tony Yeboah.

Freiburg – Maximilian Eggestein

Eggestein recently scored his third Bundesliga goal of the season – he only recorded more goals in 2018-19 (five for Werder Bremen).

Against Dortmund, he has recorded four Bundesliga goal involvements (two goals, two assists) – only against Schalke has he managed more in the competition (six).

MATCH PREDICTION: BORUSSIA DORTMUND WIN

Dortmund have lost just one of their 25 Bundesliga home games against Freiburg (W21 D3) and are unbeaten in 17 home matches against them (W16 D1) – only against Koln have BVB remained unbeaten for longer at home in the top flight (20 from 1991 to 2020).

In their last five Bundesliga home games against Freiburg, BVB have always scored at least three goals (21 in total).

Dortmund recently suffered consecutive Bundesliga defeats for the first time in over a year; they have never had more under Kovac (also two in March 2025).

Freiburg have recently celebrated consecutive Bundesliga wins in the second half of the season for the first time; they have not achieved more consecutive wins this season.

However, Freiburg have not won any of their last 19 Bundesliga games against teams in the top three at the start of a matchday. Since a 4-1 (home) win against Union Berlin in November 2022, they have recorded five draws and 14 defeats in such matches.

Away from home, Freiburg have won just one of their last 45 Bundesliga games against a top-three team: a 3-1 victory in Wolfsburg in September 2018 (D6 L38).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Borussia Dortmund – 65.4%

Draw – 19.2%

Freiburg – 15.4%