Dortmund will not throw in the towel as Bayern target early Bundesliga title party

Borussia Dortmund are determined not to roll over and allow Bayern Munich to celebrate an early Bundesliga title win, Niko Kovac declared ahead of Saturday's trip to Hoffenheim.

Robert Andrich's goal was decisive as Dortmund lost 1-0 at home to Bayer Leverkusen last time out, leaving them 12 points behind Bayern with five matches remaining.

That means Vincent Kompany's side can wrap up the title this weekend, should they win at home to Stuttgart and Dortmund fail to beat top-four hopefuls Hoffenheim.

If Bayern clinch the trophy with four matchdays remaining, it will be the fifth-earliest title win in Bundesliga history.

They previously got the job done with seven games remaining in 2013-14, six in 2012-13 and five in 2017-18. Leverkusen also wrapped up their 2023-24 title with five games left, going on to complete an unbeaten season.

But Kovac pointed out that Dortmund still have plenty to play for, telling reporters on Friday: "We still want to win games, and we have to win them.

"It wouldn't be nice if we now say, 'The season is over and we'll just tick it all off.' We still have a lot of points to get. We can still set one or two club records. That is our goal."

Kovac confirmed Dortmund will be without Emre Can, Felix Nmecha and Karim Adeyemi for the game, with the latter out with an undisclosed muscle issue.

"We have three absences, with Emre, Felix and Karim. Those three are not available.

"Karim has muscular problems that rule him out completely. Otherwise, [Yan] Couto is back in the squad. We have three injured players, and everyone else is fit."

Hoffenheim sit sixth in the table after fighting back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Augsburg in their most recent game.

They have now recovered 16 points from losing positions in the Bundesliga this season, their third-most in a single campaign (22 in 2021-22 and 17 in 2020-21) and the third-most of any team in 2025-26, after Bayern (22) and Freiburg (19).

They are five points behind RB Leipzig, who currently occupy the final Champions League qualification spot, and a point off Leverkusen in fifth.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Hoffenheim – Fisnik Asllani

Last time out against Augsburg, Asllani recorded his 15th direct goal involvement in the Bundesliga this season (nine goals, six assists), a joint-high for TSG alongside Andrej Kramaric.

Among all players aged 23 or younger in the Bundesliga this season, only RB Leipzig's Yan Diomande (17) has accumulated more direct goal involvements than Asllani.

Borussia Dortmund – Julian Ryerson

Ryerson has delivered the most open-play crosses in the Bundesliga this season (122), with Hoffenheim's Vladimir Coufal delivering the second-most (120).

Among all full-backs or wing-backs, Ryerson also has the most assists in the league (12), while Coufal has the second-most (seven, level with Alejandro Grimaldo).

MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

Dortmund have lost two of their last six Bundesliga matches (W4), which is twice as many defeats as they suffered in their previous 31 (one).

Away from home, however, BVB are unbeaten in 10 Bundesliga matches (W6 D4); only between 2011 and 2012 have they enjoyed a longer away run in the competition (15 games).

Hoffenheim, meanwhile, have gone four Bundesliga games without a win for the first time this season (D2 L2) and have won just one of their last seven matches (D3 L3), a 4-2 victory at Heidenheim in early March.

Only relegation-threatened Wolfsburg (one) have collected fewer points than TSG (six) over the last seven matchdays.

At home, Hoffenheim have suffered five consecutive Bundesliga defeats against BVB, their longest losing run against any top-flight club on their own turf, though the Opta supercomputer forecasts a decent probability that they earn a result.

That would then hand Bayern the chance to wrap up the title with a victory over Stuttgart at the Allianz Arena, 24 hours later.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Hoffenheim – 37.7%

Borussia Dortmund – 38.1%

Draw – 24.2%