Borussia Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac does not believe playing at "99% will be enough to get us what we're aiming for" in the Bundesliga.

Dortmund's last hope for silverware this season is the Bundesliga title, though they are 11 points behind league leaders Bayern Munich with just seven games to go.

The club's title hopes suffered a huge blow last weekend when they fell to a 3-2 defeat to Bayern at home, despite leading the Klassiker and then equalising with seven minutes to go.

That also came off the back of Dortmund's Champions League exit to Atalanta in the play-off round, where they lost 4-1 in the second leg in Italy after a 2-0 win at home.

Dortmund face Koln at RheinEnergieStadion in their next match, and Kovac insisted that his side must give everything they have if they are to win the Bundesliga title this term.

"We want to pick up points," said Kovac.

"We want to win every game. That's our goal.

"We can't afford to let our intensity drop off. The lads know that, and we're training accordingly.

"We're not allowing ourselves to think that 99% will be enough to get us what we’re aiming for."

And on Koln, Kovac added: "They are capable of great things, especially at home in their fantastic stadium with its great atmosphere.

"That's why we have to give it our all and work hard to defeat our opponents.

"We have to play serious football there and not get caught up in the euphoria. When the mood swings from high to low or vice versa, it's always difficult to play in Cologne."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Koln – Said El Mala

Nineteen-year-old Said El Mala has been Koln's biggest threat this season, scoring eight goals and providing three assists in 24 Bundesliga matches.

In his most recent start, the teenager scored and assisted in a 2-2 draw against third-place Hoffenheim (February 21).

Borussia Dortmund – Nico Schlotterbeck

Schlotterbeck scored his fourth goal of this Bundesliga season against Bayern, which is his best return in a single German top-flight campaign.

He has already scored three goals in seven Bundesliga games in 2026 alone. Conversely, Koln are the only team in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season without a goal from a defender.

MATCH PREDICTION – BORUSSIA DORTMUND WIN

Dortmund have scored in each of their first 24 Bundesliga games of a season for the first time.

The club have even scored at least two goals in each of their last 10 Bundesliga matches – the only longer such run for Dortmund in the last 30 years was a streak of 11 consecutive games between March and August 2025.

Koln have lost their last four Bundesliga matches against Dortmund; they only had a longer losing streak against BVB in the top-flight between 2008 and 2012 (eight defeats in a row).

The Billy Goats have also failed to score in three consecutive Bundesliga games against Dortmund for the first time.

Koln have won just two of their last 15 Bundesliga matches (D4 L9), collecting 10 points in the process – only Heidenheim have collected fewer (nine) across the league since the start of MD10.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Koln – 25.2%

Draw – 24.0%

Borussia Dortmund – 50.8%