Niko Kovac says Borussia Dortmund are enjoying life at the top of the Bundesliga, but insists their perfect start is only a “snapshot” as they prepare for a demanding run of fixtures.
Dortmund are the only side to have won all four league matches this season, with their latest success a 1-0 victory over Stuttgart before the international break. It is the first time they have achieved that record in 11 years.
Victory against Werder Bremen on Friday would equal club records set in 2013-14 and 2015-16. The match begins a seven-game October schedule for Kovac’s team, which also includes meetings with Union Berlin, Eintracht Frankfurt and defending champions Bayern Munich on October 31.
Dortmund will face Bodo/Glimt and Sabah in the Champions League and Bremen again in the second round of the DFB-Pokal before travelling to Bayern Munich.
Borussia Dortmund have not won the Bundesliga since 2011-12, when now-Germany boss Jurgen Klopp was manager. Kovac, however, is refusing to look too far ahead.
“The lads have worked hard for this. It’s just a snapshot. We’ve played a little more than 10% of the Bundesliga games,” he said.
“We’re enjoying this position right now, but we also know we have a responsibility to keep working hard to hold onto it for as long as possible.
“Now the goal is to get back into the rhythm. I hope we can pull it off, put in a good performance against Bremen, and pick up the points we need to get back into the flow.”
Werder Bremen sit eighth after four matches and also go into the game in good form, having beaten Augsburg 3-2 in their previous Bundesliga fixture.
The match will see Niclas Fullkrug return to Signal Iduna Park. The 33-year-old played for Dortmund in 2023-24, contributing 20 goals and assists – 12 goals and eight assists – in 29 Bundesliga appearances. He subsequently endured difficult spells at West Ham and AC Milan before joining Bremen on loan from Milan.
Fullkrug has scored four goals in five matches in all competitions, matching his total from the previous two seasons combined. He could score in four successive Bundesliga games for the first time, although Kovac said Dortmund’s focus would not be solely on the striker.
“He feels at home there and will naturally be motivated to play against his former team-mates,” Kovac added. “But it’s not just about him.
“There are 10 other players on the field we have to deal with. We have to impose our style of play, and it doesn’t matter who’s playing on the other side.”
Players to watch
Maximilian Beier has one goal and two assists for Dortmund in the Bundesliga this season, with only Serhou Guirassy recording more goal involvements for the club, with four. In 2026, only Deniz Undav, with 17, has more direct Bundesliga goal involvements among German players than Beier’s 12 – six goals and six assists.
Werder’s Marco Grull scored once and provided two assists in his 67th Bundesliga appearance against Augsburg. His six goal involvements this season – two goals and four assists – lead the league.
Since Opta began recording the data in 2004-05, only Miroslav Klose in 2005-06, with six, and Ivan Klasnic in 2005-06, with seven, have matched or exceeded that total for Bremen across the first four matchdays.
Dortmund are unbeaten in their past seven games against Bremen in all competitions, winning five and drawing two. Bremen have won only one of their past 15 Bundesliga meetings with Dortmund, drawing five and losing nine – a 3-2 away victory in August 2022.
BVB have won their past six matches in all competitions, matching their longest run under Kovac, achieved in April and May 2025. Their last longer winning sequence was a 10-match run between January and March 2023 under Edin Terzic.
Dortmund have kept three clean sheets in their first four league matches, as they did last season. Since the beginning of the previous campaign, their 18 clean sheets are more than any other Bundesliga side.
Bremen’s seven points from four matches represent their best start since 2020-21. They have taken points in three successive top-flight games for the first time under Daniel Thioune, winning two and drawing one.
They have also collected four points from losing positions this season, level with Augsburg for the league high. The victory over Augsburg was Bremen’s first Bundesliga win after falling two goals behind for two years.
Opta win probability: Borussia Dortmund 67.1%, draw 18.2%, Werder Bremen 14.7%.
