Borussia Dortmund winger Jonas Hofmann has dismissed his side's Bundesliga title chances and insisted Bayern Munich will again finish on top.
Dortmund endured a difficult season under Jurgen Klopp last term - at times flirting with relegation before securing a seventh-place finish and a DFB-Pokal final appearance.
Following Klopp's departure, the Thomas Tuchel era begin brightly with three wins from three in the Bundesliga alongside progression to the UEFA Europa League group stage.
However, Hofmann - who spent last season on loan at Mainz - has urged Dortmund to stay grounded, rubbishing suggestions they can end the dominance of Bayern.
"I think after last year we need to be down to earth," he told Goal.
"We must not have too high expectations. Of course we want to play a good role in the Bundesliga and we have high expectations for ourselves but we have to keep our perspective.
"We won't compete with Bayern Munich. We know Bayern has such high quality. If everything goes its usual way Bayern will be champions.
"We're happy where we are in the table. If we continue our way with the coach and the whole team then we will challenge until the end of the season."
Hofmann was part of the Dortmund sides that disrupted Bayern's domestic dominance with title wins in 2011 and 2012 but faces the challenge of becoming a regular starter under Tuchel.
The loan signing of Adnan Januzaj adds extra competition, although the 23-year-old believes the Manchester United man can add much-needed depth to Dortmund's attacking ranks.
"I saw [Januzaj] in some of his last games for Manchester United," he added.
"He played and I think he scored. If you're interested in football, it's obvious that you know the name and know what he's capable of.
"It's good to have him. Some offensive players left us so we needed a new player. We will need to rotate our players because the physical effort [this season] will be immense.
"For us as players it's important to be competitive to develop. We're happy to have a new team-mate - of course it's extra competition but we have to look at it as a team. We have to support each other and then see how successful we can be."
